Quest of the Gods
by Fergus Flamacron
Summary: Sequel to Secret of the 327th. When the Digital World and Pokémon Worlds begin to collide with one another, causing worldwide problems in both universes, it will take the combined efforts of beings from three universes to awaken Arceus and Fanglongmon to set things right again.
1. Distortion

Hello everybody. I am now back to continue my life as a fanfiction writer. I apologise for my long delay since the end of my last story, but here is the first chapter of the sequel as promised. And my long absence has given me the opportunity to have plenty more ideas for both of my upcoming stories. Hopefully you guys will find this one to be just as epic as you seemed to find my last one, and I will certainly do my best not to disappoint everyone. Anyway, here is the sequel to Secret of the 327th, adding in the universe of Pokémon.

Just in case anybody is interested, my trips to Scotland and the Gambia went very well indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I would certainly recommend the Gambia as a holiday destination to anyone interested in wildlife.

I would also like to thank, in advance, everybody who gave me ideas for this story. Some of them will work, and some of them won't, but I'd like to thank you all, all the same. Especially **WhiteWolfPrincess95, **who was a veritable bucket-load of ideas for both of my stories.

And now for the disclaimer – I do not own Digimon. I do not own Star Wars. And I do not own Pokémon. None of these three universes belong to me and therefore I take no credit for their creation. There, I said it. You all heard me. That's the disclaimer for this entire story done – I own none of it.

And now I can finally reply to all those people who reviewed my stuff but don't have accounts:-

**Papercut** – Oh don't worry. Terriermon's irrational fear of pineapples isn't going to be going away, and I do like your suggestion for how to re-enforce it. But I'm afraid I have to turn down your challenges. I will just be too busy with the two stories I already have to do anything else for a while.

**Marcos** – I don't watch Naruto, so attempting to write a crossover for it would be futile. Besides, I have other stories to write.

**Matheus** – Thank you.

**Ian** – I have considered the possibility of introducing Vader to the series, but I really don't think that would work anymore, since Anakin no longer turns into Vader according to my stories. And if you meant just for a oneshot then sorry but I have my hands a bit full to be taking more requests.

**Anon** – Millenniummon will appear in my stories eventually, but not for a very, very, very, very long time. And certainly not in this one. But he has to go in eventually since he's a part of Cyberdramon and all.

**Digimon575** – Actually, Secret of the 327th is not the longest fanfiction ever. It's the second longest one I am aware of, but there is another that is well over three million words. And also, really? A TV show? I don't think walking up to George Lucas and Toei Animation and saying, Hey, I wrote this, can you make it, is a good idea. If they approached me, then fair enough, but I really, _really_ doubt they would.

And finally **Geekgirl** – Thank you very much. I hope that you enjoy these stories as much as you enjoyed the last one.

Now, with that out of the way… on with the chapter. Let the Quest of the Gods begin!

Important notice:- The Unova region and its legendaries do not exist in my story. Only the first four generations will be used, and I found it hard enough to squeeze all of them in!

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 1:- Distortion**

* * *

The universe is an ever-expanding mystery. Nobody knows the full extent of what lies within their entire universe, whether close to home or across the street, whether over the ocean or under the ground, whether out beyond the stars and to the far distant walls of said universe there is always more to discover everywhere you look. Each and every place has its own, unique aspects – its own objects, its own life-forms, its own environment.

This makes the universe a complex place, riddled with its own secrets from one yard to the next. You can try to explore, you can go treasure hunting, but new mysteries are arising all the time, whether that be from the answer to one question leading to a new question or simply because they are literally arising from nowhere to take the place of another question, or in some cases present an extra puzzle.

But if there is so much yet to be found within the walls of the universe then what, if anything could possibly lie beyond those walls. More walls perhaps. More universes? More mysteries to see, hear and discover in the future. Who can say for sure. After all, with so much we don't know about where we live in and by, what lies outside it is well beyond the reach of our knowledge.

But, the truth is, in fact, that there are hundreds of thousands of millions of different universes encompassing the whole of reality. Each universe stacked up against one another, separated by a thin by nigh impenetrable layer of nothingness. Each universe is vastly different in its own ways and each one of them combined brings into play something far more great than any universe alone:-

The Omniverse.

A myriad of different universe all surrounding one another and lying next to each other, mostly completely unaware of the existence of their own neighbours. Each one different in its own way. Some parallel and almost identical to another universe with only a slight altercations, from the size of the continent of Africa to the hair colour of one particular person on the entire Earth. Some universes might even be EXACTLY the same as its neighbour in absolutely every detail.

The sheer complexity of all parallel universes is simply astounding, and the number of ways in which they differ can be equally amazing. One universe might have every single life-form as a walking puppet manipulated by a single being. One universe might have no colour in it whatsoever. One universe might even have a flat world that rides on the back of a giant turtle and supported by four elephants, but that one is surely a preposterous idea. How could the turtle survive in the vacuum of space? But, ah, it could indeed be possible somewhere. The very laws of physics of one universe might be completely and utterly irrelevant in another.

* * *

Instances of parallel universes or the people within them overlapping are rare throughout the entire cosmos, but it has been known to happen. For instance, there is one universe which has a parallel universe right next door that was created by members of the first universe in the first place. Those people lived on planet Earth, and they created the first Digimon – Digital lifeforms with as many thoughts, feelings and dreams as organic sentient life-forms. These two universes overlap on a regular basis, as many Digimon pass through from their world into the so-called Human World.

Several of these Digimon have even bonded with some of the human children to an extent that made said children into Digimon Tamers. It was the responsibility of those children and their partners to ensure the safety of both their worlds, as they have already done several times in the past. When twelve powerful Digimon named the Devas attacked, the Tamers were there to stop them. When a monstrous computer program went haywire and appeared in the real world to try and wipe out humanity, the Tamers and Digimon were there to stop it. When the immensely powerful and seemingly invincible Demon Lord Ogudomon struck into the Human World, the Tamers and their Digimon were there to stop him. And when the other evil Digimon GranDracmon planned to take out all universes he could, most of the Tamers and their Digimon were there to stop him as well.

Everyone on the planet in question now owes their lives to the Tamers in some way.

And yet, the Digital World is not the only universe that inhabitants of this particular universe have found themselves in. Not long ago, a group of six – three children and three Digimon – found themselves flung into a universe completely different from their own, a universe with advanced space travel between planets, riddled with all kinds of alien species and held together by a Galactic Republic and protected by the special beings known as Jedi. While the Digimon had their own extraordinary powers, the Jedi had the ability to wield the Force, a power that bound the Galaxy together.

A great upheaval was taking place in that universe at the time of the arrival of the Tamers and their Digimon partners – a Separatist faction fighting against the supposedly corrupt Republic with their droid armies against the Republic's clones. The Jedi had struggled to hold the Separatists back and though they were unaware of it, the Chancellor of their own Republic was also the secret Sith Lord – the adversaries of the Jedi – in charge of the Separatists. All of them had seemed to be destined to fall into the trap that the Chancellor was trying to set.

But then the Digimon had arrived and screwed everything up for the secret Sith.

The group of six had bonded closely with four of the Jedi and had set out together to change the fate of the universe even though most of the team didn't even belong in it. Together they had formed the Tenacious Ten, a nickname given to them by one of the members of their own group. Working closely in tandem – so closely in fact that each of them had developed a mind-link with the other members of their group, they had not only been able to foil dozens of Separatist attacks and invasions, but they had also managed to save entire civilisations from other attacks, had befriended countless creatures and races and individuals and had even uncovered the truth behind the Chancellor, turning his own forces against him in the process.

Throughout their experiences their bonds grew stronger. Throughout their time together they would always find one another, even if they were separated by an entire Galaxy's worth of planets. When they stood together, nobody could match their sheer strength as a combined team.

The final battle had resulted in great loss for both sides of the conflict but the Tenacious Ten had held firm throughout and had dealt with not only the Sith Lord's powerful underlings, but the Sith Lord himself, turning his short-lived Empire back into the Republic that it was supposed to be. United they stood on the roof of the Senate Building, the nine other members aiding the Chosen One in his conquest over evil and the fulfilment of the prophecy that had belonged to him since before he was born. All of them fought hard for the Galaxy that day, each of them playing a critical role in the final conflict and each of them bouncing off the activities of the others to complete perfection.

Their trump card – the Sith had been totally unaware of the existence of the Digimon right up until the final day of his life. Most of the Galaxy had not known of their presence in fact. But then, when they publicly obliterated the Sith, they all became heroes, honoured in the eyes of trillions upon trillions on people across the Galaxy and possibly beyond.

And yet, all stories must eventually come to an end, which is why, a mere week after their triumph over the Sith, the Digimon and their Tamers were forced to return to their own home, the universal barrier cutting them off from their beloved friends. Only one of the Jedi accompanied them back home, and while on both sides of the wall they continued to enjoy their lives, thoughts of their missing team-mates was never far from their minds.

* * *

And yet, while stories all do come to ends, a new story always crops up to take its place. And sure enough there is another universe out there which is worthy of mention. A universe in relatively close proximity to the Digital World, and one which is incredibly similar in many aspects, which completely different in just about every other.

The Digimon lived in a world composed of data. They came in many forms – many shapes, sizes, colours and levels of power. They could be tiny blobs, they could be powerful monsters or they could be gods and angels. They possessed the ability to change shape, or digivolve, to a higher and more powerful level. Yet apart from the Tamers and their partners, the Digimon and the humans were kept separated by the Digital Barrier between them. For the most part anyway.

And yet, not far away from this extraordinary world composed of data and other computer information there is a world filled with creatures similar to Digimon in many ways, and utterly different in others. For a start, these creatures are certainly not made of data – most of them are constructed from purely organic material just as humans are, and all of them contain DNA. And humans are even a part of this world themselves. They have built their cities and their roads and their vehicles just as they have done on Planet Earth, but in doing so they live directly alongside these creatures similar to the Digimon.

And what are these creatures called?

Simply put – they are Pokémon.

For the most part, Pokémon and humans live side by side in harmony with one another. Most Pokémon are vastly more powerful than humans – able to endure more physical damage than any human could and able to fight against opponents and obstacles that no human could hope to match. But the Pokémon world is primarily one of peace, with both Pokémon and humans forming partnerships and friendships based on understanding with one another. Of course, this is not always the case – there are Pokémon that do not trust humans and vice versa, just as much as there are humans which prefer to exploit rather than befriend their Pokémon neighbours. But, thankfully, these people are in the minority.

All Pokémon have emotions and feelings just as Digimon do, and it has been argued that, also like Digimon, Pokémon are all actually one species, but they come in so many different shapes and forms that each different kind is merely a separate subspecies of Pokémon. Each Pokémon subspecies can have vastly different abilities and powers and they all have the abilities to harness these powers into special attacks if necessary, whether these be powerful beams of energy, to high-powered ramming attacks, to special powers based on the element of the Pokémon in question.

There are seventeen different classified types of Pokémon, each one representing the strengths and weaknesses of each individual Pokémon. Such types include elements like Fire, Ice, Ground and Water, encompass living substances like Grass, Bug and Dragon, forms of energy like Electric, special abilities like Fighting and Flying, states of body like Rock, Ghost, Steel and Poison and even states of mind like Psychic and Dark. And then there are the Normal types which do not have a specific attribute but can harness the powers of many of the others. Many Pokémon even have more than one type, but no Pokémon has more than two. At least not at once.

This type selection differs from the Digimon of their neighbouring world in many ways, as Digimon types are limited to their place within their computer-like infrastructure – data, virus and vaccine. That said, the Digimon too can come in many forms that replicate the types of Pokémon, as there can be Ghost Digimon, Rock Digimon, plant-like Digimon and many others besides, so the differences between them are still lined by similarity.

Despite the similarities between the types and the different kinds of attacks each type or individual Pokémon can learn, Pokémon also have their own natural special abilities, some of which are shared between subspecies, some of which are unique to just one shape of Pokémon. But due to the different statistics of each Pokémon when it comes to combat each one of them can fight in a different style and each one may have to combatted in a different way to another.

Another similarity shared between Digimon and Pokémon is the process of evolution. Many Pokémon may stay in one shape for all of their lives, but most species have the ability to change their form when they grow older to become something larger and more powerful than their previous shape. Some Pokémon can only evolve once, but no Pokémon can evolve more than twice. Some Pokémon have the ability to evolve into more than one different form, but once evolved they cannot shift back.

This is where they are again similar yet different to Digimon. All Digimon can evolve at least five times after they are born and some can even stretch up to six. Some Digimon have the ability to shift between various level forms, and, if necessary Digimon can revert back into a previous weaker form than before while a Pokémon cannot. The Digimon's process of evolution, also known as digivolution, also differs in the fact that they are less solid than Pokémon – as in, all Digimon have the ability to digivolve into many different potential forms, whereas only a few Pokémon possess this ability. Most Pokémon evolution lines are set from the moment they're born, while the Digimon can contain many variations in what they become.

Speaking of being born, Digimon and Pokémon even reproduce in pretty much the same way. When a Pokémon or a Digimon mates with another, the female will eventually produce an Egg, which will hatch later on after a period of incubation. And yet again, there are differences between this process. Pokémon young will only ever hatch into the subspecies of one of its parents, and while this holds true with more closely related subspecies of Digimon, if two that were vastly different were to interbreed, they might be able to produce something like a hybrid – a completely unique Digimon depending on who its parents might have been.

It is small wonder that these two different universes are so close together within the omniverse. Their differences are many, but the similarities between the Digimon and the Pokémon are just as many, as its geography – as both have mountains and oceans and forests and all manner of different biomes and climates. Yet these two astounding universes are still set apart by a dimensional wall that has forever kept Digimon and Pokémon from meeting one another or even learning that the other exists at all.

Unaware of their Digital neighbours, the Pokémon World has moved forwards through the ages, with humans and Pokémon working so closely in tandem that an entire culture has sprung up around the interactions between them. The human race has developed such a close relationship with the creatures they live alongside that them that the Pokémon trainer concept was born.

Young boys and girls are allowed to set out into the world to begin their own adventure with Pokémon, including meeting and catching wild Pokémon in a special device known as a Pokéball, which is a small, spherical device able to convert the Pokémon's body into a form of energy and store it inside the space which can be held inside a person's pocket. Indeed, this is where the very name Pokémon is derived from. This might sound like some kind of slavery or even poaching, but in fact, it is a symbol of just how close together humans and Pokémon exist, for the majority of Pokémon agree to this concept just as much as the humans do.

From there, the young trainer and his collected team can advance out into the world to do what they wish, whether it be the trainers battling their Pokémon against those of another trainer and training their partners to become stronger, to simply raising them and keeping them as pets, to utilising their skills to help in situations such as work. Many people also study the Pokémon they catch, determined to unravel the still plentiful mysteries that the Pokémon world presents to them.

Battling Pokémon is perhaps the most prominent out of the categories though. There are four separate regions to the Pokémon world known as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, and the laws for each one are the same. If a trainer seeking to become the strongest wishes to fulfil his dream then he must first defeat eight powerful trainers known as Gym Leaders throughout their region of choice. All applicants who succeed in this endeavour can then take part in a special elimination tournament to decide the best of them there.

The winner of this tournament can then proceed to battle against four very powerful trainers known as the Elite Four. Very few people make it past these four trainers, but if a person was indeed to get that far, then they would have the opportunity to face the Champion of their region. Victory in that battle would allow them to take the Champion's place as top trainer.

The idea behind this is that every adventure and battle that Pokémon and trainer go through together is designed to bring them closer together as a team and indeed as a family. And this is indeed the case in most of the trainers and Pokémon that take part. But, as ever, there are individuals who desire only the title and may treat their Pokémon very harshly to gain it.

And, of course, there are the people who seek to use Pokémon for their own gain, by using them to commit crimes like stealing or hostage taking. So, not everything about the Pokémon world reflects the bonds brought on by the average trainer and his team. It is a world of conflict in more ways than one in many instances. Nevertheless, such criminals and other bad people make up only a small minority, and the majority of the world continues the way it has always done.

* * *

But while every trainer dreams of one day standing on top as the Champion of their region or perhaps even higher, there is another thing which they all dream about – a dream which is often just as elusive as that of being the Champion. And that dream is simple – the dream to see a Legendary Pokémon. All trainers even dream of owning a Legendary Pokémon, but, as of yet, no Legendary Pokémon has ever been caught from the wild, no matter how hard people have attempted to do so.

Legendary Pokémon are a group of Pokémon that are not only incredibly rare but are also, in most cases, incredibly strong. But each of them have a certain trait or ability or power that sets them apart from all other Pokémon. The Legendaries are also charged with shaping and looking after the Pokémon World, preventing it from disasters of all kinds whether they be natural or as a direct result of another entity. There is only one of each of them, and trainers may search their whole lives for a glimpse of just one of these legendaries, and yet never catch a glimpse of them, even for a second. They are as elusive as they are rare.

* * *

But what gives Legendary Pokémon their legendary status? Well, to answer that question, we must travel back in time… to the time where there was nothing. Where the Pokémon World did not exist, and there was only a large space in the Void between the dimensions. In that space in the Void, there appeared an Egg. Nobody knows for sure how the Egg came into being, or where it might have come from, but there it was. An Egg that, mere moments after its appearance, hatched out into the first Pokémon.

That Pokémon was Arceus, the most powerful Pokémon ever to exist, and future God of all the Pokémon World. Arceus viewed the space where it had appeared and congealed his enormous powers together to create something out of nothing, thus giving birth to the universe that would one day become the universe of Pokémon like himself. But, nevertheless, even though he had created the universe, he still needed to put things in it.

And so, he began to create the Legendary Pokémon, one by one, throughout the ages, assigning them the tasks that he put before them. His three first-born children were also incredibly powerful, much like Arceus himself, though still not as strong. To one of these Pokémon he gave the ability to control Time and allow the universe to move forwards and grow. To another, he bestowed the ability to control space, thus allowing the expansion of the world. And to the third, he gave an entire parallel world which would one day reflect the Pokémon World and balance it, keeping the powers of time and space in check.

With the world set, Arceus now needed Pokémon to form what would be put into that world. He began to form what would one day be the basis of life, creating three smaller and less powerful children that would one day provide all life with their future mindsets. To one he charged with creating willpower so people would feel the drive to move on. To one he charged with creating all knowledge, for the people to seek and utilise. And to one he charged with creating emotion to give the future a sense of purpose.

A seventh child was brought into existence shortly afterwards. This Pokémon contained immense amounts of DNA so that it would be able to create all future forms of life once Arceus was finished with his task.

Now that he had set the basis of life, Arceus needed to create the environment in which that life would live. Yet again, he rose three more children from the nothingness and gave to them the powers to shape the world around them. To one, he gave the ability to create land. To another, he gave the ability to create the sea. And to the third he gave the ability to create the rest of the world – the sky and the ozone layer. The three of them went about their assigned jobs and eventually, the land masses and their surrounding oceans were formed, as was the skies which linked the two together.

The next Pokémon to be created by Arceus assisted the previous trio by dragging the land masses which had been created to various different places across the oceans to create different continents and the four regions that exist in the present day. However, this action caused great upheaval in the volcanic centre of the world beneath those land masses so Arceus created another Pokémon to keep that volcanic upheaval in check.

With the land set in motion, Arceus then decided to create changes in the world, for a world without change would forever remain the same. For that reason, he created the moon and assigned two more Pokémon to rule over it and its effects on the world, and to rule the night together. He also created three additional Pokémon to represent the annual changes in the environment, the three of them pooling the powers of fire, ice and lightning to bring forth the seasons.

The Pokémon in charge of creating life began to do its job and the earliest forms of plants and Pokémon began to rise to fill the sea and the land and the sky alike. As the Pokémon began to grow and multiply, Arceus created yet more of his own children to continue to shape the world in which they lived. Two of those children – one of silver and one of gold, were assigned to watch over the life that had been created from afar and help to guide it down the path of light.

Another, smaller child was assigned to protect the plant-life and the various forests that were appearing all over the land, while a similar child was created to make sure those areas were kept clean and abundant. Another smaller child was created to protect the seas where more Pokémon were growing. And finally, Arceus decided that the people of the future might deserve a special gift from him in the future, so he created another that would, every once in a while, be able to grant the wishes of a fortunate future soul.

Arceus looked upon the world he had created with the aid of his Legendary Pokémon and he was more than happy with its result. The Pokémon were budding and evolving all the time and they seemed to be happy with their way of life themselves. But there were several final things that needed to be taken care of, for beyond the ozone layer and the moon there was still a great expanse of universe left, which would present many dangers to his future creations. So, he created a special virus that would one day grow into another child of his to help the Legendary of the Sky keep such dangers at bay.

With the Pokémon World maturing, Arceus looked on it and decided that his time had come. The world did not need him any longer, and if there were to be such things as the willpower, knowledge and emotion that he had had three of his children introduce to the world then it would have to be without his overbearing presence. Shortly after the first humans began to evolve, he knew it was time to withdraw from the world and go into a deep sleep. One which only his children would be able to wake him from.

However, in his infinite wisdom, he knew that he would eventually be needed again. And so, his final act before sealing himself away was to create a final two children. Two twin children who would reside peacefully through the eons until they were needed. They, and only they, would be able to carry out the task which Arceus had forseen, and they would still need help to do it. But nevertheless, Arceus believed in the pair of them and he finally put himself to rest, sealing himself away in his own pocket dimension to await the time of his revival.

After Arceus withdrew from the world, the Pokémon and the humans grew and matured and evolved together through the ages until they eventually reached the stage which they are currently at in the present day. Some Pokémon died out and became extinct, but the majority of them lived on to see mankind buildings its cities and creating the Pokéballs to forge the relationship between them all the stronger.

And yet, the group of legendaries was not yet complete. Across the Stone Age, the Ice Age and the Iron Ages, the Legendary who had originally moved the continents created three new beings similar to himself to mark the various ages that the world had been through. And, during a particularly nasty fire in one man-made building that was made to honour the silver guardian, three other Pokémon died, causing the golden guardian to resurrect them as three brand new Pokémon to help in keeping an eye on humanity. These six newer beings were, while younger than the rest, still classed as legendaries as they were made specially by the direct children of Arceus.

Pokémon created by the legendary who introduced life to the world did not fall under the same category, since she had been specially made to carry out that task…

…with one notable exception.

For, in the not-too-distant past, the final legendary was made, and this time by humans. In recent times, humans have begun to get some very grand ideas, and one particular organisation decided to play Arceus and attempted to create the world's most powerful Pokémon, directly using the DNA of the life-giving legendary to produce a genetically altered clone. While the result was, in the end, not the most powerful Pokémon, it was certainly very strong and escaped into the world. As a direct product of the life-giver's DNA rather than the stash of DNA she carried inside her specifically for her task, he too could be classed as a legendary and therefore a direct child of Arceus.

And so with the legendaries formed, the world of Pokémon moved forwards, driven by willpower, seeking knowledge and experiencing emotion. The legendary Pokémon did their best to guide the world forwards but, for the most part, they stayed away from society – human and Pokémon alike. They became distant, they became isolated… passing, indeed, into legend of the humans and their Pokémon friends. This is what inspired the name for their group in the first place.

But for all their solitude, most of the legendaries were still there, hidden but watching. Claimed sightings of them were few and far between. _Real_ sightings of them were even rarer. And, eventually, they reached a point where they were almost passing into myth. Yet they always remained, ready to step in and do their part should the need arise.

Pokémon and humans passed on without their aid for the most part. The tournaments and Champion systems were devised and trainers and their teams got on with their lives and strove to be the best. But, as we all know, even with divine power nearby, not all stories progress as smoothly as they could. And such was the case with one young trainer seeking the same goal as all the others.

But his story will have to wait for now.

For with the stage set, we can now delve into the real story. The story that started when things began to go wrong.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set on the Pokémon World, much as it always did. It had seemed to be a fairly average day for the majority of its inhabitants. They had gone about their business like hiking to the next city, raising their families, caring for their homes and the myriad of things that the average Pokémon subspecies did with their time. Several beginning trainers had caught their first Pokémon, while several more experience ones had had a few epic battles with friends and rivals alike.

A couple of Gym Leaders had been bested by challengers, and the Elite Four of all the regions were looking forward to the potential upcoming challenge that would be presented to them once the tournament had finally taken place.

Potions and Antidotes had been purchased from the Marts, Pokémon Centres had healed the injured Pokémon of battling trainers, the S.S. Anne cruise ship was getting closer to Vermilion City at last, the Magnet Train was on its way back to Goldenrod after a successful trip to Saffron and Professor Oak had done his regular talk on the radio about a various type of Pokémon.

And yet, despite all of these different normal activities, there had been a few, odd differences of the day. And none of these differences had been exactly what you could call positive ones. In fact, they were all negative.

For instance, close to Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region, a slight tremor had occurred in the middle of the afternoon. Said tremor had shaken loose a very large amount of snow, causing a large avalanche which had swept across the route leading to the city from Mount Coronet. A large number of skiiers had barely escaped with their lives and an unfortunate number of slow-moving Snover and Swinub had been buried beneath the resultant snowfall. A few had lost their lives, but many of them would soon be able to make it out, aided by a small group of Abomasnow and Sneasels that were currently digging through the compacted snow.

And that had not been the only tremor of the day either. Mount Chimney of the Hoenn region had had a rather alarming earthquake shortly after the avalanche. The little town of Lavaridge which resided nearby had felt the activity of their local volcano, and several of its citizens had panicked and rushed about in terror at the prospect of a sudden eruption. The local Gym Leader, Flannery, had rushed out of the Gym in alarm and stared up at the volcano that overshadowed the town.

Fortunately nothing had happened, much to Flannery's relief, but the Gym Leader had been, nonetheless, puzzled. She was an expert on Fire-type Pokémon and she knew that her team would have been able to sense a lava flow powerful enough to cause a tremor, let alone an eruption. So, what in the world had just happened?

And that was not the only instance of something bizarre happening. Several boats had been capsized not far from Olivine in Johto by an oddly large wave. Not a tsunami but still quite large and certainly enough to soak the buildings closest to the coastline.

Fuschia City of the Kanto region had also experienced a rather odd instance, where a large number of Ponyta and Rapidash from the nearby abandoned Safari Zone had suddenly panicked for no apparent reason and had dashed straight through the city, scattering the locals before coming to a stop just before they reached the sea beyond it. And nobody, not even the Ponyta and Rapidash, seemed to know what had caused the stampede.

Not far away from Fuschia in Lavender Town, there was another strange instance. The town was known for its population of Ghost-type Pokémon, and a couple of young trainers that had gone there to try and find one had seen a silhouette of something which had caught their interest. It looked like a floating rag-like ghost but when the shadow had produced a large scythe, both of them had freaked out and fled in the opposite direction.

* * *

But perhaps the most alarming of all was the incident which had occurred over the top of the Lake of Rage in Johto – an isolated area that was known to harbour a large population of Gyarados. One experienced anglerman had been out on a boat in the middle of the enormous lake, recklessly braving the possibility of having his boat smashed by an angry blue, sea-serpent-like Pokémon in order to fish for its unevolved form of Magikarp. He had been hoping to break the record for largest Magikarp ever caught and had been for many years.

But, when he was wrestling with a catch that he was convinced might be his goal, a flash of light had caused him to look up sharply, fearing it might be a Gyarados about to launch a Hyper Beam at him. But the light was coming directly above him, from the sky.

He looked up and gasped, letting go of the rod and letting the Magikarp (which had fortunately not been the largest one ever caught) escape. Because there above him, there looked to be an enormous rip that cut right through the sky itself, and beyond that rip, the angler could see a combination of blackness and strange, shimmering colours of bright green, red, blue and yellow, dancing about like… like pixels on a computer screen.

The angler stared in astonishment as the tear in the sky for several seconds before the tear vanished pretty much as quickly as the light around its edges had appeared, the sky filling up the space again until it looked as if nothing had ever happened at all. The angler sat there in astonishment for about fifteen minutes, watching the sky with wide eyes to see if anything happened again.

It was only the roar of a Gyarados that snapped him back to his attention and he looked around to see one with a fishing rod – _his _fishing rod, dangling from its mouth and glaring at him. Evidently the Magikarp he had just tried to catch had just evolved and was not very happy that it had a hook stuck behind one of its teeth, so the angler temporarily drove the tear in the sky from his mind and rowed like hell for the shoreline.

* * *

These little incidents might have been isolated, but they were not unique. There had been similar instances for about a month now throughout the four regions. They had started out as quite minor, nothing more than a single garden suddenly upheaving for no reason to a little stream bursting its banks and giving people wet feet – something that could quite easily be contributed to a Pokémon, but throughout the month, they had slowly been getting progressively worse and worse, until they were on the larger scale of the incidents that had occurred in the last twenty-four hours.

The majority of the humans still didn't really pay attention to most of what they heard on the news, not really picking up on the fact there was the possibility of these events being connected. Some people did of course, experts in seismology were clearly noticing earthquakes in places where there shouldn't be and larger ones that could be produced by the average Pokémon too. Most of the incidents that occurred throughout this world were indeed pinned on the activities of a random wild Pokémon, but some experts were beginning to notice that perhaps something was a bit off about recent events.

And they were not the only ones.

Not far away from… just about everything, there was a place that is in almost perpetual darkness. Wherever somebody stood in the Pokémon World they were quite close to this particular place, but not many people knew where to look or, in many cases, that it was even there. This place was drastically different from the Pokémon World in many unusual ways.

There was no grass. There were plants there, but they all appeared to be rather tall trees, looking a bit like crosses between conifers and gorse bushes, covered in hundreds of little needles and an equal number of larger spines as the trees jutted above their base like giant spikes sticking out of the ground in which they stood. Most of them had bushy tips like weird paintbrushes. There were several boulders dotted around the land, many strange pillars that appeared to be made of ice and dark stalactites and stalagmites in abundance, though sometimes it was difficult to tell which were the stalagmites and which were the stalagmites.

Why?

Because sometimes the ground was upside down. Sometimes it was the right way up too. In fact, it would be extraordinarily difficult for any casual observer to tell which way was up and which way was down at all, largely because everything seemed to be completely defying the laws of gravity.

There was no solid mass of ground anywhere. What ground there was appeared in very large clumps that hovered in mid-air and were tilted at all angles. Some large chunks of floor were entirely perpendicular to other pieces. Some bits of the ground moved about of their own accord, travelling from side to side and up or down, or possibly down or up… but never actually colliding with one another.

This meant that the trees themselves were also sometimes pointing downwards or to the side just as much as the stalagmites and stalactites or whichever way around they were did. There was also water here, combined with the most bizarre waterfalls imaginable. Sometimes the water appeared to flow straight upwards to the piece of ground directly above them, with a pool at both ends so why the whole mass of water from the pool wasn't falling was a complete mystery. Sometimes the water would flow sideways as if it was in a river, except that it wasn't being supported by anything.

Sometimes the water would even flow downwards like an ordinary waterfall… except that it would then curve around and head back up the way it had come and enter the same pool that it had just fallen out of in the first place or do a complete loop da loop of liquid before it went down the way that it had been going. It was absolutely crazy, no matter which angle you looked at things, because no matter which angle you looked, everything else seemed to be out of place.

And the water was not the only thing that seemed to be odd. Sometimes the ground itself would spiral down or to the side for no reason at all, so it stood like a coil. And there were other anomalies besides. It was not just space that appeared to be distorted, but time as well. For instance, in some of the waterfalls, the water would start "falling" at a very rapid pace and then, for no apparent reason, it would slow down to almost a crawl for several minutes before it suddenly sped up again, or even the other way around.

And yet, no matter how slow or fast the water was going, there always seemed to be the same amount of it at any given time.

Many of the ground chunks which were floating about also had large holes in them, though if a passer-by was to miss a step and wind up in the hole, the other gravity anomalies made it questionable as to whether the person would fall through it at all or just float there slightly helplessly.

Not that there were that many passers-by.

Because the place appeared to be entirely devoid of all life of any kind besides the trees, and whether they were alive or not was a matter of debate, because sometimes the trees and boulders sank back into the ground and then sprang back up at an undeterminable time later, so the trees might just be strangely shaped objects rather than anything else. Regardless, through the darkness surrounding the floating bits of ground there didn't appear to be any sign of life. There was no movement other than the shifting landscape itself.

There weren't even any little insects or other tiny creatures. If someone took a sample of the ground and looked at it through a microscope, there might not even be any sign of life in that. No bacteria or viruses or amoebas or other protoctista. No nothing. The whole world seemed to be eerily silent, barren and forgotten and terribly… terribly lonely.

The dark blue emptiness around the odd landscape just seemed to remain, bleak and full of nothing. Except that, suddenly there was something, but it was not a sign of life. It was a large cloud that appeared to be made of some sort of inky, black substance, like a thunderstorm cloud but thicker and denser, pooling around the floating bits of land like oozing mud or oil or some other sticky liquid, despite the fact that it was clearly composed of gas.

There actually appeared to be quite a few of these dotted around the place. There were small dark masses of cloudy gas in every direction, seemingly hanging there and doing nothing in particular or rolling over and over itself or joining up with other small clouds to form a larger one. But this particular cloud was massive – a real monster and so large that it could have engulfed about twenty entire Wailord. And _that_ meant it was _enormous_.

As it travelled across the austere landscape, it collided with and engulfed many large, but still much smaller, clouds of similar substance and took them on as part of itself to grow even large. Wherever it went the needle-like trees of the world around them shrank back into the ground as if in fear, as did the various boulders. If it had a smell, it would have reeked on unnaturalness, and if it had a mind, then it would probably have been thinking about completely engulfing the entire world it lived in.

But that would have been alright, surely. After all, there was nothing alive in this world.

Or was there?

An angry roar shattered the silence which had been hanging over the area like a tarpaulin until now. If the cloud of black substance had had a soul or a heart, both would have wilted at the sheer ferocity of the roar, which shook the floating bits of ground around it and seemed to cause some of waterfalls to change direction. It even shook loose a few of the stalactites and they dropped sideways and away. But the cloud did not have either so it kept on advancing across the ground.

Something swept around one of the larger floating ground pieces and shot towards the cloud, undulating up and down as it did so and a pair of viciously red glowing eyes at the front clearly showing just how livid the creature was. It streaked across the gap at incredible speed, the shadows masking its shape except for a long, serpentine body as it plunged straight into the cloud layer and vanished inside completely.

Moments later and it tore out of the other side, the dark silhouette seeming to expand outwards near its head section as it roared again, angling its body downwards and sweeping round the front of the cloud and up towards the back, before sweeping round that too and back towards the front, doing a complete circuit of viscous gassy stuff. It quickly repeated this process several times and the cloud responded to its movements, warping and shifting each time it passed until it began to retreat around the edges, shrinking back in on itself as if afraid.

Eventually the cloud had congealed into a tight ball of blackness about a third of its origin size, and when that happened the dark silhouette pulled to a halt and then shot upwards until it was directly above the gas. A great pair of jaws opened sideways and the shadow expelled something that looked oddly like a tornado from its mouth. The tornado whooshed out over the balled-up cloud and punched through it, tearing the cloud to shreds in an instant and dispersing the shreds entirely until the cloud was nothing more than mere atoms and then the atoms simply became absolutely nothing.

It was as if there had never been a cloud at all.

The dark silhouette growled ominously, before it whirled itself around and moved downwards moving towards an area with slightly more light where it coiled itself around a large column of floating earth, its upper body resting on the top as it glared at the world around it. This was the spot where it liked to rest and contemplate things, though it often didn't have a whole lot to contemplate.

Until recently that is.

Now that it was in the lighter area, an observer would have been able to see it more clearly. Its red eyes were set in a large grey head with a black face which had a large platinum crest running across the top above its eyes and pointing upwards at either end. Underneath its eyes were a pair of larger platinum head-plates that jutted out behind his head like a pair of wings and met in the middle to cover its mouth. When it opened its mouth, the plates moved aside to reveal its maw.

Its body was long and serpentine, hence why it could coil around the rock column. It was mostly grey, except for the underbelly of its upper body which was covered in horizontal stripes of alternate red and black, as well as two sections of two black and one red stripes on its lower body and its tail. Across its body length were ten grey spikes, also tipped with platinum in places where legs might have been, and beneath its head were three jagged platinum half-rings that ran across its back and around to its front, resembling some kind of strange ribcage.

Jutting out from the back of those three rib-like adornments were a pair of black, ghostly tendrils which arched out above it like a set of six giant claws, each one tipped with a bright red spike, although they actually looked more like some kind of gas than a solid, though nobody looking at him would doubt that they could do some serious damage. All in all, it resembled some kind of draconic, giant centipede than anything else. A very angry, and very dangerous centipede.

This was the only living being in this entire area. The entire world it lived in was full of emptiness and nothingness except for him – the only one of his kind and ruler of everything that he surveyed around him.

And he was known by one name only.

Giratina.

He was one of the many legendary Pokémon created by Arceus. In fact he was one of the original three, creating alongside his brothers, Dialga and Palkia, who were given the abilities to control time and space respectively, while Giratina had been given this dimension to rule. This weird dimension where space and time seemed to be in constant flux was known as the Distortion World. It was a parallel world to the Pokémon World, made specifically to keep the Pokémon World in balance.

Major events in the Pokémon world could cause an effect in the Distortion World, making it effectively a reflection of the Pokémon World. The two lived side by side but never intersected with one another. But when an imbalance occurred in the Pokémon World, it would cause the strange pollution in the Distortion World which had taken on the shape of the dark ominous cloud from before. And it was Giratina's job to get rid of that pollution and, in doing so, fix the imbalance in the Pokémon World at the same time, thus keeping the powers of time and space, the powers that his brothers controlled, in balance.

Giratina was all alone in this world. This world that lay so close to the Pokémon World and yet so far. It lay just behind every mirror of reflective surface of the real world, and indeed there were many reflective surfaces dotted throughout the Distortion World. Whenever a young man or woman would pause in front of a mirror to check their reflection when they were about to go and meet their partner on a date, it was entirely possible that Giratina could be staring directly into their face without them even knowing he was there.

It might sound like a horrible existence, being alone for pretty much all time, but in all honesty, Giratina didn't mind it that much. He had always been a bit of a Renegade and slightly violent towards his brothers, which had made him perfect for the job because he essentially had to destroy things for a living. Even if those something were just giant balls of poisonous gases.

Giratina preferred solitude. He always had. Other Pokémon were either afraid of him, which he found rather pathetic, held him in high respect and behaved rather sychophantically, which annoyed him, or were so filled with awe that they could hardly move, which he actually like to a degree. Besides, he was part Ghost-type, which meant that he preferred to skulk in the shadows where he could slip in and out of the light like a shadow and Giratina could hardly find a better place to do that than here, in his own Distortion World.

That's not to say that he _couldn't_ leave the Distortion World and seek company if he wanted him. While his brothers could just about control the entirety of time and space respectively, Giratina had control over both, but to a lesser degree, which was what allowed him to keep the balance between the two powers of his brothers. This meant that, if he so chose, he could leave the Distortion World and go to the Pokémon World for a while, which he sometimes did just for a change of scenery in the dead of night when nobody else was around. But, all the same, Giratina had not spoken to another living being for decades now.

Right now, however, Giratina was extremely angry. And an angry Giratina would be enough to set the bravest of hearts shrinking back into chest of their owner as much as they possibly could. It was certainly not a good thing at any time, because if he were to angrily destroy a part of his own Distortion World in his rage then that could cause an explosion in the Pokémon World, possibly in a populated area, which was kinda against the job description given to him by Arceus.

But what could possibly cause the ruler of a world where no other life forms existed to be so angry? After all, there was nobody around to annoy him and get on his nerves, and there was certainly nobody around for him to pick a fight with, which was just as well really because an uninvited guest would have been treated with open hostility by the Pokémon deity of antimatter.

To back to the point, the reason why Giratina was so angry was due to the cloud of poisonous gases which were appearing in his home. Or more precisely, it was the frequency with which they were occurring.

Clouds appearing in his world was common. It always had been. But for the most part those clouds of disturbance had been only small, like the various others that were dotted around the place, and the only thing which Giratina would really have to do to disperse such clouds was essentially just to fly through them. But, as he took a look around the scenery around him, he realised that he had never before seen those small clouds in such quantities.

Large clouds of disturbance were rare. Or at least, they had been. However, approximately six months ago, Giratina had been rather startled to discover an absolutely massive cloud of disturbance, larger than any he had discovered before by quite some distance. It had been large enough to cover a pair of large cities like Celadon and Saffron combined, and it had been growing larger by the second. Giratina had quickly gone into motion, treating the cloud as he did all the other larger cloud he encountered by gathering the poisons together into a tight ball and then blasting them with the whirlwind from his mouth to rip them apart.

But, for this particular disturbance, it had still taken him over an hour to finally contain the enormous amount and even then it had still taken around twenty whirlwinds before it had finally been dealt with completely.

That alone had left Giratina rather puzzled. What in the universe could have possibly caused such a massive upheaval as that in the Pokémon World? It could only have had something to do with a huge disruption in time and space, except that there were only a few beings he knew of who could possibly have caused such a thing, and they were his brothers, Dialga and Palkia, and his father Arceus.

And he knew for a fact that it had not been any of them.

Arceus was still in his self-induced sleep and he would be until the time finally came to wake him up, which Giratina would have been aware of since his own participation in that event would have been crucial. And he knew that it couldn't be Dialga or Palkia either, for he would have been able to sense his brothers' activities had they done it. Both of them were in similar sleeps in their own separate dimensions separating themselves and their immense powers away from one another and from the world itself to prevent exactly the sort of clash between them that could have caused the disturbance Giratina had been forced to dealt with.

It was a mystery.

But Giratina had eventually put it aside, as he knew the problem at hand had been dealt with. Or, at least, he had thought so.

But now, as he sat coiled and contemplating, he was no longer sure of that.

This was because from the moment that first huge disturbance had occurred, Giratina had noticed an increase in the amount of poisonous gas clouds that had started appearing in his world. At first, the change had been nearly imperceptible, a tiny increase in the number of small clouds that showed up all the time and Giratina had hardly paid attention.

But then, things had slowly started to get more and more out of hand. Giratina had noticed that the number of small clouds was starting to grow with increasing volume. An average day from beforehand would have seen him destroying maybe a couple of dozen before he went to sleep ready to destroy the next one. Within a month or so that number had doubled, and by the time the next month had come round the number had tripled again. Giratina had then been zig-zagging to and fro constantly trying to make sure that he didn't miss any of the small clouds as he passed through the Distortion World.

Three months in and the bigger clouds had started rolling in. Giratina had encountered two unusually large clouds, though still nowhere near as large as the one he had been forced to eradicate more, within the space of a week. And that number was growing and growing all the time.

And then, finally arriving in the present day, the cloud that Giratina had just destroyed had been the _seventh_ one of a similar size which he had encountered today. It was getting out of hand. It was getting beyond ridiculous and Giratina knew that if he encountered another of those dark clouds without some kind of explanation as to why they were forming with greater numbers and speed than ever before then he might do something he would later regret.

It was his ignorance on the matter that was really getting to him. There were all sorts of reasons why a poisonous cloud might appear in his home, from something as simple as a large power surge from a powerful electric type Pokémon to an overly explosive Pokémon battle between trainers that had almost destroyed the environment around them and that had happened a lot. But now with all these larger clouds appearing… there _had_ to be a reason for it. They wouldn't just appear out of nowhere. They _couldn't_, and Giratina knew that.

But he could not for the _life_ of him figure out what could possibly be causing this strange increase and it was this that was really pissing him off. He had been wracking his brains for weeks now for a potential explanation, and he was simply not coming up with anything. His senses could usually tell what the larger disturbances were when they occurred.

There had been one time, for instance, where Palkia had had a bizarre nightmare where Arceus had awoken and started to attack him for no reason at all, and, even in his sleep, he had panicked and thrown a Spacial Rend, his signature attack, at the dream Arceus. But of course, in reality, there was no Arceus, and the Spacial Rend had ripped through the wall of his universe and crashed into a mountainside in the Pokémon World. And Giratina had immediately known that had gone to the Distortion World's equivalent location and sorted it out, and then, of course, entered Palkia's dimension to wake him up and yell at him for it.

That, actually, had been the last time he had spoken to his brother, or indeed to anyone. He hadn't seen Dialga for even longer.

But this was nothing like that. This was a problem which Giratina was sure had started with that single massive disturbance and was slowly escalating, getting worse and worse with each passing week.

This was hardly surprising really. The Pokémon World had been having similar odd occurrences after all, and each one of those had started generating the larger clouds in the Distortion World. But Giratina knew that this was not simply a natural cause. There was a darker force at work her and he was determined to find out what that force was. Because, whatever it was, it was not only poisoning his home, but Giratina knew that if something was not done, and done quickly then the problem could only get worse. And if it continued to get worse at the rate that it was now…

…then the Pokémon World was going to be in some pretty serious trouble, as was his own. But Giratina cared about the Pokémon World just as much as his own, even if he rarely visited it. After all, the work of his father and his brothers and sisters was what created that world, and it was that world that he had been fighting to keep in balance of millennia.

Yet the fact remained, that Giratina simply did not know what he was fighting against any more, let alone how he was supposed to deal with it.

The face-plates on Giratina's face stretched out to the side, revealing his mouth and allowing him to sigh in annoyance. He had hoped that he would be able to discover the source of this pollution and upheaval on his own, but with record numbers of large disturbances and his own anger very much in evidence, it was now becoming clear to Giratina that he didn't have the time to figure out what was happening on his own anymore.

Something had to be done, and it had to be done quickly or the world as he knew it could be destroyed. Quite literally in fact. If time and space was not held in check… there was no telling what might happen.

He needed to break his long solitude and go and find some answers before things got any more out of claw. And also before he lost his temper completely and blew something up, which would be a very volatile explosion indeed coming from a Pokémon as strong as Giratina.

Fortunately he had a relatively good idea about where he might be able to find some answers to his questions.

So, he uncoiled his long body from the column of rock and flexed his long, ghostly claws out behind him as he rose higher, before tucking them in alongside his upper body to slither through the air at a rapid speed, ducking around a large piece of rock, plunging through a gap in one of the giant earth clods and, just because it was part of his job, slashing his tail through another of the smaller clouds to disperse it as he moved across the Distortion World.

Time and space in the Distortion World were whatever Giratina wanted them to be. That was why, despite the fact the Distortion World was technically exactly the same size as the Pokémon World, Giratina was able to cover its entire distance several times a day in search of the poisonous gases. Giratina could quite literally appear at any place in the Distortion World that he wished simply by moving and bending the laws of his brothers to get him there almost instantaneously.

This was why, after a few minutes of contemplating exactly what question he wanted answers to, he arrived at the correct spot. The place he needed to be was in the Pokémon World, but he quickly journeyed to its mirror location in the Distortion World first as that allowed him to get there much faster than he could have done had he exited the Distortion World first.

Giratina coiled around himself and bunched up his body, noting that even here there were large numbers of small clouds filling his world with noxious fumes, before the face-plates and his mouth opened wide and he exuded another powerful tornado from his mouth. But this one was different to the one he used to destroy the clouds. This one was deep black in colour and was a lot more vicious.

The end of the tornado lanced forwards and seemed to impact on a section of thin air a few dozen feet in front of Giratina, cutting straight through the fabric of time and space as it did so and warping it around and around, wrenching the space of the Distortion World apart from the centre outwards. Giratina quickly stopped his tornado and once it cleared up, he found himself facing a swirling portal. And on the other side of the portal… he could see it.

Without further hesitation, he moved forwards and pushed his large claws closer to his sides so he could slip through the vortex and out the other side.

* * *

The moment he did so, the change in gravity was very evident as the laws of Dialga and Palkia took a greater hold over him. He felt a slight cold biting into his skin and he looked up to see the sun had just touched the horizon and was beginning to slip further down the sky.

The moment Giratina's tail exited the portal, his body began to glow, while the vortex behind him shrank back in on itself until the space had been as it once was, portal-free.

But something was happening to Giratina's body. As it glowed, blotting out all colour but a strange purplish light, his body slowly changed shape. His face-plates moved aside to reveal his mouth and shifted shape until they jutted out of his cheeks and two sharp points stuck out in front of him like a pair of mandibles. His claw-like tendrils merged with one another to form ghostly wing-like projections that looked like hazy versions of bat wings, except for the three red spikes still jutting out of them.

His body widened out and became less serpentine, taking on a more distinct torso. The spikes along his body length were sucked back in and something new came bursting out of his greatly widened body - six, thick, elephant-like legs which jutted out of his lower half and settled on the ground, each leg with a pair of platinum bands around the knees and three platinum claws at the base. His tail still jutted out behind him and his upper body rose up from the legs to allow him to rear high, but he now had an almost completely different shape.

This was his Altered Form, which he would automatically shift to whenever he was in any universe other than his own, as the changes in gravity made this form much more manageable than his Origin Form from before.

His red eyes looked out across the landscape he had arrived at, making sure that there was nobody else around to see him. There wasn't – the Pokémon of the area seemed to be preparing to either go to sleep or get up depending on what part of the day they liked to appear in, and the humans were all turning in in their cities not far away.

There was snow under his six feet, and a lot more snow covering the various trees of the forest around them, covering their leaves and making them look like giant snow-cones. There was some grass, but most of it had been buried by the snow.

But the majority of the landscape he had arrived in was taken up by a very large lake. A lake with sparkling clear water that looked as if no human had ever visited this spot, and it was likely that not many had, for this lake was situated on the top of an enormous plateau. It stretched out almost as far as Giratina could see, though he could just make out the distant shoreline. The water lapped at Giratina's feet, as if calmly welcoming him back into the Pokémon World once again.

Giratina's snout wrinkled slightly. Perhaps it had been too long since he had visited the Pokémon World after all. The view was beautiful, even though he was not the type to admit that kind of thing. Maybe he should stop by a bit more often to have a look at the lives of the mortals.

Regardless, there was some more important things at hand than the view, so Giratina opened his jaws and, for the first time in years, called out for company.

"Uxie!" he roared across the lake. "Uxie! Where are you? Come out! I need to talk to you. I have questions and I believe you might be the only one to give me the answers I need."

As the echoes of his voice died away, Giratina waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. Giratina frowned and called again, louder this time. "I know this is Lake Acuity, Uxie! I know you're in there!" He smirked and added, "Don't you want to see your old friend, Giratina again? It's been so long, after all."

And this time there was a response. The water of the lake about a hundred yards away from the edge suddenly began to glow with an intensely bright light. Giratina stared into it, unphased and watched a small pillar of light erupted out of the water and stretched up into the sky for about a couple of hundred metres.

Then, at a spot in the pillar roughly level with Giratina's head, a small shape fizzled into existence. The shape appeared to be wrapped into a ball, and it remained that way as the light slowly dimmed around it until it had vanished completely, leaving the landscape as it had been before but for the new arrival.

The ball then uncurled to reveal itself in its entirety. Giratina smirked as it beheld his fellow legendary for the first time in who-knew-how-long. It resembled a small grey fairy, no taller than thirty centimetres in head and body in comparison to Giratina's towering twenty foot tall form, and that wasn't including his lower body. The newcomer also had two long tails flowing out behind it, each one ending in a three pronged, spaded tip with a red gem embedded in the centre of the spade.

His small arms hung down by his sides and he had no discernible legs, his feet merely sticking out from the appropriate places at the bottom of his torso. His face was yellow and his forehead had another red gem set in the middle. His head itself swept out behind him in a large yellow form and resembled some kind of helmet or, perhaps, a very large, external brain.

To cap it off, his eyes were permanently shut. Not that that was much of a hindrance to a legendary Psychic-type Pokémon such as him.

Uxie smiled faintly and said, "Hello Giratina. I knew that you would be stopping by."

* * *

There you have it. No action certainly, but I think this chapter had an effective prologue to set the stage and I hope that it left you eager for the answers to Giratina's questions. Clearly something is very wrong with the Pokémon World, and it's only going to get worse in the future, whatever it is.

Not much to say apart from that and also, I am glad to be back. For those of you wondering how some of the characters from the other universes are getting on now, do not worry. They will be showing their faces soon enough. But for now, we need some answers.

* * *

Next time…

Giratina and Uxie have their question and answer session and none of what Giratina learns makes him very happy. But, as Uxie summons the rest of his brethren, he reveals that there may be a solution on the horizon to whatever is causing the problem. What could it be?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 2 : The Lake Guardians**


	2. The Lake Guardians

Hi again everybody! My first chapter of this story seemed to get some quite positive feedback despite the fact it was only an introduction chapter so I'm going to take that as a good sign and proceed forwards with the story with this far more dialogue driven chapter. I hope that you all enjoy it and are suitably both enlightened and confused by what Uxie has to say for himself.

Also, I would encourage those who have not done so yet to go and check out my other story, To Be a King. I know some people don't like Digimon Xros Wars, and a surprising number of people haven't watched Lord of the Rings, but I'd appreciate it if those who haven't done so yet give it a try all the same.

**Geekgirl** – Glad to hear you're pumped for the stories and I hope I do not disappoint.

**Papercut** – Both of these stories will be just as long as Secret of the 327th in terms of Chapter count. So, also 220.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 2:- The Lake Guardians**

* * *

The small, yellow-headed fairy-like Legendary Pokémon floated closer to the giant, ghostly, centipede-like Legendary Pokémon that was standing on the bank of Lake Acuity. The size difference between them was substantial – Uxie was smaller than Giratina's head, let alone the rest of his giant body. But Giratina knew that Uxie was still very powerful, and he had a strength of his own, one which the mighty Giratina could never hope to possess.

While Giratina had been one of the three first-born children of Arceus, Uxie had been one of the three second-born. He was also known as the Knowledge Pokémon, and that was because, concealed within his incredible brain, he knew everything that had ever happened in the Pokémon World. He knew everything that was happening right at this very instant, and he knew every path that the future might be take and what would be needed in order to reach that particular path.

When Uxie had been brought into existence by Arceus in the dawning days of the Pokémon World, he had created the concept of knowledge in the first place and put such things as information into the world for its inhabitants to seek and to allow them to learn and grow as more of that knowledge filtered into their heads. But he still remained the most intelligent Pokémon alive even after all these years. How could he not be? He was the embodiment of cleverness. Literally.

Giratina wondered how long it had been since he had last come to see Uxie. Then he realised that it had been so long ago that he couldn't even remember it.

"It was exactly five-thousand and fifty-two years, seven months, three hours, forty-six minutes and nineteen seconds ago," Uxie responded immediately, with a slight chuckle.

Giratina scowled. "Is there really any point in me actually saying anything in the conversation we are about to have?" he asked. "You already know all the questions that I want to ask you and you already know the answers to them, don't you? Why don't you just spill it all right away?"

"Now, now, Giratina, that's not particularly friendly," Uxie replied evenly, his voice relatively monotone as if there was nothing that could surprise him. Then again, there wasn't really. How Uxie could stand knowing absolutely everything that could possibly happen Giratina had no idea. "Is that any way to greet your younger brother?"

Giratina rolled his eyes. "Well, excuse me, I'm sure. I suppose… I should ask how you've been and all that. But if you think I'm going to start calling you little brother then you can forget it."

"No," Uxie shook his head. "I do not think that you are going to start calling me that and even if I did I could not forget it. It is physically impossible for me to forget anything, after all. You know that."

"Whatever," Giratina snorted.

"And in answer to your question," Uxie replied. "Very little has happened since we last spoke many millennia ago. While the world has undergone great change as it always does, I have done very little with myself. Mostly resting at the bottom of Lake Acuity as always and patiently waiting for the events that I know are going to happen. Occasionally I decide to let my soul leave my body and go for an invisible wander to… clear my head might not be the right word since clearing my head is impossible, but I know you have caught my drift."

"I really don't know how you can stand it," Giratina shook his head. "The solitude is fair enough – I experience that one enough myself but doesn't it ever bother you, having your head so full of everything that has ever happened or will ever happen?"

"No," Uxie stated calmly. "Had I once been an ordinary Pokémon who had suddenly been giving omniscience then I would no doubt have gone insane long ago, but I was created for this very purpose so my mind has the capacity to handle it while other minds would not."

"Fair enough," Giratina shrugged his enormous shoulders, the ghostly claws extending out of his back shifting position almost constantly and seeming to flow within themselves. "I guess that does make sense. Though I still don't know how that bulbous head of yours can fit it all in even so."

"That was impolite, Giratina," Uxie pointed out.

Giratina sighed. "You know that when it comes to social situations I don't have the slightest clue as to how to proceed. I don't exactly get much chance to have conversations with people in the Distortion World."

"You seem to be doing pretty well so far," Uxie almost chuckled. "Far better than you used to do in the past."

"You flatter me," Giratina muttered. "In fact, why don't I just jump the Hyper Beam and do some more socialising first by asking how your brethren are doing? What have they been doing with themselves since I last saw them?"

"They have been more active than I," Uxie answered. "While I remained at the bottom of the lake, Azelf has occasionally been to watch trainers battling with their Pokémon at the conference at the end of each year. He likes to feel the sensations of intense passion and will from the competitors and he'll sometimes take pity on one who has given up hope and give him a little nudge psychically to keep on trying."

"Sounds like him," Giratina nodded gruffly. "Though I still can't understand why most Pokémon seem content with allying themselves to humans in the first place."

"Humans are an important aspect of our world," Uxie stated. "They move things forwards and continue its progress far more than we Pokémon do. The way that they keep going they may eventually have settled everywhere. Besides, for the most part, alliances between us and them are forces for good."

"If you say so," Giratina replied. "Though you won't find me going out to befriend them anytime soon."

"I know."

"Of course you know. You always know. Anyway, what about the little pink one? What's kind of trouble has she been causing?"

"Mesprit has been the most active of us at all times," Uxie responded. "She still spends a lot of time at Lake Verity, just as I stay here and Azelf stays in Lake Valor. But, just as often, she'll leave and go roaming around the Sinnoh region to find emotionally sad people and try to cheer them up. She's even shown herself several times in attempts to play games with them for a few minutes. She can be quite reckless sometimes in that way but she means well."

"And you're telling me that while they've been going out and doing that you've been sitting in your little lake and doing nothing?" Giratina raised a plated brow. "Shouldn't you have been going out and… oh, I don't know… teaching scientists the meaning of life or something?"

"Forty-two," Uxie replied.

"What?" Giratina blinked.

"Nothing," Uxie sighed. "My attempt at a joke, but I knew you wouldn't get it anyway. Anyway, the scientists and peoples of this world do not want my help when it comes to Knowledge. For instance, some people are trying to unlock the mysteries of Pokémon evolution, such as why some of us evolve while some of us don't, and why some of us only evolve with certain objects of environments."

"They're trying to find that stuff out?" Giratina blinked. "Why? The answer is so obvious – that's how Mew designed their DNA when she gave life to all kinds of Pokémon. That's certainly no mystery."

"Nevertheless, most humans do not think that way. They are convinced that there are deeper reasons as to the differences between Pokémon evolution. And, not only do they want to know the answer, but they also like the thrill of seeking it out and finding it themselves. For me to simply give them the answer… they would definitely be disappointed in more ways than one in that particular case."

"Well, I guess that sucks," Giratina wrinkled his snout. "Doesn't hurt your feelings does it?"

"Of course not," Uxie stated. "The whole point of me creating Knowledge was to make the life-forms that Mew created do exactly that and look for it to move them forwards. I do not begrudge them doing exactly what I intended for them to do. Besides, I have had my own thoughts to occupy me throughout my time, and I have been waiting long for this sunset. The sunset where you would finally have enough of your problems and come to me with your questions."

"What?" Giratina asked blandly. "You've been waiting for me all this time?"

"Yes," Uxie nodded. "I knew you would come, and I knew when. And I knew that you would have important questions, for you are quite right about one particular thing."

"And what would that be?"

"That something needs to be done. And to be done fast. For if things continue the way that they currently are, then we don't have much time."

"Time? For what? Come on, Uxie, spill."

"Do not worry, Giratina. I shall reveal all I know to you tonight, and as you can imagine, I know a lot. But first, there is something else that must be done." Without another word, the puzzled Giratina watched as Uxie's tails intertwined around one another and he rose higher into the sky, spreading his small, grey arms out to either side of him as he brought a low humming noise from out of his mouth. The jewels embedded in his tails and his forehead began to glow with an eerier red light, which promptly intensified until they were practically a set of three blazing red eyes illuminating the night and making Giratina's own eyes seem dull by comparison.

"What are you doing?" Giratina yelled up at him.

Uxie didn't answer. He merely held his pose like that for about another ten more seconds before the glow in the jewels died down and Uxie moved back down to the spot where he had been hovering before as if nothing had happened.

Giratina gave him a significant look, and Uxie merely replied to his unrepeated question with, "I was summoning my brethren – Azelf and Mesprit. The two of them are now are their way here."

"Why?" Giratina blinked. "I only need you to answer my questions. I don't need them to come and annoy me as well."

"Perhaps, but when you know the answers to your questions, we must take action immediately, and it will not be long before all three of us are needed. You will understand soon enough. Now, we can begin. I already know what you are going to ask, but I will allow you to ask anyway."

"Alright then," nodded Giratina, settling his huge shoulder claws down. "You are, of course, aware that recently the amount of disturbance clouds that have been appearing in my Distortion World has been increasing at an exponential rate – minor at first and but rising rapidly and more rapidly with each passing day. It's beginning to get completely out of hand. Just today I have been forced to dispel no less than seven large clouds which I have come across and I have a hunch that it will be eight or more tomorrow. I'm seriously beginning to reach the end of my tether. You can surely tell me, what in the name of our Father is going on?"

"I _can_ tell you," nodded Uxie. "You are right about that. But first, I shall also point out the event that happened six months ago now. The one where a single, enormous cloud… far larger than any cloud you've ever seen in your Distortion World… appeared and it took you some time to get rid of it. You remember that." It was not a question, but a statement.

"Yes, I remember that," Giratina growled. "How could I not?"

"And you have also noticed that it has been since that event that the disturbance activity in your world has been increasing."

"Yes. I did notice," Giratina's snout wrinkled again. "It was a little difficult to miss it."

"Logic must therefore dictate," Uxie replied. "That the single largest disturbance is when it all began. Whatever that first disturbance was, its after-effects are still here, still lingering on in the Pokémon World. Time and space have been disrupted in magnitudes, and what was once a slow process has been gradually increasing in size and strength."

"But that cannot be right," Giratina shook his head. "Dialga and Palkia are the only ones that can control time and space besides Father and myself and I would have sensed it if either of them were the ones behind this."

"That is because they are _not_ behind this," Uxie muttered gravely. "There are other forces at work in the omniverse than Dialga and Palkia. No, this disruption was caused by something else."

"Then will you stop hedging around the subject and just tell me what that something is?" Giratina snapped, annoyed.

"Simply put," Uxie responded. "The Pokémon World – this very universe in which we all live… is colliding with another universe."

Giratina's eyes shot open, like a pair of red headlamps in the night and he fixed Uxie with a horrified and disbelieving stare. Uxie didn't respond to it. He probably knew exactly what Giratina's face looked like at the moment, but he could not see it as his eyes were still shut and had been since the start of the conversation.

"Colliding with… another… don't be ridiculous," Giratina scoffed. "Another universe colliding with our own? That's one of the most ludicrous things that I have ever heard in my life. Not that I've heard a whole lot since I spend most of my time alone, but you get the picture all the same."

"You can disbelieve it all you want," Uxie stated. "And while I do have the capacity to lie or to make things up, I am sorry to say that I am not. I almost wish that I was, for if I were the likelihood is that the real situation would be far less grave. But I'm afraid to say that it is the truth. The universe of Pokémon is slowly crashing into another universe."

"Well, our Father, Arceus, created only this universe, my Distortion World, and the universes taken up by himself, Dialga and Palkia. Are you saying that one of those additional universes is crashing into this one? Or are you implying that it's some other universe entirely?"

"The latter," Uxie stated solemnly. "All of those five universes you mentioned, as well as the universe created by Palkia for the Unown to live in, might exist but they are all tied to one another. Effectively they all occupy the same space already, so it would be impossible for any of them collide with each other. However, our Father's influence is, in comparison to the magnitude of the omniverse, tiny. Miniscule."

Giratina blinked. That was the first time he had heard anything about Arceus being described as miniscule.

"Yes," Uxie nodded. "I assure you, Giratina, there are, quite literally, hundreds of thousands of millions of different universes throughout the entire of existence and that number is growing all the time, and all lying alongside one another throughout the mighty omniverse." He chuckled blandly and said, "It is fortunate indeed that all the Knowledge I hold in my head is only Knowledge relevant to _this_ universe and all its partner universes. Even I do not believe I could take in all the Knowledge of _all_ the universes."

"Yes, I do know about the omniverse, Uxie. I do have the ability to travel between dimensions after all," Giratina murmured. He also knew that Uxie knew he knew, but even Giratina hadn't known that there were _that_ many universes out there. He'd assumed there were a couple of hundred at most, but to hear that there were that many was a shock even for him. "And… you're saying that our universe… all our universes including my Distortion World, are colliding with this other one then? Like a pair of Rampardos smashing into one another?"

"Far more catastrophic than any Rampardos could pull off," Uxie said grimly. "And a lot slower too. The large disturbance cloud you stopped several months ago was the original collision, when the two walls slammed into one another for the first time. Our two universes have been in contact with each other ever since then. And they have, ever so slowly, begun to push against each other and collide further."

"But I cleared up the cloud of disturbance from that initial collision," Giratina protested. "Shouldn't that have… well, pushed the two universes apart again or something."

"You are forgetting, Giratina," Uxie sighed. "That while you have the power to correct the imbalances in time and space, and control it to an extent, you do not have dominion over it. You certainly do not have any power over the universe that ours is colliding with. While it is true that you fixed the tear in time and space that the collision caused, you did not fix the collision itself. And ever since then, everything has been getting worse.

"I'm sure you remember the time where the Pokémon world was still being formed. You, Dialga and Palkia were watching on with myself, Azelf, Mesprit and Mew and some of our fellow Legendaries began to create the environment. Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza were creating something out of the emptiness – the land and the sea and sky respectively. And then, Father gave Regigigas the task of dragging Groudon's creations around the various parts of the world to create the four regions we know today."

"Yes, I remember that time, but how exactly is that relevant to this conversation?" Giratina frowned.

"I am building you a comparison. Let me finish. You remember how Groudon constructed the earth on a series of plates which the humans later named tectonics, in order to let Regigigas move them around in the first place. And, of course, when Regigigas did and hauled them around to form the continents, the plates rubbed against one another. They steadily built up more and more friction and intense pressure between them as they dragged against one another, before that pressure and stress finally became too much and was suddenly released, causing enormous earthquakes and volcanic activity across the world and sparked father to give rise to Heatran in order to keep that activity in check."

"I'm beginning to think I see where you're going with this," Giratina said wryly. "But, go on."

"That is essentially what is happening now between our universe and the one it is colliding with," Uxie nodded, confirming Giratina's suspicions. "The increased activity in your world is signs of the barriers between them weakening, which was small at first and is now growing. It is beginning to near its final stages. The barrier between the two worlds is reaching crumbling stage, and when they converge too much… when there are so many rents in the universe walls that they can no longer keep the other out… both of them will immediately converge into the same space.

"And, as you know, two universes that are not linked to one another cannot occupy the same space. If the pressure is at last released…both universes will be utterly obliterated. As will everything in them."

Giratina didn't say anything for several minutes as he digested this particular bombshell that Uxie had just dropped on him. He had come for an answer and he had certainly gotten one, but it had been far from a pleasant answer. It was the absolute worst answer that his imagination could come up with, and Giratina's imagination could be surprisingly vivid.

The Pokémon World. The Distortion World. Everything. Even Arceus. Gone? It was inconceivable. Yet for Uxie to make such ridiculous statements in jest was even more ridiculous. Uxie was deadly serious. Uxie was nearly always deadly serious and Giratina knew that this was no exception.

Eventually he shifted his six, thick trunk-like legs and raised his shoulder claws up again, grimacing as he stared at Uxie's closed eyelids. "Right," he murmured darkly. "How long do we have before we're all completely annihilated as if we never existed?"

"It depends on how we proceed," Uxie answered. "While your actions in the Distortion World have not been _stopping_ the collision of the two worlds, they have certainly been slowing it down. Had you not been doing your job properly then it's likely that we would all have been wiped out a week ago. If you continue to dispel the clouds of disturbance then I estimate that we have at the very least another month."

"A month?" Giratina asked in alarm. "What? A mere month until all Pokémon in any world are eradicated from this omniverse of yours?"

"At least," Uxie nodded. "We will be able to extend that period of time depending on what we next do about it and I, for one, fully intend to do that. The universe is in danger, as is another universe with its own set of unique life-forms and I would not just sit by and watch either one of them vanish if I had the choice."

"But still, we only have a small amount of time before everything is gone?" Giratina clarified.

"As things stand, yes."

"Then I have another question for you, Uxie…"

Uxie interrupted and asked it for him, "Why the hell did I not come and tell you about this when it began six months ago?"

"YES!" Giratina roared, causing the water of Lake Acuity to ripple significantly with the sheer noise, the trees to bend backwards and send showers of snow falling towards the ground and several people in the nearby Snowpoint City to start awake with cries of shock.

"You know that I can neither cross the dimensional wall between this world and your world or send messages across it," Uxie pointed out. "I _couldn't_ come and tell you about this. I had to wait for you to come to me."

"But you must have known this was coming," Giratina protested. "So, why didn't you tell me when we last met however-long-ago? You could have mentioned that our world was going to collide with another one then and I would have come to see you straight away, instead of now when there's little time left."

"Giratina, you may be able to control time a little but it seems you haven't quite grasped the concept of future events," Uxie sighed. "There are practically infinite numbers of possible futures, and I know every single one of them. Most of them can be erased one second depending on one single significant event, and then a second later a whole new list of potential futures could appear. Even I do not know exactly what the future will contain since it is always in motion, but I know all the possibilities. Back when I last spoke to you, only a tiny fraction of possible futures contained this catastrophe – 0.0000000045672358339 percent of them to be exact. _Now_, however, since the collision did happen, there is a one-hundred percent chance of it occurring unless we act to stop it."

Giratina blinked several times, trying to wrap his mind around the sheer enormity of what information must be stored within Uxie's brain, but then he eventually gave up and groaned, before shaking himself and looking up, a fiery glint in his eye.

"Alright then," he said. "The universes are colliding. And unless we stop them then both will be destroyed. Now, there _is_ a way to stop it, isn't there?"

"Oh yes," Uxie nodded. "Yes, there is a way to stop it. Unfortunately, there is only _one_ way to stop it, and only _one_ method that can be used to reach it. It's success or failure will depend on a number of different aspects, but it is our only hope."

"Then what do we do?" Giratina asked. "Surely we just need to wake Palkia and possibly Dialga up from their own self-imposed deep sleeps. They control time and space to a far greater degree than I can. Surely they must be able to restore things back to the way they were."

"No," Uxie said.

"I'm getting tired of you saying that," Giratina scowled.

"Nevertheless, no," Uxie said again. "Palkia has the same problem as you. His powers over space apply only to this universe, not to the other one. The other one has its own sets of deities and beings, and while Palkia would be very powerful in any dimension, it is only in this one that he can control space entirely."

"But he doesn't need to control the other universe. He just needs to move our universe away from the other one surely," Giratina protested. Uxie opened his mouth, and Giratina cut him off and said, "Wait. Don't tell me. You're about to say "No," aren't you?"

"Actually, since I knew you were going to cut me off, I wasn't going to say anything," Uxie stated. "Regardless, you are right. Palkia cannot help us alone anymore. Had you come shortly after the original collision then he could have, but by this stage he universe walls have practically fused with one another. Palkia cannot separate them anymore because to do so, he would need to take control of both universes."

"Then we'll just get Dialga to take him back in time to an earlier point where the walls were not fused and he can move them apart then."

"Same problem. Altering the timescale of such a big event could have catastrophic consequences for both universes. Space is not the only thing to have fused with the other universe. Time has too. Dialga would need to alternate the time-stream and change the future of both universes before separation, which she cannot do. If Palkia unlinked our universe before they fused, and the other universe continued with its unaltered future to fuse with ours despite the fact Palkia intervened, that would cause a paradox and obliterate both universes ahead of schedule."

"Great…" Giratina actually felt like placing the red spikes of his shoulder-claws against his forehead and shaking his head in exasperation. "So, neither Dialga or Palkia, almighty rulers of space and time, can help us. If _they_ can't help, then who can?"

"A large number of people will be needed in order to prevent this coming apocalypse," Uxie replied. "But many of them are unfamiliar to you, Giratina. For this problem involves two universes and therefore people from both universes will have to work together to correct it."

"Yeah, I figured that that might be the case," Giratina rumbled. "If even Dialga and Palkia alone cannot move the universes apart then something has to be done about the other one. Do _they_ know what's going on with their world at the moment? And, now that I think about it, what caused the collision in the first place? It couldn't have just been a random coincidence could it?"

"Some of them are aware of what's going on," Uxie nodded. "Since space and time of the two universes has blended together, I know much about that other universe too. It is a place called the Digital World, and it is surprisingly similar to our world in many aspects, so it is small wonder that they exist side-by-side in the omniverse. It has its own fair share of strange creatures, but no Pokémon. The creatures there are called Digimon and are the same as us in many ways and our polar opposite in many others. And some of them are currently doing the exact same thing that you have been doing, Giratina, and have been slowing down the progress of the collision."

"Well, that's some comfort at least," Giratina shrugged. "What else do you know about these… Digimon?"

"You will get to meet them and learn that for yourself in the not-too-distant future, Giratina," Uxie pointed out. "But for now, I will just say that they are composed entirely of computer data, but are still living beings all the same. They have special attacks and abilities just as we do, and possess the ability to evolve just as most Pokémon do. But their evolution is far grander than that of a Pokémon when any one of them reaches their final stage of evolution, their power surpasses that of just about any common Pokémon and even many of the Legendaries. Many of them would even be a threat to you, Dialga or Palkia if they were to decide to attack you."

Giratina's eyes widened perceptibly. "Wow," he murmured. "They're really that strong?"

"Yes," nodded Uxie. "Most of them never achieve that stage of evolution, or digivolution, but there are many that have. The Digimon also have a God-like figure who would even be a match for Arceus. In fact, he may be even stronger than Father. But he has done much the same thing as Father and put himself in a deep state of sleep."

"Now that similarity is just scary," Giratina frowned. "And you're saying we need the help of these beings to restore order to our universe as well as theirs?"

"Yes."

"And what if one of them decides to turn on us and attack? If they can really reach the kind of power you are describing then they could slaughter thousands… perhaps millions of innocent people and Pokémon before we could intervene."

"You are right," Uxie nodded. "However, we _will_ need their help, and those we will need help from would never do such a thing of their own free will. This I know, for they are celebrated heroes in their own world and would never even think of doing such a thing."

"Ah. Well, that's some comfort then."

"Yes, but only a small one, I'm afraid," Uxie grimaced. "For now I come to your other question – what is it that caused this catastrophe to begin in the first place? You are quite right in that it is not a coincidence that this has happened. But, sadly, I can tell you that the source of this situation… originated in their world, the Digital World. It tore through the dimensional wall of their world and into ours and that was the original collision point."

Giratina frowned. "So, what does that mean? Does that mean that somebody or something… one of these Digimon creatures… is causing this deliberately? Does it _want_ to destroy both its world and take ours with it just because it can?" He was beginning to feel anger boiling up inside him at the prospect and he flung out his shoulder-claws to the sky and flexed them, gritting his jaws. "Now I feel about ready to tear something apart!"

"Do not be so angry yet, Giratina," Uxie cautioned him.

"How can I not be?" Giratina snarled. "Some being from another dimension is trying to cause a catastrophic collision that could destroy two who different realities?"

"You do not know that," Uxie reminded him. "You have just assumed that based on what I said, which is that the source of the disturbance came from their world. I did not say that someone was doing this deliberately. I didn't even say it was a someone. It could be a someone, but it could also be a some_thing_. If it was a someone, then the destruction of the worlds might not have been what they were intending to do. It could even be a completely unrelated accident that none of the members of the Digital World even tried to cause."

Giratina deflated a little, grumbling slightly under his breath as he tried to squash the anger down a little and think clearly, which was not easy for a Renegade Pokémon such as himself who destroyed things for a living. "Alright, fine," he murmured. "Go on then. Which of those options is really the case then."

Uxie paused, hesitating for a moment. And then, he said:-

"I don't know."

Giratina actually staggered backwards as if he had been physically struck by a Roar of Time and a Spacial Rend from his brothers, Dialga and Palkia, his red eyes widening to almost completely round as he stared at the small, floating, fairy-creature in disbelief. "You… you don't know?" he gasped out. "You don't know? You DON'T KNOW?"

"That's what I said," Uxie grimaced.

"But… but you're Uxie!" protested Giratina. "You're THE Pokémon of Knowledge. You're _supposed_ to know! You're supposed to know everything that's happened in the past and is happening at the present."

"_That_, I do know," Uxie sighed.

"This isn't some kind of weird joke is it?" Giratina scowled. "I don't get many jokes due to the fact I spend most of my time alone but this one _really_ isn't funny if it is."

"Sadly, it isn't," Uxie replied. "I genuinely do not know exactly what it is that has caused the catastrophe. And that's what concerns me, because I _do_ know why I don't know."

"Oh dear. This isn't going to be good, is it?"

"No, it is not. You know as well as I that Psychic-type Pokémon such as myself have a natural weakness to Dark types. This is normally not a problem for me, as my power with Knowledge has been so vast that it overrules that of any Dark-type Pokémon. I can tell you that there is a Sableye in Mauville City setting up to leap out of a closet and scare a little kid. I can tell you that there is an Umbreon near to Ecruteak City who is bending around and trying to lick himself in a private area. And I can even tell you that our brother Darkrai is currently sitting around on Full Moon Island and sulking as he usually is."

"Good old Darkrai," Giratina mumbled. "Though that information with the Umbreon was a bit much."

"Nevertheless," Uxie went on. "It proves my point. I know even what all the Dark type Pokémon of this world are doing. However, while Digimon do not have the same type system that we Pokémon do, whatever it was that caused the catastrophe is so steeped in the powers of Darkness which occur in their world, so wrapped and consumed in it, that it is masking itself even from me. I do not know what it is, who it is, if it is a who or a what at all, where it is… anything about it. I certainly don't know its intent. All I can say for sure is that it is _that_ which caused the initial disturbance."

"I… see…" Giratina said, slowly. "But I get the feeling that when you say powers of Darkness… it means something different in their world than ours."

"Correct," nodded Uxie. "Dark-type Pokémon here are not bad by nature any more than other Pokémon are. They just harness their powers through the night and from the darkness around them. But in the Digital World, Darkness generally means pure evil."

"Great," Giratina grunted. "So… while you don't know for sure if the someone…something…whatever that caused this is doing it for evil purposes…"

"There's an extraordinarily high likelihood that it is," Uxie confirmed. "What it's exact intentions or its plans are, I don't know. But whatever they are and whatever it is that's thinking them, they probably won't be good for either of our worlds."

"Wonderful," Giratina muttered sarcastically, his tail sweeping over a tree in annoyance. "Can this get any worse?"

"Hi Giratina!" a sudden, feminine voice called out from behind him.

"I guess it can," Giratina muttered as he turned his head to look, confirming his suspicions as to who the voice belonged to almost immediately. There was another small Pokémon zipping her way straight towards him from the nearby tree-line. In build, this Pokémon was extremely similar to Uxie – same height, same stature and basically everything from the neck downwards looked pretty much identical from the two crystal embedded tails to the lack of legs and the small arms.

The only real difference was her head. It also had a red jewel embedded in the middle of the forehead just like Uxie, but her face was a rich magenta colour instead of yellow, and where Uxie had his large, bulbous brain-like addition, she merely had four, long appendages that resembled bizarre tails hanging there, two to each side of her head, which when you put them all together made it look as though she had some kind of weird, magenta hair.

Another prominent difference was that her eyes were open while Uxie's were still firmly shut. The irises were a deep yellow colour and they were sparking with pure emotion, mostly joy which added to the effect of the big grin that was currently being displayed by her small mouth.

It was hardly surprising that she looked so emotional considering who this Pokémon actually was. This was Mesprit, the Legendary who had created all Emotion in the World. As Giratina watched, she spiralled further forwards and zipped past his face, flipping up and over with her tails flicking out behind her as she whooped with pure joy catapulting herself downwards again so that she hung upside-down right in front of Giratina's face, grinning into it.

"I said 'hello,'" Mesprit prompted again. "You not going to say it back to your dear little sister?"

"Just we were both created by Arceus, it doesn't necessarily make us siblings, Mesprit," said Giratina, before he blew on her hard and sent her catapulting backwards head over heels several times, giggling the whole way, from the mere force of his breath.

Mesprit righted herself moments later as she hung next to Uxie and said, "Oh, quit being such a sourpuss, Giratina," she waved a small hand airily. "It's great to see you again. How come you never come and visit me? It's been ages! Literally ages! Wasn't the last time you came to see me just after Registeel was created… in the Iron Age?"

"I don't do well with company," Giratina supplemented. "Least of all company that's so… unendingly cheerful as you."

Mesprit sighed. "Well, I kinda have to be cheerful, Giratina. If I'm not cheerful then I'd never get anything done. I can feel every single emotion of every single being on the entire planet all at the same time, and that's far from easy even when most of them are asleep. I mean sure, lots of people are happy and carefree and quite often I'll get bursts of happiness when dreams come true or someone proposes to someone else or they get that model train set they've been hoping for for years and that's great.

"But, I also get everything else as well you know. There are hundreds of people in this world that are so mired in their depression that it's unlikely that they'll ever be able to crawl back out of it. There's sadness, there's heartbreak whenever a relationship fails or a relative dies, and there's intense pain when that happens too. And there's hatred… there are so many people who absolutely despise other people in this world for the pettiest of reasons. And there's fear – people are getting themselves into danger all the time considering all threats there are out there in the world."

As Giratina looked at Mesprit, he was actually beginning to feel marginally sorry for her and not just because of what she was saying. As she was saying it, her body seemed to be dropping and becoming slightly frail, her eyes losing their sparkle the more that she spoke about the depression and the bad emotions that there were out there in their plenty. The more she talked about it, the more depressed she got.

But then, suddenly, a grin appeared on her face again and all her emotion returned with a zap and she perked up. "But those emotions are all necessary to help shape who a person becomes and the way that they view the world, which is why I made the sad bits too. So I've gotta be cheerful and look to the positive or else I might start getting down myself."

Giratina grunted and said, "Well, I suppose that's understandable. Back to the start – hello, Mesprit. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm great!" Mesprit cheered, twirling herself in circles and doing several circuits of Uxie. "Just last week that old guy, Professor Rowan, came down to my lake to study the surroundings and I think he was hoping for a glimpse of me. It was so funny. I was hovering just behind his head the entire time and he had no idea I was there."

Giratina snorted. "And you didn't let him come to see what he was looking for? That's pretty mean."

"Oh relax," Mesprit blew a raspberry. "I allowed him to get a look at me out the corner of his eye while he was packing up. He's not totally sure it was me but he thinks it was. I'll let him see me one day. Maybe. On another note, quit feeling so angry about this whole catastrophe mess! It's making me what to punch something!"

She turned around and hit Uxie in the shoulder with a little fist.

"Ow," Uxie said tonelessly. "I knew you were going to do that."

"Yet you didn't stop me," Mesprit pointed out as she flipped over to hang upside-down again.

"That's because I already know how to get back at you," Uxie smiled slightly mischievously. He paused for three seconds and said, "By not telling you in time to look to your right."

"Huh?" Mesprit turned her head.

"NEEEOOOOWWWWW!" Azelf cried as he shot towards her like a bullet and ploughed into her, knocking them both down under the surface of the lake, before bursting upwards a moment later with a grip on Mesprit's tails in his hands and tossing her back up into the air beside Uxie. "Oh, that was fun."

"Oh, Azelf!" Mesprit fumed. "I hate it when you do that!"

"No, you don't," Azelf grinned. "You think it's as funny as I do really. And it keeps you on your toes."

"I don't have toes," Mesprit pointed out, wiggling her little feet. But then she cracked up and said, "But, yeah, you're right. You got me again. How do you always manage to get me whenever we meet up?"

"A lot of practice," Azelf grinned, spinning in a circle. He then turned around and said, "Hey, Giratina, what's up?"

"Are you sure that it's the three of you that are able to match the power of Dialga and Palkia when you combine your strengths?" Giratina raised an eyebrow-plate. "Because right now, all I'm seeing is two goofbags and a serious one who has his goofy moments."

Azelf grinned. He too had exactly the same body shape and tails as Uxie and Mesprit, but a different head. Around the red crystal in his head and his equally yellow eyes, Azelf had a blue face and a head that was pointed backwards in the shape of a cone with a pair of protrusions on either side that were in the place where his ears might be if he had ears at all. "Well, you know what they say right? It's always the little ones."

"I have never heard anybody in the history of the universe say that," Giratina stated.

"Maybe that's because you spend all your time in your own world being anti-social," Azelf pointed out. "I imagine there's quite a few phrases and sayings that you could do with learning that you don't know. Anyways, how've you been? Still ripping apart those pollution clouds like there's no tomorrow?"

"It's a damn good thing I AM doing that," Giratina countered. "According to Uxie if I wasn't doing that then the world would probably have ended last week. And even though I still intend on doing it, he said that eventually there will come a point where there actually _is_ no tomorrow."

"Ah yes, good point," nodded Azelf.

Giratina blinked. "So you know what's going on already?"

"Course we do," Azelf nodded. "We're Psychic-types and we're siblings. Uxie transmitted all the information about the end of the world to us practically as it started happening."

"Ah. Of course," nodded Giratina. "Who else amongst our Legendary brethren knows?"

"Nobody," Uxie stated. "Some of them have noticed that some things have been a bit odd lately but, as of yet, we are the only four that know about the coming cataclysm. We have not told any of them. But there is a reason for that, I assure you, before you start getting angry, Giratina, and it's not just because so many of our brethren have become isolated, secretive and estranged over the millennia."

"Then what's the other reason?" Giratina asked sceptically.

"Well, it has to do with the one method which will be needed to fix this apocalypse. If we told the other legendaries now then it would defy the stratagem we need. Everything, no matter how big or small, has a purpose – there is, ultimately, a reason for everything which almost invariably changes the universe for the better in some strange fashion. That is why I do not go around intervening with things when I know that I could stop them. For instance, I could tell you that a large band of robbers are about to go after the money in Celadon City's main bank. But I am not over there warning them because every single action has a purpose. It is the same for the other Legendaries."

"Then why are you telling _me_ all this?"

"Because your knowledge of this event is crucial to the next stage."

"Quit speaking in riddles, Uxie!" Giratina muttered irritably.

"Can't," Uxie chuckled blandly. "Revealing everything at once would be an unwise move even now."

"Is he always like this?" Giratina turned to look at the other two Lake Guardians floating on either side of Uxie.

"No, usually he's much worse actually," Azelf chuckled. "He's talking much more straight than I've ever heard him speak before."

"It's almost decipherable," giggled Mesprit.

"Ha," Uxie murmured monotonously.

"Alright, fine whatever. Keep your little mysteries and secrets and purposes and what-have-yous," Giratina sighed. "Just tell me what the heck we have to do to stop this."

"Yeah, come on Uxie!" Azelf cried, spinning in a loop and then swooping in a figure-of-eight fashion around Uxie and Mesprit respectively. "I want to do something about it now. We've been waiting for so long for Giratina to show up and now he's finally here. Let's get going and show that other universe exactly what we got!" He flipped over and hit the air with a couple of punches and then flipped back down into his starting point.

"Going a little overboard with the Willpower there, aren't you Azelf?" Giratina asked.

"Can't help it," Azelf grinned. "Universe in danger means that I'm super-pumped, because I'm ready to do whatever it takes for us to stop it. We wouldn't get anything done if we didn't have willpower."

"And we won't get anything done if we don't let Uxie finish," Mesprit rolled her eyes. "Go on Uxie."

"Thank you," Uxie nodded. "Yes, as I was saying, the time has come. We must awaken Arceus from his deep hibernation and bring him forth back into the Pokémon World. Only with his help, will we be able to end the cataclysm."

"We need to wake Father?" Giratina frowned. "Well… that promises to be quite a spectacle. But, if you need to wake Father then why…"

"…have we not told the other Legendaries?" Uxie asked. "Let me finish first, Giratina and then you will understand. For now, I shall say that merely gathering the Legendaries ourselves would doom this planet and the other universe for certain."

"And… that is what we don't want," Giratina nodded. "Right. Got it. You were saying."

"At the same time, the Digital World's version of our Father, the Dragon God Fanglongmon, must also be awakened. Only the two of them combining their powers together would be able separate our two universes without tearing them apart completely."

"Alright," Giratina nodded. He paused for a moment and then sighed. "Alright then. What's the catch?"

Uxie smiled. "I knew you would say that. And unfortunately you are quite right. There is a catch. Arceus and Fanglongmon might both be Gods… but even they have their limits. Neither one of them have the ability to control any universe but their own and so we are still left with the same problem of why Palkia and Dialga cannot fix the problem themselves. Our two universes are so interlinked, that both of them would need to have control over both universes."

"And how the heck are they supposed to that?" Giratina asked.

"Ah," Uxie smiled. "Fortunately, both Arceus and Fanglongmon seemed to have prepared for this eventuality. I might be the Pokémon of Knowledge, but Arceus is wiser and more omniscient even than I. It seems that he knew of all the possible futures that could be taken, this one would eventually happen. And they both knew that what they would need is a conduit – a way of bridging the gap between the two universes _WITHOUT_ disrupting its space and time any further than it had already been disrupted."

"You've lost me a long time ago, but keep going," Giratina shrugged.

"I am putting it as simply as I can, you know," Uxie chuckled.

"Well, it still sounds like a lot of waffle to me."

"If it is waffle then it's the most important waffle in the history of this universe," Uxie said evenly.

"I like waffles," Mesprit rubbed her stomach.

"Waffles for the win!" Azelf cheered.

"Waffling on," Uxie cleared his throat pointedly. "They need a way to send a portion of their consciousness across the universal wall and into the other universe while their bodies stay behind with the rest of their consciousness so that they can both work at moving the universes apart from both sides. This would also allow them to link minds with one another so that they can work in complete tandem to restore the balance between time and space in both universes. However, as neither of them can send brainwaves across the universe wall by themselves, they need that conduit I spoke of earlier."

"And how do we find this magical conduit?" Giratina groused.

"Well, there will be several things needed to create it," Uxie shrugged. "Including several people from both universes. But, the most prominent ones from this universe… the ones that you know well – are Arceus' two youngest personal children."

There was dead silence for several seconds as Giratina stared Uxie straight in the face, looking for any hint of a jest for the second time since this conversation had started. When he didn't find one, he said, blandly. "What?"

"You heard me," stated Uxie.

"And you're being serious?"

"Of course."

"By two youngest children, you mean…"

"…I mean the exact two Pokémon who you are thinking about right now, yes. Their involvement is essential, critical in fact, if either of our universe has any hope of survival."

More silence.

Then:-

"We're doomed."

"Oh, Giratina that's a horrible thing to say," Mesprit glared at him. "If either of them heard you say that then you'd really hurt their feelings."

"Hello?" Giratina reared himself up, shaking himself and all manner of dignity completely forgotten. "Do you not realise who it is we're talking about here. If I recall correctly, during the first and last gathering of all the Legendaries several thousand years ago, that little girl somehow managed to make me fall into a Arceus-damned PIT filled to the brim with CREAM! I mean, cream had only been invented a few years ago and she accumulated a PIT-FULL of it just so that she could just dunk one of us in it.

"And the boy… while he seemed to be a lot more sensible, he couldn't do anything at all to reign his sister in. He was completely inept at stopping her from making Articuno accidentally swallow one of Zapdos' feathers, which gave her miniature shocks every time she flapped her wings for three days. Or stop her from painted Groudon's face when he was sleeping so that he looked like some kind of strange dinosaur clown. Or stop her from somehow managing to get Darkrai completely covered in Rapidash manure."

"He was NOT happy with that, was he?" Mesprit snickered.

"The point is that one of them is a childish prankster who might end up blowing up the universe in an attempt to prank someone while the other one would be completely unable to stop her. And we're supposed to be putting the fate of not only our world but another world entirely in their hands? I'm sorry but if _that_ is not a sign that the world will soon be coming to an end, then I am really not sure I want to find out what is."

"You should have more faith in the pair of them," Uxie reprimanded him. "Haven't you ever wondered why every single Legendary Pokémon there is out there was created by Father with one specific job or one specific purpose, whether that be bringing about the seasons, or creating the oceans and lands and skies or watching over and being the guardians of life or doing what you yourself do Giratina? Every single Legendary has their part to play or at the very least represents something… except for those two. They've never represented anything or had a proper purpose. They just seemed to be… spare Legendaries, didn't they?"

Giratina paused to think for a moment and said, "Actually, yes. I did wonder that sometimes. Even the Regi Trio were created to represent the different ages of mankind, and the Beasts were made to help Ho-oh keep to watch over humanity and their relationship with the Pokémon. But those two… never seemed to be there for any reason. I just assumed Father belched or something to produce those two before he went back to sleep."

"Now, there's an unpleasant image," Azelf covered his yellow eyes and brought his tails up over his face.

"Well, if the truth be told," Uxie said. "Father created the two of them just for this time. This time in the future where he knew they would be needed to save everything that he and we had so lovingly created and grown."

"You're…j… Of course, you're not joking," Giratina rumbled. "But seriously, those two? The boy I can understand but the girl… she's nothing but a trouble-maker."

"They do have names you know," Mesprit pointed out. "Besides, I really like her. She might be a prankster but she's a lovely person, fully of character and life and joy and all kinds of positive emotions. And she'd never try and hurt anyone with one of her jokes. Not ever."

"Small comfort," Giratina murmured, "though I suppose if Father created them so that they could save the world then that does make me feel a little better about the situation. But are you sure that they are the only ones who can do it?"

"Yes," nodded Uxie. "There are no other Pokémon with the power or the right mind-set for this task. It has to be them."

"Alright," Giratina nodded. "And how are they going to do it?"

"They make friends," Uxie smiled.

"What?"

"Yes. They make friends. And that is all that I will say on the matter for now. What I will now do reiterate that people from both of the universes will be required for this task. And that means, that since we know more about the situation than most of the people in their world, we need to go and talk to them, and fast."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Giratina scoffed. "I might be able to travel to other universes at will unlike most other Pokémon but I would still need a lock on where I'm going. And if there are as many as you claim, how in the incredible vastness of the omniverse am I going to pick the right one? I always know how to get back to the Distortion World no matter what universe I'm in, but finding a specific universe I've never been to before? That one is going to be tough."

"No, it isn't. Not anymore," Uxie clarified. "The walls of ours and theirs are linked, which means you don't even have to pick a universe if you use the right method. All we have to do is travel back to the Distortion World, and go and search for another large cloud. Those clouds are the weak spots in the fabric of space and time, and so you should be able to create a portal in the middle of one of them and therefore travel across the breaking dimension wall to their universe instantaneously and without even having to think about it."

"But won't that weaken it further?" Giratina asked.

"Yes, but that does not change the fact that it is necessary. And when you return you can seal the rift again as you have been doing thus far and things should return to as steady an equilibrium as can be with two converging worlds. We go and talk to them, we convince them to come back with us as quickly as we can, we introduce them to the people from this universe who will also be needed and then we send them on their way."

"On their way to what?" Giratina frowned.

"On their way to save the world of course," grinned Azelf. "I am liking this plan!"

"Hold up!" Giratina interrupted. "What are these guys supposed to be doing anyway?"

"Two things," Uxie raised the equivalent number of hands (and it was good the number didn't get much higher because he didn't have any fingers on either one of his hands, just a thumb and the rest of the hand). "Firstly, they must travel together to across the regions to gather together the components which will eventually lead to the awakening of Arceus. And no, we cannot do that ourselves – _they_ must be the ones to do it, or the world will fall."

"And I suppose if I ask why you will refuse to tell me, right?"

"Correct," Uxie nodded.

"And if I ask why you're refusing to tell me then you'll refuse to tell me that too?"

"Correct," Uxie said again.

"Right," Giratina sighed. "So, they've got to travel the world in the space of however long it takes before that world ends and find a bunch of things that have been eluding most of mankind for centuries. And the second thing that they have to do while doing that is…?"

"Simple. They have to stop whatever it is that has caused the breach that led to the collision in the first place. The thing that is so soaked in the powers of Darkness that until it decides to reveal itself to me, even I don't know what it actually is. That thing. The crash itself is happening on its own now and the universes are continuing to collapse together, but there is still an incredibly powerful force of Darkness out there somewhere in our world. And, while I don't know for certain, I have a hunch that the Pokémon World will not be ready for that Dark power alone. We will _need_ help from the universe it originated from if we are to triumph."

"Right. Travel the world, gather together the things that will awaken Arceus and stop a mysterious force of evil," Giratina summarised. "Should be a complete cakewalk for them then."

"Oh, far from it," Uxie said grimly. "And yes, I knew you were being sarcastic when you said that. Meanwhile, other people from their universe will have to go about waking up their own God, Fanglongmon at the same time. If both sides have not completed their task by the time the pressure on the walls of the worlds becomes too much…."

"**BOOM!"** yelled Azelf, making both Mesprit jump and Giratina start, while Uxie merely lifted up a hand to press it into his earhole and try and clear it out.

"Yes, thank you, Azelf," Uxie nodded. "Although, to be precise, it will be more like a pssh, like somebody snuffing out a candle with their fingers. The two universes will cancel each other out instantaneously – there will not be time for a boom."

"Perhaps not but it still got the point across," Azelf grinned.

"You frightened me half to death," Mesprit glowered at her brother.

"Happy thoughts, Mesprit, happy thoughts," Azelf chuckled. "But I'm sorry anyway. I'm just so hyped up right now that I feel we should be doing something! In fact, why are we still here? We know who needs to do what from this universe…"

"…Even if we don't know why," Giratina muttered.

"And now we need to get the ball rolling," Azelf continued as if he had not been interrupted at all. "Come on, let's get moving. If we stay here much longer then I'm going to burst!"

"Actually, I agree with Azelf," Mesprit nodded. "We've been waiting for today ever since that moment six months ago where Uxie told us that the world was going to end soon. Let's get moving and do something about it – do our jobs as Legendaries."

"Very well," nodded Uxie. "Giratina, we shall accompany you too the other world. I know that I will not cause offence when I say that the inhabitants of that universe are far more likely to trust smaller creatures like us then an enormous creature like yourself."

"Doesn't bother me," Giratina shrugged. "But, if we're really going to be doing this, then I suppose you're all right. Let's get this show on the road then and head for the other universe." He reared upwards and brandished his shadow-like claws to let loose a rumbling roar to the sky, before he ejected another powerful whirlwind from out of his mouth, which shot into the air and cut through space at a point right above the heads of the three smaller Legendaries.

"Well then," Giratina nodded towards the portal. "In you go. We are, after all, in a hurry."

"Indeed we are," Uxie nodded, and without a moment's hesitation he swooped his way up and vanished through the gaping hole in reality. Mesprit and Azelf looked at each other for a moment, before Azelf merely shrugged shot straight through like an arrow and Mesprit moved forwards to hover in front of the portal and peer inside.

"Mesprit, it's quite safe," Giratina assured her as he lifted himself off the ground, which was considerably harder to do in his Altered Forme. "Now get in there because I'm going in myself and you're in the way."

Mesprit twirled about and saluted with a cry of "Sir, yes sir!" before she zipped backwards and into the portal after her brothers and Giratina motored his thick body and his heavy legs across the water and pulled his shadow-claws into his side as he swooped in through the portal once again.

* * *

As before, his body glowed instantaneously as he passed from one reality into the other and his body began to change shape once more when the hole closed just behind his tail. As his genetic structure returned to their original form, Azelf was zipping round and round a large floating rock and taking in the sights around him with wide, yellow eyes.

"Whoa!" he was saying. "This is so cool! And downright weird! You're telling me that you've been living in this place all by yourself for thousands and thousands of years? Come on, Giratina, you should invite people in here more often. I bet there are loads of us who'd like to come and spend some time in a place like this. I mean look," he moved over and settled on top of the rock he was circling and sat in a pose like he was meditating. "I'm not even having to use my Psychic powers to keep this rock afloat."

"Weeeeeeeeeee!" Mesprit was squealing in childish delight as she rode down one of the waterfalls… and then back up and around and back down again as she passed through the loop da loop of liquid and then began to spiral downwards on the water and down into the distant darkness.

"Stay close, Mesprit!" Giratina yelled down after her as he assumed his Origin Forme once more. "Last thing I need is for a little pink pixie to get themselves lost in my world!"

"Who are you calling a pixie?" Mesprit yelled up after him as she plunged through the waterfall and floated her way back upwards in a corkscrew to flick the water off her body and wring her tails out around one another. "And I'm magenta, not pink."

She then spotted what Giratina looked like and blinked. "Hey," she grinned. "So _that's_ what you look like when you're in this world. Wow. I've never seen you in that form before."

"You haven't?" Giratina asked, his face-plates moving aside so that his mouth was exposed when he spoke as he looked down at his body and the form that he was most used to, the legless centipede-like body with the spikes and the six long clawed tendrils instead of the two wing-like claws that they became whenever he left the Distortion World.

"No, of course I haven't!" Mesprit folded her arms. "I've never actually _been_ in your world before today so of course I haven't seen the form you _only_ have when you're here."

"You should count yourself fortunate, Mesprit," Uxie stated as his head tilted around towards the surroundings even though his eyes remained tightly shut the entire time. "This is the first time that Giratina has ever allowed anyone into the Distortion World of his own free will, which is why there are so few that have seen him in his Origin Forme."

"Wow, really?" Azelf looked across at him. "So, you've _never_ had company in here?"

"Once or twice," Giratina shrugged his tendrils. "Occasionally Dialga and Palkia used to drop in before they went into deep sleeps like Father did, but I never invited them and they always came together. But other than that, no. You three are the first to ever see this world besides me and my brothers and you're certainly the first to have come here through a portal of my making."

"That's sad," Mesprit's tails and head-tails drooped. "Don't you like us?"

"What?" Giratina blinked. "Don't I like… what has that got to do with anything?"

"Well, you never invite us, or anybody else, in here to spend some time with you. Don't you like us? And don't you ever get lonely?"

"Of course I don't get lonely," Giratina said. "I'm a Renegade. I prefer my solitude. I think I've done more talking this one evening then I've done in that last three millennia combined, including the times I've spoken to myself."

"Yeah, but still… if you never invite anyone in then that must mean you don't like us," Mesprit pouted, and Giratina was startled to see she was actually tearing up.

"Word of advice," Azelf raised himself up and murmured in Giratina's ear. "When Mesprit starts getting upset, it's best to try and get her to _stop_ being upset as quickly as possible or she'll start bawling for hours on end. She is, for lack of a better phrase, very emotional after all."

Giratina almost panicked. He wouldn't have the first clue how to deal with a crying Mesprit so he quickly said, "Look, I'm sorry. I… of course I like you. You're… you're my little sister after all. It's just… well, I never invite anybody in here because I'm not very _good_ with others. You… you understand that right?"

"So…" Mesprit sniffed. "You do like us?"

"Absolutely," Giratina nodded, which was true – he did like them. He just didn't like spending time with anybody else.

"He's telling the truth," Uxie put in.

"YAY!" Mesprit cheered, all trace of sadness disappearing in an instant. "HUG!" she shot over the gap and grabbed Giratina's neck in her tiny arms, which didn't even encompass half of his total neck length. Giratina coughed awkwardly, not sure what to do about this situation.

So he tried a, "There, there."

"Why are you saying that? I'm not sad," Mesprit blinked.

Giratina sighed. "And this is another prime example why I don't hang around people. I don't have a bloody clue about what to do when it comes to these situations."

"Don't worry," Mesprit grinned. "I still love you for it, 'cause you're my big brother. My moody, unsociable, scary big brother."

Giratina had never felt more awkward in his life. But fortunately Uxie stepped in to rescue him from replying (while Azelf unhelpfully rolled over and over nearby snickering loudly into his hands) by saying, "I must admit, it is amazing to be in your universe for the first time, Giratina. I would open my eyes and have a proper look around, but if I did that then there would be a chance one of you would look into my eyes and lose all your memories by accident."

"Oh, so _that's_ why you never open them," Giratina muttered.

"Indeed," Uxie nodded. "But we must press on now. There is a cloud of disturbance that is slowly growing larger approximately one-hundred-and-eighty-nine miles to the west."

"You mean we have to fly that far?" Azelf griped. "I want to get going now."

"Let's just get moving," Giratina chuckled as he curled his body around a large, floating chunk of land and set off in the direction that Uxie was pointing. Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit all followed in pursuit, arranging themselves in a triangle surrounding Giratina's neck.

Ten seconds later and a large cloud of pollution was looming in front of them. "Alright, we're here," Giratina smirked. "This is it."

"Wait, what?" Azelf yelled, screeching to a stop moments before he vanished into the cloud that had appeared out of nowhere. "I thought Uxie said it was one-hundred-and-eighty-nine miles away."

"And we have just covered that distance," Uxie clarified. "This _is_ the Distortion World after all, and Giratina can warp time and space in this world as he wishes, so he can effectively appear anywhere in this world almost instantly."

"Ah," Azelf blinked. "I did not know that." He then clapped his hands together and said, "Okay, we're here! Let's move."

"Agreed," Giratina nodded. "So, I just form a portal in the middle of this cloud and it should work. We'll be able to pass into the universe colliding with our own and not some random one?"

"Yes, if you focus on it," Uxie nodded. "Time and space has been split at this point. Focus on creating a portal just to a place _other_ than the Pokémon World and, if you can do that properly, you will succeed."

"Alright then," Giratina nodded, flaring his tendrils out again to engulf the Lake Guardians in his shadow, his eyes blazing red with readiness. "Here goes nothing."

And, with jaws agape, he streamed his way forwards and into the cloud.

* * *

Alright then. This chapter has now set the majority of the background information which will occupy the rest of the story. It's going to be a race against time for our heroes to gather together what is needed to wake up Arceus while simultaneously trying to stop the forces of Darkness that are causing the problem in the first place. They are definitely going to have a lot on their plate, I can tell you.

I hope you liked the interactions between Giratina and the Lake Guardian Trio. I tried to capture their personalities according to the trait that the three of them represented and I hope that it paid off. Well, until next time.

* * *

Next time…

A catch-up session about how the Digimon Tamers and their newest companion, Aayla Secura, have been getting on, including a few interesting experiences and some reminiscing. A peaceful chapter, but with an air of foreboding. Don't worry, the crossover will come eventually.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 3 : Year of the Twi'lek**


	3. Year of the Twi'lek

So sorry for the delay, folks, but I didn't do any writing for three whole days so that I could so some solid revision for my very important exam that I took on Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, it was the only exam I have this year as the rest of my course is assignment based, and now I am back to writing. But, to make up for the gap in updating, I am posting this chapter now even though I have yet to write Chapter 3 of my other story. I'll write that next and post it in two days, and then I'll revert back to the two chapters every four days system I'm trying to use.

This is yet another recap chapter really, but still I hope you like the descriptions of what Aayla and the Digimon have been up to since the end of the last story.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 3:- Year of the Twi'lek**

* * *

"And stay out!" yelled the barkeeper as he and a couple of other burly looking men shoved a group of four drunken people in their late teens out from the door to the pub they had been in mere moments before and sent them crashing to the pavement and nearly rolling into the street, in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo, Japan. There was the sound of breaking glass and muffled swearwords as the three who had done the throwing retreated back into the pub and slammed the door shut.

"Oi!" one of the teens staggered to his feet and brandished his smashed bottle as he wildly pounded on the door and hit the wall several times through his disorientation. "Get this door open! You smashed my booze bottle and I paid you good money for that! Let me in so I can bust your face in!"

"Whoa, man, chill out!" Another one of them mumbled without taking his face off the tarmac. "You want them to call the cops on us? Quit complaining – it was dirt cheap anyway."

"I don't care, I hadn't finished it yet," the first teen growled and threw the bottle at the door, breaking the rest of it into little shards and leaving a noticeable mark on the paintwork.

"Oh, dude, I don't know about you guys but my head feels like its spinning," another one of them chuckled stupidly. "I can't even remember how much I had in there."

"Who cares about that?" the fourth one wobbled unsteadily to his feet and took a moment not to throw up before he went on slurring with, "The night's still young people. What do you say we head down to a place that…" he belched, "…really knows how to party. There's that new nightclub just a few streets away. Reckon we should check it out?"

"Meh, why not? S'not like we've got anything else we should be doing," the second one pointed out, which was actually a lie as all four of them had a very important exam in the morning and none of them had even bothered to revise for it yet and they only attended half the lessons between them. "We can go get hammered and blow the roof of the place."

"Hammered?" the third one snorted. "Guys, I think I'm already smashed." He giggled stupidly like some overgrown child. "Let's see how much more smashed I can get before the night's out right?"

"You said it," the first one nodded as he attempted to pull the second one to his feet and almost fell over in the process. "We can take bets on which of us is the first to throw up like last time we all went out on the town. And I'm willing to bet that there'll be loads of sexy girls there that would be more than happy to… get to know us, right?"

"Oh, I'm already there, mate. I'm so there," the third one guffawed as the four of them started to wobble and stumble their way down the street, leaning against the walls and one another for support as they strolled past the pubs and many people walking towards them promptly gave them a wide berth, prompting all four of them to make rude hand gestures at said sensible people.

* * *

It took them almost five whole minutes before they managed to walk down a mere two streets out of the six that were needed to get to their destination, during which time one of them almost passed out even though he was still walking and nearly collapsed on the spot right then and there. One of them had also taken the time to throw up all over the doorstep of an antique's shop, before they all pressed on towards the new nightclub.

But, by the end of the second street, one of them suddenly halted the others in their tracks by throwing out an unsteady arm and then pointing vaguely ahead with an arm that was almost all over the place. "Hey guys, check it out. It's that hot, blue, alien babe that appears on the news a lot."

And, though his description was course at best, he was right. It was difficult to mistake this particular individual for anybody else in this world unless said person was in costume, for she was the only known alien on the entire planet. There were certainly no other humanoid forms on Earth with cerulean-coloured skin or two long, shapely and prehensile tails coming out of the back of her head instead of hair. She was currently walking down the street on the side that the drunkards were on and was walking straight towards them.

"Whoa, she's fit," one of the teenage drunkards hiccupped.

"Didn't know you were into aliens, mate," another of them snorted.

"Oh come on, dude. Even if she's not human, you're really telling me that you wouldn't have a piece of that if you could get it?"

"Probably," the young man shrugged. "I got to admit, she's got things in all the right places. Just look at those t…" Before he could finish the word, he turned around and hurled all over the side of the pavement.

The first one stepped forwards slightly and said, "Guys, I'm gonna take a shot. I bet you anything that I'll be getting some with that hot alien chick by the end of the night."

They all fell silent as the alien in question strode straight towards them without even acknowledging their presence. As she got within a couple of feet, the would-be suitor stepped towards her and attempted to grab her wrist as he said, "Hey sexy lady. How's about you come with me and I'll show you a real…"

"You don't want to finish that sentence," the blue-skinned woman stated without breaking her stride or looking at him, waving a hand once in front of his face as she walked straight past him and pulled her wrist out of his clumsy grasp.

"I don't want to finish that sentence," the drunkard murmured a second later and stared after her as she walked between his friends.

"You want to stop staring at me and take yourself down to the police station and ask to be put in jail for the night and possibly longer," the woman said over her shoulder as she waved her hand over her shoulder without turning around.

"I want to stop staring at you and take myself down to the police station and ask to be put in jail for the night and possibly longer," the teen echoed and immediately turned to head in the direction of the police station without thinking about anything else.

"And you three all want to so the same thing," the woman called back as she continued onwards without stopping and waved her hand again.

"And we three all want to do the same thing," the others nodded as they turned to follow their companion and all stumbled off without another word passing their lips.

The alien woman continued onwards, and, as she did so, she heard a chuckling sound in her mind, followed by a voice which said, _Way to play it cool, Aayla. I probably would have just punched them all in the face._

_Yes, Renamon, and knowing your strength you would probably end up breaking all of their jaws,_ the alien woman replied within her own mind, a small smile appearing on her blue lips as she continued walking. _But I learnt how to deal with drunks like them a long time ago. I've been undercover in more than one place where the shyest member of the scene was three times as bad as people like them. They saw a Twi'lek on their own and they wanted to…change that, if you catch my drift._

_All too well, Aayla,_ the same voice replied. _All too well. But at least that part of your duty as a Jedi is over now that you live here on Earth with the rest of us._

_True,_ nodded Aayla. _But the number of catcalls I get in the street can still be rather irritating, especially at night._

_If you recall, I did offer to come with you so you could hide under my perception filter._

_No, it's alright. If I hadn't sent those four to the police station it's likely that some other poor girl would have been victimised by them in some nightclub later on in the night._

_Fair enough,_ Renamon chuckled. _Go get 'em, Twi'lek._

Aayla Secura, the youngest known Jedi to be given the rank of Master at the mere age of twenty-three, snorted as she continued walking. She was a Twi'lek and she was a female, and that meant that she was a very attractive woman automatically, since there was no such thing as an unattractive adult Twi'lek woman. But Aayla was often considered to be beautiful even among her own kind, which was not always a good thing considering the size of the lewd criminal underworld and the illegal slavery of women that went on in her own dimension. Especially of Twi'leks.

But none of that really applied to Aayla's worries anymore, since she was no longer _in_ her own universe. Or, to put it another way, _this_ universe was her home now and not her original one.

* * *

Aayla's journey had started a long time ago when she'd been found by a young Jedi Padawan who had saved her life from a rampaging wampa after she had been about to be sold into slavery. Sworn to protect the innocent and the weak , the Jedi were the peacekeepers of their world who did their best to settle conflicts across the Galaxy they lived in, first through peaceful methods and resorting to force only if necessary. They had the ability to wield an energy called the Force which permeated through all universes that allowed them many incredible abilities that very few could access, like telekinesis and telepathy. But since there was both a Light Side and a Dark Side to these talents, the Jedi had decided the best ways to stop yourself from falling to the Dark Side was to forbid attachments in its members, and so prevent them from feel darker emotions like anger and hate when bad things happened, as they inevitably would.

Unfortunately, their forced isolation and other aspects of their Code had weakened them and made them more susceptible to the manipulations of the Dark Side Sith Lord – Darth Sidious, who was posing as the fair-minded Chancellor of the Republic they were sworn to serve with his master plan of wiping out all Jedi slowly being put in motion.

Aayla had considered herself a by-the-book Jedi when the farce that was the Clone Wars had broken out. But that had all changed when, one fateful day six months into the war on the planet Christophsis, she had sensed a disturbance in the Force that had led her to almost having her head knocked off when Renamon was flung out of a portal in her dimension.

From that day forth, when she met the rest of the Digimon who had been flung there – Renamon's mate Terriermon and his sister Lopmon – along with their respective human partners, or Tamers – Rika Nonaka, Henry Wong and Suzie Wong – she had slowly begun to change as a person. With the blessing of Grand Master Yoda, she had allowed herself to bond with them and love each of them individually, as well as her team-mates Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, and eventually Barriss Offee when she had joined the team.

Over the course of their numerous adventures, Aayla grew more and more attached to her friends and, in the process, more outspoken and more free with her emotions and feelings, culminating in her forming a permanent telepathic link with each of them in turn. She laughed more and grew less severe and serious all the time, though that seriousness returned in force when in combat situations and especially when her new family, for that is what they became, were in danger.

Contrary to Jedi belief, the bond that the four Jedi formed with the Digimon strengthened them as people – their wills became stronger and they shared no secrets from one another. And through that bond they were able to accomplish many nigh-impossible feats that eventually culminated in revealing the identity of Sidious to the Jedi, preventing his plan to wipe them out from occurring, change the views of the clone soldiers who were supposed to kill them to more human-like qualities and, eventually, raise a huge army that opposed the Sith and the Empire they were struggling to create.

Anakin Skywalker, who had long been targeted by Sidious to fall to the Dark Side and had indeed been falling under his influence for years, was now an iron-shod wall against the darkness thanks to the bonds with his team-mates, in an enormous series of lightsaber duels and explosions they were able to take out Sidious.

Terriermon, Henry, Lopmon and Suzie had biomerged to Mega to hold off the entire clone army that remained under Sidious' control with the help of an enormous Zillo Beast they had saved from Sidious' clutches.

Rika and Renamon had also biomerged and managed to utterly vaporise and completely defeat the near-invincible Bounty Hunter Durge.

Ahsoka Tano had brought down her personal enemy in the form of Asajj Ventress the Dark Jedi Assassin.

Barriss Offee managed to catch another Bounty Hunter, Aurra Sing, off guard in their duel and defeat her as well.

Aayla herself had taken on two opponents at once – a Morgukai warrior named Bok who she had fought in the past and the turncoat Jedi Pong Krell. She had managed to trick Krell into killing Bok himself and then strike back at Krell with lightning speed before he could counter her moves.

Sidious' apprentice, Count Dooku, had been destroyed by his own creation – the cyborg warrior General Grievous who had been converted to the side of good by Aayla and Terriermon after they unearthed the truth about his resurrection as a cyborg which Dooku had long concealed from him.

And Anakin… well, the fierce bond with his friends had allowed him to stand up to Sidious and, after a huge lightsaber fight, purge the darkness from the Galaxy with a burst of Force Light that practically fried Sidious, fulfilling his destiny as the Chosen One in the process and allowing Sidious to be eaten by the Zillo Beast moments before he died.

The co-ordination of their strike could not have been pulled off without the firm bonds that their hearts and minds had formed with one another and so they had set about restoring the peace in the Galaxy. But all good things seemed to have to come to an end, for shortly after they won, Impmon had arrived in their world to bring the Tamers and his fellow Digimon back home to their worried parents and friends. While Anakin, Ahsoka and Barriss had stayed behind to help rebuild the Republic, Aayla had been unable to bring herself to do it and, after a heartfelt farewell to their fellow team-mates and all the others close to her, Aayla had departed for Earth with the Tamers and the Digimon.

And since Impmon's travel to and from Aayla's dimension had been a one time thing, that had meant that there would be no going back for Aayla, or for any of the others for that matter. And so, Aayla had done her best to settle into Earth and, with the help of Mitsuo Yamaki of the HYPNOS team, she had been fully accepted by the government, eventually, and allowed to live freely with her friends just as the Digimon were.

* * *

The departure from her universe had been a year ago now and during that time, Aayla had kept up her practices as a Jedi. She meditated to commune with the Force on a daily basis and she kept up her skills with her two lightsabers – the signature weapons of the Jedi which were essentially blades of blazing light that could cut through nearly everything – by having practice duels with the powerful Cyberdramon.

But she had spent most of her time just having fun and relaxing in the company of her alternate family. The Tamers and the Digimon provided everything she could want and they were certainly better than her original family. Her parents had died while she was young and she had been raised by her uncle who had been about to sell her into slavery and then later, kidnapped her and drugged her so she lost all her memories of being a Jedi. And she would have remained like that if it hadn't been for her Master, Quinlan Vos. She'd even fallen to the Dark Side in that fateful period but she'd managed to recover from that fairly quickly. The rest of her natural family she had never much associated with, but she didn't need them. She had a very large family now – of numerous ages, shapes and sizes.

A year into her life in and she now considered everyone in the group of ten Tamers and nine Digimon that lived here with her to be a part of her family. But, even now after all this time, her bonds were still strongest with the three Tamers and Digimon that had shared her Galaxy-wide adventure back in her universe. Her mind-link kept them close at all times as long as they were within a few miles and she could talk to each of them about anything potentially troubling her and none of them, not even Terriermon, would think about mocking those troubles, whatever they may be.

Sometimes she missed the fact that she could no longer go on the kinds of adventures she had been on as a Jedi in her universe.

For instance, she had not gone into space ever since she had got here. She had been an extremely good pilot while she'd been a Jedi of the Republic, but on this planet they were still developing their space program and perfecting how to get up there in the first place. Aayla was fairly certain she could build a starfighter from what she knew about space travel, but Yamaki had advised against it, stating that it might be best to keep technology too advanced out of human hands. He'd already had to work hard to make sure that she could keep her lightsabers.

But despite the fact she missed some of the adventures, she didn't really need them. Not while she lived here where her friends were close by and where the majority of her life now revolved around peace.

Of course there was sometimes adventure to be had, like when random Digimon bio-emerged into the Human World from their own parallel world. Aayla had actually become quite accomplished at fighting Digimon far larger than herself and many times more physically powerful. Her frequent sparring matches with Cyberdramon had seen to that.

Just last week in fact, she'd been able to run up the back of a panicking Brachiomon and vault her way straight up its neck while it had been trying to shake her off with a large rope over one shoulder which allowed her to loop it around the large horn it possessed on the top of its head and knot it off like a lasso before leaping straight off and swinging from the bucking head until she landed on Gallantmon's shoulder and passed him the rope, allowing him to tug the Brachiomon to the ground where some of the others had been able to pin it down so they could reason with it and send it back to the Digital World once again.

But still, the majority of her time was taken up by peace. And since peace had been what she'd been fighting for all along in her own universe, peace in this one suited her just fine.

A year on from her arrival in this dimension and much had happened. Aayla was, for instance, now twenty-four, which is kinda obvious since she was twenty-three when she arrived. Her birthday had been a relatively quiet affair, since she had specifically asked for it to not be made into a big deal. But that had not stopped her friends from attempting to make as big deal of it as possible. This included an enormous table laden with treats of all kinds and a complete gathering of all the Tamers and their partners and a large number of the parents all attending.

Aayla had found herself filled with little but contentment and joy on that day. Surrounded by her friends as she was, she couldn't ask for more, but the highlight of the day had been when Ai and Mako had attempted to get her to play the juvenile game of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" that they had brought with them. Aayla had chuckled and made just about everybody laugh when, while still completely blindfolded, she manipulated the tail with the Force to send it shooting across the room and pinned it to the back of Kenta's trousers when he wasn't looking and then bent the pin backwards and in on itself so that he wouldn't be pricked by it.

"Did I win?" she asked, pulling up the blindfold, and most of the room almost dissolved into laughter. Kenta had no idea what had just happened and wore the donkey tail for the rest of the day and somehow failed to notice it when he took it off that night and put it on again the next morning to go to school.

* * *

The birthdays of each of the Tamers had come and gone in a similar manner, making Henry and Rika, as well as Takato, Jeri, Kazu and Kenta, all fifteen years old by this point. On Rika's birthday, which was apparently always rather entertaining, the annual surprise party which wasn't really a surprise was held. Rika had been attempting to put on her exasperated face, but upon seeing the creation whipped up by the combined efforts of Takato's parents and Renamon, who was becoming increasingly skilled with pastry for some reason, that they referred to as a cake but resembled a small mountain, her eyes had practically shot open and she'd fallen onto her behind.

Then she'd had to grab Terriermon and Calumon before they could dart forwards and say, "Uh-uh. That… is mine." She had eaten far more cake than even she'd thought she could manage on that day and when she was sitting back and feeling bloated… Aayla had promptly joined in when everyone else hit her with silly string, leaving her coated in it almost literally from head to toe.

She had not been amused.

Everyone else, on the other hand, had.

* * *

Henry's birthday had surprised everyone, because he and his family had somehow managed to book a reservation in one of Tokyo's most expensive restaurants for every single one of the group, whether they be human or Digimon or Twi'lek. That had been fairly amusing for everyone as the restaurant staff were obviously not suited to catering for people like, say, Guilmon.

During the course of the meal, Terriermon had somehow managed to coat three of the tables in the restaurant with tomato ketchup, Calumon managed to get his head stuck in the chandelier and force Aayla to use the Force to get him out, Impmon seemed determined to reduce every candle in the place to a puddle of wax, Guilmon almost managed to clean out the entire kitchen of its food by himself, Cyberdramon caused three waitresses and two of the waiters to faint dead away just by looking at them and Guardromon lost his footing on a large plant and completely flattened one of the tables.

Thankfully there had been nobody sitting at it.

* * *

Henry's little sister Suzie was now eleven, and very much proud of it. Her own birthday had been pretty much a repeat of last year's bar the fact that this time she was in her own dimension and was with her own family rather than people that were becoming her surrogate family.

Each of the Tamers had celebrated their birthdays in different ways and Aayla had been there to attend them all. She found shopping for presents difficult, because she either went with Rika's mother who inevitably spent a long time in the clothes section, or she went with the others, and she still found things difficult even then because whenever she went into a shop they had some of the most obscure things for sale from her point of view even now.

Take the Rubik's Cube for instance. The idea behind the puzzle had fascinated Aayla – it was unlike anything that had been come up with in her universe. Everything there was much more technologically based. Still, she had managed to astound the person at the counter by solving a puzzle that he had been attempting to figure out for a month without touching the cube, since she had levitated it in front of her eyes and shifted it around with the Force. He had tried to give it to her for free after that, but she had declined. But she still bought it anyway just because she found it amusing.

And of course, through all the experiences she'd had, whether they be good or bad, she had developed extremely close friendships and fresh bonds with all the Digimon and Tamers. Her oldest friends here were still as thick as thieves with her. They did almost everything together. Aayla and Renamon would often spar with one another in the park without the use of weapons not only to hone their instincts and combat skills but also for the mere fun of it. They often drew a crowd of all ages whenever they did this and their single longest sparring match had been over an hour and a half of trading punches and kicks with one another, during which time they had gone from one side of the park to the other and finished up in the children's playground, where they had been flipping all over the climbing apparatus and the slide.

And of course wherever Renamon was in body, Terriermon was there in mind thanks to the incredibly strong bond between them. Neither could close their minds to the other and both knew exactly what the other was doing or thinking at all times. If anything the two of them were becoming closer and closer than ever before, the bond strengthening naturally a tiny bit with each passing day.

Aayla still remembered the time that she had "chaperoned" Renamon to a candlelit romantic dinner for the two of them that Suzie had insisted on setting up in the park. Neither Renamon nor Terriermon had any idea what they were being taken to but despite the fact that there were a large number of people there watching just about their every move it was both a sweet and hilarious event. Especially when Terriermon had had to hop onto and walk across the table to give Renamon a kiss close to the end.

As to Lopmon… well, Aayla could still remember the time that Suzie had first tried to get her to play with her cast collection of dolls that she had missed when she had been in Aayla's universe. Lopmon had been mortified at the prospect of resuming the Princess-themed roleplay games, but Aayla had found the whole situation nothing but funny. She had sat with Suzie for two hours with legs crossed on her bedroom floor, pretending to drink tea from the ridiculously tiny plastic mugs and taking full part in the gossip between Suzie and her inanimate toys, while Lopmon sat staring at Aayla in amazement the whole time. While in a frilly pink dress of course.

"How did you do that?" she asked after the ordeal was over and she was able to kick off the dress. "You flowed with that game as if you were six years old."

Aayla shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. I pretended that the doll was Renamon and the bear was Terriermon and imagined what they would say if asked that question."

Lopmon had shaken her head and gone, "Gee. I wish I'd thought of that a long time ago. It would have saved me a lot of trouble in the past."

* * *

Speaking of Lopmon, she had been doing a little romantic development herself. The little brown bunny had been shocked beyond belief to learn that Impmon, the joking purple prankster who had slight pyro-maniacal tendencies, had had a crush on her since _before_ she had been whisked away to Aayla's universe but had been too afraid to tell her. After six months of separation, Impmon had allowed the information to slip out not long after the two of them were reunited.

Lopmon had been initially very confused by her feelings towards Impmon, constantly thinking of his numerous recent actions in regards to her that she had dubbed as sweet in contrast to the face that he usually displayed to the rest of the world. After receiving some advice from Renamon, Lopmon had just decided to jump the gun and kiss him to see what happened. And she knew that there was something there indeed when her heart practically stopped beating at that moment and from that day forwards, Lopmon and Impmon had decided to explore their relationship further and see where it took them.

As it turned out it took them in a good direction. Both of them had received advice from Terriermon and Renamon, who were capable of conferring to agree on the best advice even if both of them were in different locations, and they had gone on several small excursions together even without their Tamers. These kinds of activities included a picnic in the park, a trip into the mountains nearby to watch the sunset together (during which time they found their hands creeping closer to one another completely subconsciously until they were touching when the sun hit the horizon) and, perhaps most amusingly of all – they went bowling.

Lopmon had proven surprisingly good at bowling, able to hold the ball in her ears behind her and then backflip over the top of it to fling it down the alley and into the skittles at the end. But they had had to leave pretty quickly when Impmon missed altogether and threw a Bada Boom down the alley before he could stop himself and destroy four of the skittles. Lopmon had left a wad of money that Henry had given her on the counter to pay for it and the two of them had scarpered and hid in an alleyway for half an hour.

Strangely, Lopmon had found the whole experience exhilarating and they laughed about it for days afterwards.

Now, a year after they had kissed for the first time, they were still not technically a mated pair. When Renamon and Terriermon had first mated it had been after initialising an ancient ritual involved in Renamon's species that started when they ate their first meal together and then required them to mate soon afterwards. In fact it literally drove them to, but since Renamon had an inbuilt ability to control when they did or did not give birth to a Digi-Egg that had been alright. Lopmon had no such thing and, much like Renamon and Terriermon, both of them had agreed to wait until their Tamers were considerably older before they had a child of their own. And since Impmon's Tamers had just turned seven, there was a long wait ahead of them.

Still, the two of them were very much in love and they would often go on trips to the Digital World with their Tamers to visit three of Impmon's strongest friends – the flower fairy Lilamon, the Ancient Bird Diatrymon and the Sky Dragon Wingdramon, all of whom had helped Impmon to deal with the rampant Demon Lord Digimon GranDracmon, who had been trying to invade the Digital World from his own dimension of the Dark Ocean. Without them it was possible that everything could have been lost.

Yet one of the greatest disappointments was that Impmon was still not a part of the mental link which spanned Aayla and the rest of the team from her dimension. They guessed that it could happen when Lopmon and Impmon finally mated, but they didn't know for sure.

* * *

During the rest of her time her on Earth, Aayla had formed very strong connections with the other members of the group as well, Tamer and Digimon alike. Ryo had become a firm friend of hers. He was the oldest of the Tamers at the age of seventeen and considered himself responsible for their safety just as much as Aayla did. The two of them occasionally went on patrol together whenever Cyberdramon got restless and believed there was the possibility of an evil Digimon appearing.

And, on one occasion, he had been right, when a small group of Vilemon had appeared in a street in the Business District and had immediately attempted to swarm the nearby humans. Aayla and Cyberdramon had owned the street on that day, battling in co-ordination with one another to repel the Vilemon at every turn, with Aayla rebounding off the walls and landing on Cyberdramon's back from time to time as she battled without touching the ground while the dragon Ultimate simply tore his way through the bat ranks and culminating in Aayla grabbing Cyberdramon's tail so that he could spin around and fling her into a large huddle of them to finish the job.

Cyberdramon held an air of respect for Aayla that he showed for no other being except for Ryo and, to an extent, Renamon. He seemed to recognise Aayla's prowess and fighting talents, even though that was not what Jedi wanted themselves to be known for, so while Cyberdramon would send glares and bared teeth at strangers and a couple of growls at other members of the group when they got on his nerves, Cyberdramon never did this to Aayla and sometimes even had conversations with her. Short ones that revolved around fighting most of the time, but conversations nonetheless.

Aayla held a mutual respect for Cyberdramon as well. She could sense the raw power coming from within him and yet… there was something strange about Cyberdramon that she could never quite put her finger on. When she looked at him she could sense… brooding darkness coming from within him somewhere. But she put that down to his feral nature and the fact that he would kill an enemy Digimon as soon as look at it.

Guilmon and Takato were other members of the group that she hung around with a lot as well. She wasn't much of a baker but sometimes she would do a little to help in the bakery where Takato lived and did her best to regulate Guilmon's humongous appetite. Though, not long ago, Aayla had been able to give Guilmon a real treat – when she had used the force and her lightsabers to create a special dough-cutter that would allow the Matsuki's to create pizzas in the shape of Guilmon's head.

Naturally this had been dubbed Guilmon Pizza straight away, and Guilmon had thanked Aayla for it to no end.

Aayla had found herself, on more than one occasion, getting involved in one of their classical games of tag when they were in the park together. Tag seemed to be their signature game and for some reason it just never seemed to get old to them. No amount of running around and chasing after one another seemed to get samey to them and they spent virtually their whole time doing it laughing their heads off.

Calumon or Guilmon or most often Terriermon would tap Aayla on the knee and yell, "You're it!" And whenever that happens the rules changed. Aayla was faster and more agile than all of the participants except Renamon whenever she too was dragged into the games, so it often became a competition between the Digimon – who could stay untagged by Aayla the longest.

Despite the juvenility of the games which Aayla often joined in, the parents of the Tamers were very pleased to have her around. Even some of the ones that still weren't pleased with this whole Tamer business like Kazu's parents respected Aayla and found her presence to be extremely reassuring, because while many of the Digimon were mature themselves, most notably Lopmon and Renamon and Guardromon, the parents seemed to find Aayla slightly closer to human than them, so she felt more like a responsible adult to them than they did.

That said, Aayla had been called a tyrant sometimes by many of the boys, especially during the time of exams. However, it was made in jest, and she had been referred to one because, as a Jedi, she had taken her studies extremely seriously in her time as a Padawan learner. You kinda had to if you wanted to pass the Trials of Knighthood. And Aayla wholeheartedly agreed with the parents of the Tamers that the Tamers should focus on their own studies just as much as they should on being Tamers.

For that reason, the children often got together at Rika's house on the weekends to all do their homework in the same place where Aayla could keep an eye on them while she meditated in the corner. They called it their Study Group and though several of the kids like Takato, Kazu and Kenta were reluctant to work each and every week, they eventually stopped complaining when they realised that their grades were going up.

It was true. Aayla was having a positive effect on their school-life. Their constant teacher, Ms. Asaji, had come out to observe one of these study groups when she had found out about their existence and she had been extremely impressed, thanking Aayla for doing what she had been striving to do for years and asking her how she managed to get the kids to work instead of mess around.

"Simple," Aayla had said, pointing up towards the ceiling. "I charged Terriermon and Impmon with lookout duty and allow them to prank anybody who talks." And indeed, the two Digimon in question were up in the rafters with large water pistols filled with paint at the ready.

"Well that explains the red splatter marks on Kazu's homework last week," Ms. Asaji chuckled. "I thought he'd had a nosebleed."

The Tamers all thanked Aayla in the end when each of them got either straight As or close to it by the end of the year. And then, the moment that each of them had done their homework, Aayla made the study session up to them by taking them on regular trips to either a fun park or a swimming pool or something like that just to give them added incentive.

It was times like that that Aayla really enjoyed. Her duties as a Jedi had never allowed her to do things like just head out and shoot down a water slide ten times in a row. She had to admit that while she loved being a Jedi… it couldn't hurt the Order back home to let rip a little once in a while, could it? There were places like this on Coruscant. There were the facilities. But you didn't find Jedi going there in her dimension.

But here she was the only Jedi and here, she had a _lot_ of fun. Each day was a new experience, and she always couldn't wait until the next one.

* * *

One particular example of a time where Aayla had really let wish, had occurred just last month. She had been in the park with her hands and a large portion of her head inside Guardromon's chest since he had opened the panel on his front to reveal his mechanical structure. He might have been alive but he was still a robot and Aayla was rather good when it came to technology, though not as good as Anakin. She had been giving him a tune-up to increase his speed and reaction time when Terriermon had shown up and informed everyone that the band Nightwish was going to be touring in Japan soon and would start in Tokyo.

That had caused a stir among the Super Seven. Nightwish was a Scandinavian band and had actually made a big impact on Aayla's universe though they had never been themselves. They were Terriermon's favourite band and through their songs Aayla and her friends had started to dance on a regular basis, as it was not only fun but it was a way of letting loose their emotions and let go of the stresses of the Clone Wars. This had culminated in one of their songs being sung and danced to in the presence of Jabba the Hutt as part of a deal to get Jabba to put in place the final piece of the trap that they were trying to set for Sidious.

The trap had worked. Who knew what would have happened if Aayla had never heard of the band?

And now they were coming to Japan.

The group had immediately signed up for the concert but had been surprised when somehow, the band had learned that they were going to be attending. They had even sent an invitation backstage so that Aayla and the Digimon could meet them all in person and after that, they had gone a stage further and allowed them on the stage during the concert after they had been told of how the Digimon and the alien often danced to their songs together

And dance they did, in front of thousands. Aayla didn't care about the thousands of eyes watching her. This was all about her and her friends having a good time and throwing themselves into the music which they had danced to many times before, but now with the people who had created the songs in the first place. It was a testament to the journey that the bonds between them had taken ever since Aayla had first heard of Nightwish, for now they were able to dance in perfect synchrony with one another through the power of their mind-link and memories flashed through their heads of the times they had done things like this in their world without the music and only their voices to provide the lyrics.

Now, they got the full blast. It had been one of the best evenings of Aayla's life, she and the Digimon had had a brilliant time, the band seemed to enjoy it as much as they did and even asked if they could come on the tour with them as the dancing had been in flawless timing with their music and had been consistently energetic throughout. Unfortunately they had had to turn down the offer, but they did end up giving the band a lot of publicity with that one night of awesomeness.

* * *

And finally, if you didn't count the trip to Okinawa where Takato's cousin Kai lived, Aayla had been on one holiday abroad, which had most definitely been an experience and a half. She and the Wongs and the Nonakas had all travelled via jet plane to Florida of all places to take a three week tour around the state and stop in various amazing places on the way. Renamon had not liked the journey on the plan at all – she had felt too pent up in the seat that she had been given, for although she wasn't a citizen and didn't need a passport to travel she still had to sit down as everyone else did.

The wonders of Planet Earth never ceased to amaze Aayla. Truly it was a world of any biomes and habitats and ecosystems and each of them was unique and amazing in their own way. The time that the Super Seven and their families had spent in Florida was agreed to be phenomenal by them all. Aayla had not only experienced Disney World for one of those three weeks, she spent a considerable amount of time in the Everglades and gone swimming with Manatees in Crystal River.

She was even nearby when one of the locals found a full-sized alligator in the swimming pool in their back garden, but Aayla had quickly taken control of the situation and calmly returned the alligator to the swamps by levitating it into the air with the Force and hovering it ten feet in the air the whole way before depositing it in the mangroves.

So, despite the lack of blasters being shot at her, lightsabers being swung towards her face and elongating stars that indicated a hyperspace jump, Aayla considered her first year in this world to be a pretty full one.

* * *

In fact, it was exactly one year to the day since Impmon had brought them all back to this universe. The Super Seven and Impmon with his Tamers had had a quiet (for them) celebration at the Nonaka household to commemorate the occasion, but Ai and Mako had been relatively tired and Impmon had been in a pretty lousy state too, so Aayla had just dropped the three of them back off at the Terada household now and was walking back now, when one of the drunks had just tried to accost her.

She walked the rest of the distance through the night in silence, enjoying the relative peace once she left the busy inner city full of its night life behind and walked through the quieter areas of the city. It was a gibbous moon, meaning that it was exactly half-way between full and new, in the sky above her and she gazed up at it, thinking the same thing that she always did when she looked up at it:-

How had humanity managed to create living organisms made entirely of computer data before they had managed to find a way of moving people up there with enough ease to allow them to build cities on it?

Earth seemed like such a backwards world to her, and while there were many hundreds of things that were quite clearly wrong with it, most of them caused by the humans themselves, Aayla had still managed to settle in with relatively little disturbance and was slowly becoming more and more accustomed to its strange customs.

She glanced up at the moon a second time and wondered how long it would take for the planet it looked down on to become like Coruscant, before she carried on the final length.

When she finally reached the Nonaka household again, she didn't bother to open that large gates to let herself in. Instead, she just vaulted upwards, powering off the ground with a Force-jump and barrel-rolling over the wall to land smoothly on the other side with knees bent to absorb the shock. The lights were still on and the doors were open, leading a large number of people to look up on her dramatic entrance.

"Ah, there you are, Aayla," Rumiko Nonaka – Rika's mother – smiled as she turned back to the counter while Aayla walked towards the front door and entered the house. "Did Ai and Mako get home safely?"

"Yes," Aayla nodded with a smile of her own. "Mr. and Mrs. Terada tucked them into their beds before I left. The two of them certainly seemed tuckered out."

"I think you guys might have played tag a bit too much this afternoon," Rumiko glanced over towards the white bunny with large ears that could used as wings and had three large finger-like projections on the ends as well as a horn in the middle of his forehead.

"Too much tag?" Terriermon shook his head. "Impossible. They had clearly eaten far too much of all of the delicious cooking here."

"Then why aren't you snoring your head off yet?" Henry chuckled.

"Yeah, you ate more than all of the humans in this room put together," Rika nodded with a grin.

"Leave me alone. I have a high metabolism, okay?" Terriermon snorted. "I need a lot of food or I'll waste away."

"I should say so," Seiko Hata, Rika's grandmother, laughed. "You ate a pile of food large than _yourself_ today, Terriermon. And yet, there is still enough soup left to fill one last bowl. Would you like to finish it off Aayla?"

"Thank you," nodded the Twi'lek as Seiko filled to bowl, and the Jedi floated it off the counter and towards her, jerking it upwards and out of reach of Terriermon when he tried to grab it and somehow managing not to spill any of the soup before settling it down in front of her and taking up her spoon. As she ate, her mind still set on all the memories of her last year, she looked up and surveyed the rest of the group.

Renamon, Terriermon and Lopmon had not changed much at all. All three of them were exactly the same height and build that they had been when they had returned, although if you looked carefully it seemed that both Terriermon and Lopmon had gotten a little leaner than before, although how this was possible considering the mounds of food Terriermon put away Aayla didn't know.

Suzie had sprouted quite a lot in her transition from ten to eleven years old. Her face was losing the last of its baby fat and her body had grown at least a foot taller than before. She was very pleased by how much she had grown over the last year and was convinced that if she kept going like this, she would be as tall as Henry by next year, though this was unlikely in reality as her growth spurt seemed to have stopped for the moment. Her cheeks had lost the little red blushes that had long been prominent features by this stage and she had even started growing her hair out. She now wore it at around shoulder-length, although she was trying to grow it longer so that it would be like Rika's when she wasn't wearing her head in a spiky ponytail.

Rika and Henry themselves were definitely beginning to show the signs of adolescence. Henry's body and arms were less thin and gangly than they had been in the past and so he appeared slightly broader than before, like a young man rather than a boy, and he had also grown somewhat over the past year. Rika was also beginning to take on the curves and physique of womanhood, though both of them still had some way to develop still.

Throughout their maturation though, they had both managed to stay roughly around the same height and they were still boyfriend and girlfriend. Everyone seemed to marvel by how little they seemed to fight or disagree with one another at all, but as Henry had said, "When you've got Digimon partners as closely partnered as Terriermon and Renamon, they seem to set an example of what you should be like and you do your best to adhere to it. Although it is still strange to think of Terriermon setting an example for… well anything."

Aayla took a sip from her spoon and swallowed before surveying the group again before picking up a glass from the counter and filling it with water from the tap without getting up from her seat and levitating it into her hand.

"Show off," Lopmon chuckled with a small smile.

Aayla winked at her and grinned before holding up the glass and saying, "Well, here's to one whole year of fun and peace since I came to this dimension with all of you. And, hopefully, to another eventful year just around the corner. I know that I had the opportunity to go back and stop myself from coming to this universe then I wouldn't take it for anything in the world. Cheers you guys."

The rest of the Seven lifted up their glasses and echoed the "Cheers" before clinking them together in a circle of seven and taking a swig of whatever happened to be in their glass at the time.

"I still can't believe it's been a full year," Suzie murmured. "I mean, it feels like it's been a lot longer and a lot shorter than that at the same time, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," Terriermon nodded. "It feels like everything that we've done has gone past in the blink of an eye, but it also feels like we've all been a part of each other's lives for so long that… well, I know I couldn't imagine a world with you all in it right now."

"Not even you, Terriermon?" Renamon chuckled. "You do have such an active imagination after all."

"That may be," Terriermon laughed. "But still, you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," Renamon nodded. "And throughout our time together, so much has changed in all our lives."

"You can say that again," Aayla smirked, lifting up her fingers and allowing orange sparks of electricity to crackle between them. "If someone had told me that I'd possess the ability to use Force-lightning, even a non-Dark Side variant, when we first met… I highly doubt I would believe them."

"And I never would have thought that I would form a relationship with Impmon of all Digimon," Lopmon nodded. "Sometimes when we're alone together I look across at him and think 'Blimey, am I really doing this with him? Were the last few months real or just a bizarre and really vivid dream?' Even now I still think that sometimes."

"But you don't regret starting anything with him, do you?" Rika asked.

"Oh no, of course not," Lopmon shook her head. "But still, I used to think it was more likely for me to strike up a relationship with _Cyberdramon_ than him, if only because I thought that he held contempt at the idea."

"You and Cyberdramon?" Suzie blinked. "Wow. That _is_ a scary thought."

"Agreed. And please don't tell Impmon I said that," Lopmon added.

"I make no promises," Terriermon snorted.

Lopmon scowled at her twin brother and then looked up again and said, "Aayla?"

"I'm on it," Aayla nodded, flicking her fingers into the air and using the Force to open a cupboard attached to the wall above the counter and make the large pineapple that was resting inside leap out and soar across the room to land on the table right in front of Terriermon.

"YAAAAAGHH!" Terriermon cried as he saw the large fruit hurtling straight towards him and catapulted himself backwards across the table, fell off the edge and landed on the floor it a heap, looking up after a moment to see the pineapple 'shuffling' to the edge and 'peering' down at him, which caused him to leap up and yell, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" before he darted upwards and dropped neatly into the sink, forgetting that it was full of water as he did so and vanishing beneath the surface.

The water was also quite hot, so he sprang out moments later with a yowl and flopped onto the drying board next to it with the thin hair all over his body matted and his ears sagging across his face.

The rest of the room was in uproar with tumultuous laughter by this point as Aayla tossed the pineapple back to Seiko, who in turn put it back in its cupboard and shut the door.

"You'd think that Terriermon's irrational fear of pineapples would have been getting old by now but it really, really hasn't," Rika laughed as she clutched her stomach.

"It does if you live with him," Henry chuckled. "We can't bring pineapples into the apartment anymore or he freaks out. But the practical jokes on him are definitely as amusing as ever."

Terriermon glared at them all as he lifted his ears out of his face and deposited them in their right places so they hit the counter with wet thwacks. "Yeah, well one of these days I am going to find out exactly what it is that all of you are so afraid of and then I'm going to taunt all of you with that. Then who'll be laughing?"

"Oh, momentai," Renamon rolled her eyes.

Terriermon's eye twitched, so he quickly shut them and placed his little hands together. "I am not going to get angry, I am not going to get angry, I am not going to get angry, I am…"

"…going to momentai," prompted Renamon with a sly grin.

"AAGH! It's been over a year and half now! Why do you always insist on using the word I made to use on all of you?" Terriermon sulked.

"Because you're so hilarious when you get annoyed," Renamon chuckled as she rounded the table and scooped her mate in on arm, ignoring the fact that he was sopping wet and then pressing her lips to his for approximately three seconds before pulling back and smiling into his face. "But you should know, we only make fun of you because we love you."

Terriermon blinked. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life," he stated. "And what makes it all the more stupid… is that I know it's the truth."

Renamon smiled down at him and the both of them kissed again, their mind-bond flaring up as it did every time their lips met and spreading the intense love the two of them felt for each other across the link with the other five as they were joined in body and mind at the same time. Even though a stranger would probably have been completely weirded out at the sight of the humanoid and human-sized fox kissing the bunny that only came up to her knee, everyone else in the room was completely used to it now and only smiled as they watched the pair of them reaffirm their bond yet again.

"Well, I think that little conversation proved something else," Aayla said as she turned back to face the others. "That while some things have changed very greatly in the last year… just as many things have remained exactly the same."

"Got that right," Suzie grinned. "Terriermon and Renamon's love will last strong forever. I just know it. It's way better than all those romance movies that Jaarin watches."

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "But I was also talking about Terriermon's reactions to pineapples and the use of his patented catchphrase by anyone other than himself."

"But who wants any of those things to change?" Lopmon smiled.

"Agreed. It's been the same since I met all of you guys," the Twi'lek took another sip of soup. "And I wouldn't have them changed for the world."

"Feel the love!" Suzie giggled.

Rika rolled her eyes. "You watch, Terriermon will be attempting to initiate a group hug any second now."

"Hey that's not a bad idea," Terriermon cried as he pulled his lips away from Renamon's and his face took on a delighted grin. "Anyone up for one?"

"Terriermon, you're sopping wet," Henry pointed out. "And besides, I think that we should really be getting back. It's getting quite late and we've got school tomorrow, and before you complain, Suzie, yes, we do still have to attend." Suzie, who had opened her mouth, promptly shut it, eliciting and small laugh from her older brother. "Come on then. You know Mum and Dad prefer we get back _before_ midnight or they start to worry."

"Can't we just stay a little longer?" Suzie whined slightly. "I'm not tired." She added, the big yawn that she gave at the same time going against the fib that she was trying to tell.

"Come on," Henry nodded towards the door. He looked up and said, "Thanks for the food Mrs. Nonaka, Mrs. Hata."

"Oh, it was no problem at all, Henry," Rumiko smiled. "I must admit I'm getting used to having a lot of people in the house all the time."

"Yes, soon we'll have you frying bacon without burning it," Seiko chuckled. "Safe journey, children."

"See you tomorrow, guys," Henry called as he wrapped a protective arm around his sister's shoulders and guided her towards the door. Lopmon smiled and followed after them, lifting herself into the air on her large ears and swooping down to land on her Tamer's head as they walked towards the door and out into the night.

"Well, looks like we part ways for the night once again," Terriermon stated melodramatically, looked up into his mate's piercing blue eyes with his own round black ones.

"Only in body," Renamon smiled lovingly at him. "In mind, we're always together. And in here," she added, placing her paw over her heart.

"Way to bring out the cheesiness in this goodbye," Terriermon quipped.

"And yet once again, you know that it is true," Renamon countered immediately.

"Touché," Terriermon laughed. "Well, I'll be seeing you first thing in the morning, Rena. You too, Rika, Aayla. Nighty-night." He finished as he rolled out of Renamon's arms and caught himself in mid-air with his ears before shooting out of the door to catch up with his Tamer and sister and the sister of his Tamer.

"Goodnight, you four," Aayla called back after them, lifting up her bowl and downing the last of her soup before standing up to deposit the bowl into the sink with her hands instead of her mind. "Wonderful as ever," she nodded to Rumiko and Seiko. "And really, I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to sleep under your roof for the past year."

"You'll always be welcome in this house, Aayla," Rumiko assured her.

"And, as usual, I can find a way of paying for my own food if you want me to," Aayla added.

"And as usual my modelling career has given me far more money than I know what to do with anyway," Rumiko patted the Twi'lek's shoulder. "And I have no plans on stopping anytime soon so you don't have to worry about that."

Aayla smiled gratefully. "Well, if you're sure…"

"I am no less sure than the last time you asked me that question," Rumiko stated. "Sometimes I think that you can be _too_ selfless for your own good, Aayla."

"Is there such a thing as too selfless?" Rika raised a brow.

"Apparently," Renamon chuckled. A couple of moments later and a small jackal walked into the room and sat down next to Renamon's legs, prompting the fox to crouch down and ruffle the smaller canine's ears.

Seiko laughed and said, "You know, whenever I step back and take a look at all of us, I realise just how strange a household this place has become. I remember when it was just myself, Rumiko and…" she stopped for a moment before going on with, "…Rika's father in this house. When Rika came into the world, I thought that would be it, but apparently not. Now we've got three humans, an Egyptian Jackal, a kitsune-like humanoid fox from a parallel reality created by humans, and an alien from a completely different and completely unrelated universe all under one roof."

"It sure is official Grandma," Rika smirked, ignoring the reference to the father who had left them when she was very young as best she could (though a little of the light had gone from her lavender eyes). "We are the weirdest household on the entire planet."

"But we make weird a good thing, right?" Aayla grinned.

"Oh definitely," Rika nodded. "Who likes normal?"

"A lot of people," Renamon pointed out. "The fools."

Aayla and Rika both snorted, before Rika got to her feet and stretched. "Well," she grunted. "I think I should probably head off to bed as well. Apparently Ms. Asaji is going to try teaching us trigonometry again tomorrow and I'm definitely going to need to be as awake as possible."

"Sorry to hear that," Renamon smirked.

"Oh shut up you," Rika swatted her in the arm playfully as she passed. "Just be thankful that you don't have to learn all this crap. And yes, Aayla, I know that it _does_ have many real-world applications contrary to the belief of most people who study it, but I highly doubt that _I'll_ be needing it when I grow up."

"You never know," Aayla called after her with a chuckle. "Sleep tight, Rika."

"Goodnight, honey!" Rumiko added.

"Night, everyone," Rika called over her shoulder as she entered the room that she and Aayla both shared and slid the door shut behind her.

"You going to bed soon, Aayla?" Seiko asked.

"Maybe in a bit," Aayla nodded, as she stepped out of the door once again and walked out into the garden, taking the long way round so she could pass over the small bridge that crossed the pond and pluck an apple from the tree that overshadowed it. The tree wasn't even _meant _to grow apples, but it did, along with oranges, grapefruits, cherries and other assorted tree fruits all among its branches. Impmon's friend Lilamon had caused the tree to bloom several fruits it wasn't supposed to when she had visited here over a year ago and they had continued growing long after she had returned to the Digital World.

Aayla then bounded into a large Force-jump to vault straight onto the roof of the house, landing stealthily as a cat and barely making a sound when her feet touched down. She made herself comfortable and sat, cross-legged, and bit into the apple while staring up at the moon once more.

A whole year.

One whole year since she had left her universe behind.

And while that brought back a whole load of thoughts about the fantastic time she had had during that year, it also stirred up other thoughts fresh in her brain. As well as what she had gained, it also reminded her of the things that she had left behind when she had decided to come here. And that had been a great many things.

She sighed and bit into the apple again. There was always going to be that aspect to living here, cut off as she was from her old universe. While there might be the means to return home existing somewhere, Aayla sure as hell didn't know what it was. And neither did the top scientists of the HYPNOS department or the Monster Makers who had created Digimon in the first place.

"Thinking about them again?" Renamon asked as she landed next to her, sleek as a panther in the night and walking over towards her on all fours to sit next to her.

"Naturally," Aayla nodded, knowing there was no point in denying it. She tossed the apple to Renamon, who snapped out a paw and grabbed it before it could hit her in the nose and also took a bite out of it.

"All of them?" Renamon asked, once she'd swallowed.

"Yep," Aayla grunted. "There's so many friends I left behind when I came here and while I don't regret it, I often wish that I could see them again. Know how they are, what they've been doing with themselves. Know that they're even still alive."

"Hey, you know that thinking like that is not going to help," Renamon reminded her.

"I know but I can't help doing it all the same," Aayla sighed. "Take Ahsoka for instance – what does she even look like now? Togrutas can develop at different rates and their montrals can grow into numerous bizarre shapes, but when I think of Ahsoka, I just picture the young Padawan who I fought beside."

"I know what you mean," Renamon mumbled. "And you wonder if anyone else has found out about Anakin and his relationship with Padmé?"

"Of course," Aayla snorted. "I think about them all. How has Ahsoka been getting on with her Padawan training? How has Barriss been coping with the responsibilities of Knighthood? Do the three of them still stay together as we do? Are they thinking about us right at this moment?" She sighed again. "I miss them. So very, _very_ much."

"Hey," Renamon smiled reassuringly, placing her paw on Aayla's shoulder. "We _all_ miss them. It would be impossible to go through everything we went through with them _not_ to miss them. And while I don't know much about what any of them are doing I know for a fact that they miss us as well. But it's just like I said to Terriermon not five minutes ago. All three of them are still in our hearts, even if we can't see them with our eyes or feel their presences with our minds anymore."

_She's right_, Terriermon's voice echoed in Aayla's head. _That final moment in the war against Sidious where we united our hearts and minds together cemented them there like… well, cement. And we're in their hearts too, Aayla. I guarantee that._

Aayla chuckled. "Thanks guys. I know you're right. But all the same, it is at times like this when our mind-link does feel slightly empty without their three consciences next to the seven of us."

"I know the feeling," nodded Renamon. "I know the feeling." She paused for a moment and said, "Hey, what do you think Commander Bly is doing with his life now? And Captain Rex and the other clones we knew?"

"Oh, I have no idea," Aayla laughed. "I imagine most of them are still marching through the corridors of Republic vessels and Bly is still shouting orders left, right and centre like the commander he is. But who knows… many of them might have pulled a Cut Lawquane and settled down, maybe even found wives. Who can say? And speaking of Cut Lawquane, how do you think Numa and Gabumon are doing?"

Renamon smiled as she remembered the only Tamer who was not a human and the Digimon who had been frozen in ice on the planet Mygeeto for many years before joining them and bonding with the young Twi'lek girl. "I can honestly say I have no clue. I wonder if Numa has managed to figure out how to digivolve him to Garurumon yet. That time they biomerged to ZeedGarurumon was a one-off thanks to that Digi-Gnome after all."

"Let's hope they haven't had the need for that to happen," Aayla pointed out. "And all the other people we made friends with… how are they doing right now? Is Chewbacca still swinging through the trees of his homeworld? Has Chancellor Organa done well with his first year? How much more sway in the Senate has Senator Chuchi gained? Has my Master Quinlan Vos managed to lose his place on the Council for messing around yet? Is Cad Bane still proving an elusive gun-for-hire or has he been caught yet? Has General Grievous tried to throttle San Hill in prison yet? Is Godzillo still roaming the plains of Maridun?"

"So many questions," Renamon smiled. "But I'm afraid, no answers. Still, at least we have all the memories of our time with each and every one of them."

Aayla nodded, the corners of her mouth twisting up slightly. "Yeah," she nodded as she slipped into reminiscing. It was a shame that so many of her memories revolved around the war, but perhaps it had been the conflict that had brought them even closer to each of those individuals than they could have without it.

The Digimon and the Twi'lek sat there trading the apple back and forth for another ten minutes before Renamon said, "Come on. Let's get some rest." Aayla nodded, and the two of them flipped down from the roof and slipped into Rika's room to find the teenage girl already sound asleep. Aayla nodded goodnight to Renamon before settling down on her own futon and shutting her own eyes.

Tomorrow was set to be a new day and a new year for her.

And, unbeknownst to her, it was really going to start off with a bang.

* * *

Yay! Once again I hope that you all enjoyed this and I shall get cracking on the third chapter of TBAK tomorrow morning and it should be up by Saturday evening. In the meantime, with the explanations as to the main plotline mostly out of the way and all recaps and introductions to the main universes involved also out of the way, the story can finally begin in full force.

Until then, cheerio. Hehehe.

* * *

Next time…

What seems to start off as a normal day for all abruptly goes weird when Giratina and the Lake Trio suddenly show up in the middle of Shinjuku Park. Though initially ready for battle, the Digimon, Tamers and Aayla instead learn of the impending disaster that is looming and must now decide what to do about it.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 4 : Meeting of Monsters**


	4. Meeting of Monsters

Hey again, everybody. I hope that you like this chapter as you have all probably been anticipating it since the story actually began, so I attempted to churn it out as quickly as possible even though I had some uni work to do as well, but don't worry – I think I've done adequately on both of the two. In any case, onwards with the story my friends and be safe in the knowledge that things will soon be going quite a bit faster than they have been so far.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 4:- Meeting of Monsters**

* * *

It was about ten o'clock in the morning when it happened.

Before that though, when the sun rose up as it usually did, Shinjuku and indeed the rest of Tokyo and Japan began to go about its daily business as it did on most days. And since it was a Monday and not any of the holidays, that meant that it was time for the children throughout the city to make their way to school as per normal.

Renamon had only spent the night dozing lightly as she normally did, and she had been the first to open her eyes from the Nonaka household. Aayla had not been far behind and, as per usual, the three of them had made their way into the kitchen to set themselves up some breakfast, being as quiet as possible so as to not wake up the rest of Rika's family, before Rika stepped back into her room to get dressed and prepare for her next day of school.

"I still think that I could skive off this whole trigonometry thing that Ms. Asaji has planned and not really miss out on anything," she murmured quietly as she pulled her belt through its buckle to tighten it.

"Except for some very important information that might be useful in your upcoming exams," Aayla chuckled. "You're getting to that age, Rika, where very soon you will have some of the most important exams of your life coming up if I understand the way that schools in this universe work by this point. By this time next year, you will be doing exams that can help to decide your future. And getting good marks on those will be helpful, which means…"

"…that I need to learn trigonometry just as much as all the rest of it," Rika sighed. "Well, at least I don't have to wear that god-awful school uniform from the place I used to go to anymore."

Aayla chuckled. "We all had to turn up for Padawan training dressed in the appropriate Jedi robes, you know. Naturally I dropped them at the earliest opportunity in favour of my current garments for use in the field but still, from what I've seen the Jedi Temple was a lot stricter than your school is to you."

"You should be counting your lucky stars," Renamon snorted.

"Are you seriously telling me that you never skived off any of your lessons in the Jedi Temple, Aayla?" Rika asked as she hooked her D-Arc into its usual spot on her belt. "Never once?"

"Of course not," Aayla chuckled. "And not just because I was a good student. Skip a lesson with Master Yoda, and he asks you where you were next time he sees you. And you cannot lie to Master Yoda. He'd sense it straight away."

"Ah. Good point," Rika conceded. "Well off to school it is. Should we wake up Mum?"

"No, let her have a lie-in," Renamon smiled. "She told me that she doesn't have anything coming up for a few days so let's let her get some rest."

Rika nodded and the three of them made their way out of the door and out the gate, whereupon Rika expertly fished a card from out of her pack and swiped it through the D-Arc with a precise slash that implied she had done this several hundred times before. Without pausing in their stride, the three of them kept moving as Renamon grew larger and dropped onto all fours taking on the shape of the quadruped Champion level fox Digimon, Kyubimon.

Aayla flipped onto Kyubimon's back and hoisted Rika up in front of her with one arm. It was a good thing the redheaded Tamer was wearing her hair down at the moment, or thanks to the height she had gained her spiky ponytail would have been jammed into Aayla's face. Then, Kyubimon hurtled down the roads and in the direction of the school, giving her passengers a much more pleasant ride than if they had taken the car.

This was the way that Rika normally got to school. Unless it was raining.

* * *

Convergence at the school had been brief, as Digimon and Tamers and the single alien they hung around with all met up with one another in the grounds. The only ones not present were Ai, Mako and Impmon as the twins were too young to go to this school yet, and Ryo and Cyberdramon, as Ryo still went to his original school whenever he decided to go in for the day.

A quick catch-up later and all the humans had stepped into the building to begin the day that most of them claimed was going to be boring and unprofitable as usual.

Then, Aayla and the Digimon had all moved away. While they had not been forbidden from staying on the school grounds, they had been asked politely by the (slightly scared) principal if they could either move away when the kids were studying or at least remain out of sight, because some of their antics or even just their presence was distracting the kids, especially the ones who sat by windows, from what they were supposed to be doing.

Which was why most of them had got straight to the little hut in the middle of the park that they all liked to meet up in and… as per usual, most of the Digimon were involved in a game of tag. Guilmon, Terriermon, Calumon, Lopmon and Impmon, who had joined them a few minutes ago, were messing around in the bushes and dashing to and fro in attempts to catch or flee from one another. Terriermon and Lopmon had been forbidden from using their ears to fly in these games to keep is as fair as possible, while the others had been assured that tagging those ears as they streamed out behind the bunnies did not count.

Aayla and Renamon were sitting on top of the hut and watching the antics with smiles in place. Aayla's hands were cupped in her lap, and the tiny little MarineAngemon was curled up in her palms and taking a little nap. Apparently Kenta had been watching a monster movie marathon last night and the poor guy was a little tuckered out from the loud noises the television had made keeping him up.

That left Guardromon, who was sitting on the remnants of what had been a bench and chuckling as the others ran all around him and tried to use his body as a shelter to hide from whoever was it, and Elecmon, who was lying on top of Guardromon's broad head and sunning himself in the process, since the metal hide of the larger Digimon attracted a lot of heat.

"Hey, could you keep it down, you guys," Elecmon opened one eye and chuckled as a screaming Calumon dashed past with Impmon in hot pursuit, swiping his gloved hands at the little Catalyst like a maniac. "I'm trying to get some sleep."

"You had plenty of opportunity to sleep last night, Furball," Impmon smirked up at him as he took another swipe at Calumon and missed. "Why're you trying to get some sleep now when the sun's in the air and it's time to do things?"

"Not all of us have to occupy ourselves all the time with the kinds of things that you do," Elecmon snorted at he closed his eye.

"Suit yourself," Impmon shrugged. "I probably couldn't outrun you anyway. You, on the other hand…" he whirled around with arms splayed out to either side of him like a gunslinger about to pull out his pistols and smirked at Lopmon.

"Uh-oh," Lopmon giggled, and immediately fled with Impmon dashing after her with all speed, piling on as much as he could as he charged towards his Digital girlfriend. Lopmon attempted to gain more speed herself as the two of them raced past Renamon and Aayla, but Impmon managed to gain ground on her all the same and eventually pounced, leaping on top of her and grabbing her in his arms to send them both rolling over and over one another for several feet before they came to rest in a laughing heap with Impmon lying on his back and Lopmon splayed on top of him.

"You caught me," Lopmon smiled, leaning down to peck Impmon on the lips.

"Course I did," Impmon smirked back. "I always do. After all, it took me a while to let you know that I was chasing you, but when you finally knew I caught you quite quickly didn't I?"

"Yes, my fallen angel," Lopmon snickered. "Yes, you did."

"Oh the Celestial Heaven's sake, will you two get a room?" Terriermon called over to them.

"You never bother to get a room when you and Fox-face decide to suck face, Helicopter-head!" Impmon yelled back with a grin.

"He's right. We don't," Renamon chuckled.

"Impmon, remember what we talked about," Lopmon laughed as she rolled off him and then pulled him to his feet with one ear. "I know that Ai and Mako aren't here now, but you should still really stop using course words and phrases like 'suck face.'"

"It's an adequate description of what they do whenever they…"

"Impmon," Lopmon folded her arms and raised a brow at him.

Impmon blinked and rolled his eyes before he said, "Alright, alright. I'll do it. I'll try and keep a lid on my mouth."

"You could always use a piece of duct tape for that," Elecmon opened his eyes again to suggest before closing it again. "That would be a literal lid."

"Shut up you little…," Impmon glanced across at him.

"Ahem," Lopmon cleared her throat.

"Right, yeah. Sorry," Impmon shrugged.

"Hey Terriermon," Guilmon murmured loudly as he stepped over to the other bunny. "You know that thing that we talked about Impmon and Lopmon the other day? Is now a good time to do it?"

"Now would be the perfect time," Terriermon snickered.

"Okay," nodded Guilmon, and then he looked up and pointed at Impmon before raising his other hand and snapping it through the air, making a very distinctive noise with his mouth that sounded like a cracking whip.

Terriermon fell backwards with laughter almost immediately, Calumon blinked and didn't get the joke and Impmon's eyes immediately narrowed and he yelled, "Hey! Why you… I'm gonna put the pounding on you for that Pineapple-h…!"

"PINEAPPLE? Where!" Terriermon yelled, leaping up and jumping behind Guilmon, quivering slightly. Impmon and Guilmon both blinked as Terriermon peered around Guilmon's shoulder a little pathetically before he frowned and went, "There's no pineapple anywhere nearby. Why did you… you… you were going to call Guilmon 'Pineapple-head' again weren't you?"

"Uh yeah," nodded Impmon. "That's only the name I've been giving to him for years now."

Guilmon laughed as he flipped Terriermon off his back with the use of his tail. "I think Terriermon's scardiness of pineapples is really funny."

"I wish I did," Terriermon muttered.

"But it wouldn't but funny if you did," Guilmon pointed out.

"Oh shut up," Terriermon rolled his eyes.

"Wow," Renamon smirked at her mate. "Sounds like Aayla's little joke on you last night really got into your head, Terriermon."

"Why are you never on my side when people tease me about my pineapple phobia?" Terriermon griped at the tall fox.

"Because I maintain that it is one of the most ridiculous phobias that I have ever heard of in my entire life, alongside that one you told me about where people are scared of having peanut butter stick to the top of their mouths."

"Hmm, I could really go for some peanut butter right now," Guilmon rubbed his stomach. "How can anyone be afraid of peanut butter in any way?"

"And because it's funny," Renamon added smoothly. "You know that. If you were afraid of something more serious like, say, enclosed spaces, then I would be much more supportive. But you're not. You're afraid of pineapples."

"Well, excuse me, I'm sure," Terriermon snorted. "And for your information, there are lots of weird phobias out there."

"Yes, I know, because you know them," Renamon pointed out. "I was looking through your eyes when you browsed that website, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Oh this I gotta hear," Impmon chuckled. "Come on Terriermon – hit us with them. What other things are people afraid of. We'll judge them against your phobia and see whether yours is really the stupidest one after all."

"Alright then," Terriermon agreed. "Well, there's that one with the peanut butter, which is called arachibutyrophobia. There's fear of the Northern Lights, there's fear of flutes, there's fear of chopsticks, there's fear of freedom, there's fear of hearing good news, there's fear of the number 666, there's fear of stooping, there's fear of the colour purple, there's fear of poo and then there's my personal favourite – … which, ironically, means fear of long words."

"Wow," Calumon murmured. "People really are scared of some weird stuff. Is there a name for a fear of having your head buried in the ground like ostriches do?"

"Uh… no," Terriermon murmured. "Oh, and ostriches don't actually bury their heads in the sand."

"They don't?" Calumon cried in shock. "That cartoon lied to me?"

"Well, I do have to agree with the Creampuff there," Impmon snorted. "Those are some pretty weird phobias alright. I bet anyone who is scared of the colour purple would run a mile if they got a load of me, right," he laughed, tapping himself on the chest.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be because you're purple," Guilmon grinned.

"Okay, now I'm really going to hurt you in the next few minutes… PINEAPPLE-head," Impmon added, smirking as he watched Terriermon flinch a little. "Hehe, I do like the fear of chopsticks one though… that's pretty weird. And people who are scared of poo must lead a very unfortunate life indeed." He snickered and said, "Hey, what's the one about the number 666? What's that one called?"

"Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia," Terriermon recited.

"How you remember this crap?" Impmon blinked.

"I'm just that good," Terriermon winked.

"Well, so much for keeping your language under control Impmon," Lopmon stepped up beside him and glanced at him. "And it's not that funny Terriermon. There are lots of people out there who really are scared of those things."

"Oh, so it's not funny when they're scared of these things, but it's funny that I'm scared of pineapples?" Terriermon folded his arms.

"When you can turn into a seven-story machine that could level all of Tokyo in half an hour at the most if he wanted to, then yes… it is funny," Lopmon smiled cheekily at him.

"She's got you pegged there, Terriermon," Impmon snorted.

Terriermon brought a hand to his forehead and murmured, "I can't win, can I?"

"Nope," Impmon, Lopmon and Guilmon all said at once.

"Fear not, bold Terriermon," Guardromon finally decided to say something as he pushed himself to his feet and Elecmon almost slid off his head. "For if any pineapples come sniffing around here looking to scare you, I shall keep them at bay and destroy them."

"Thanks, big guy," Terriermon grinned as he turned around to glare at the others. "See, Guardromon doesn't make fun of my phobia," he accused, completely unaware of the fact that Guardromon was opening the hatch on his front and reaching inside with one plated hand to pull out a particularly large pineapple that he had stored inside and holding it close to the bunny.

Struggling not to laugh and to keep his face straight, Impmon folded his arms and said, "Well, why don't you make him your best friend then?"

"You know what? Maybe I will," Terriermon turned around with humph, only to find a very large pineapples being held right in front of his face by Guardromon's large hands.

"AAAAAUUUGGHH!" he screamed and sprang backwards, pelting the pineapple with Bunny Blast pellets in his panic as she shot away. The pineapple was knocked clean out of Guardromon's hands and went spinning off into the trees and out of sight. Terriermon flopped to the ground, breathing heavily, while practically everyone else was rolling on the floor, laughing their heads off. Even Guardromon was holding his sides, his hatch door flapping open.

Renamon glanced over at the scene and chuckled at what she saw. The whole reason that Guardromon had manage to surprised Terriermon like that was because shortly before he had started talking, Renamon had turned away from the conversation to look across at Aayla, who hadn't said anything for a while. Renamon had been watching the Twi'lek carefully, but Aayla didn't seem to know she was being stared at even though Renamon was less than a foot away from her.

She didn't even look over when Terriermon screamed and blasted the pineapple. She was staring off into the trees with eyes slightly narrowed, absent-mindedly scratched the back of the MarineAngemon's head with one finger, thought the little Mega had woken up with the scream and was now peering over the side of Aayla's hands and laughing as well.

Renamon turned back to Aayla and finally decided to ask, "Something on your mind?"

Aayla glanced back at her, as if jumping back to reality. "Sorry," she murmured. "It's just… well, I'm not sure."

"What?" Renamon asked. "Can you sense something?"

"I might be, but I don't rightly know," Aayla shrugged, turning back to stare in the same direction as before. "I thought I felt a ripple in the Force around here just a couple of minutes ago, but it was relatively small. I can't really put my finger on it."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Renamon assured her. "And if it is something to worry about, we'll handle it together, like we always have."

Aayla chuckled. "Thanks for the uplifting words, but I get the feeling that whatever it is, it _could_ be something serious. This isn't the first time I've felt something like this recently. I could a brief fluctuation in the Force about a month ago, but that was on the same day that Yamaki and the others were tested their newest tracers so I put it down to that. But since then, I've felt something like it twice more… and now again. It's still weak, but it's stronger than before."

Renamon frowned in uncertainty and looked up, scanning the trees for any signs of life. There were no observers that had come to look at them this time. But it wasn't them that Renamon was worried about. She had learned a long time ago that when Aayla, or indeed any Jedi, sensed something was amiss then it usually paid off to listen to their warnings. Especially if it happened more than once.

"Well," she murmured quietly. "If you had to hazard a guess as to what might be causing it… then, what would be that guess?"

"I don't know exactly but… if I was to compare it to other disturbances I've felt in the Force then this one could be most closely compared with…" she paused, hesitating and shutting her eyes so she could delve deeper into the Force and re-analyse what she was sensing before she said anything else.

"Yes?" Renamon asked, her fur unintentionally standing on end.

Aayla opened her eyes again and turned to look at the fox gravely. "Like the time where I sensed Parallelmon emerging into our universe before you were thrown at my head, and the time where we were attacked by him on Naboo."

Renamon's tail fluffed up instinctively and she narrowed her eyes still further. "But it's fainter, right?" she asked.

"Oh yes," nodded Aayla. "Much fainter in fact. But still… it is disturbingly similar to that sensation."

Renamon did not know what to make of that. It was impossible that the Parallelmon that they had defeated before could possibly come back, because she, Terriermon and Lopmon and brutally hit him with a powerful Trinity Burst forged from the union of the bonds between them and she had seen Anubimon open the portal to collect his data and put it into eternal damnation forever. Even Parallelmon would not be able to escape from Anubimon's realm with no body or data of any kind.

So, unless this was a different Parallelmon, which was highly unlikely…

…this was something new.

Something that they hadn't come across before.

Of course, it could just be completely nothing of consequence like Renamon had said earlier and Aayla had said the disturbances were only minor so, how bad could it be?

Still, it might be best to be on high alert just in case. Fluctuations in the Force could mean an imminent bio-emergence if nothing else, and Aayla had become quite accomplished at sensing those when they happened. But still, apparently a bio-emergence felt different to the type of disturbance that Aayla was currently sensing.

She was about to say something else but she was beaten to it.

"No worry," MarineAngemon piped up as he bounced round in Aayla's hands and looked up at her with his large eyes. "We strong. We fight many battles. We be okay." He nodded emphatically, with a smile almost bigger than his head firmly in place on his face. "You see. You see."

Both Aayla and Renamon had to stop themselves from chuckling at the pleased look on the tiny Digimon's face. Aayla nodded down at him and said, "You know what? You are right, little one. And so are you, Renamon. We've fought long and hard between us for all of our different worlds, and whatever's causing this disturbance, it'll be no match for all of us together."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," MarineAngemon beamed, blowing a single Kahuna Wave bubble that popped harmlessly against Aayla's forehead.

"And that's if this disturbance is even a threat," Renamon supplemented.

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "Who knows? It's probably nothing."

* * *

The swirling vortex of purple and other bright flashes of colour whirled and span in a multitude of different directions, the enormous shadowy form barrelling straight through the lightshow all around it and somehow failing to be illuminated at all despite the colours around it as it did so. Its red eyes blazed as it felt the raw vastness of space and time flowing past all around it, it brains practically hardwired to feel such things. It had been a long time since it had made a trip to another dimension like this, and this time it had more of a purpose than ever before.

"Alright then," said the voice of one of the three much smaller beings swirling around the head of the larger one. "We are almost through to the dimension on the other side of the tear. From there we must make our way onwards to find the ones we need to fix the problem and awaken our Gods to separate our worlds once again."

"Yes, I understand what we are supposed to do," the darker form grated harshly. "But how are we supposed to go about finding these people anyway? We're surely not going to just appear right next to them, are we? And I'm willing to bet that this Digital World doesn't have a Distortion World that I can utilise parallel to it for me to enter and search from there. If there were then I could probably find them much faster but as it is, I will be hindered. And we may have a whole world to search."

"He has a point actually," a female voice agreed. "How are we supposed to do this?"

"Do not worry," the first voice said. "I know what we must do when we get there. It will be easier to explain it when you can see what I am talking about though."

"Fair enough," the shadowy form nodded. "Oh all-knowing one."

"Oh, this is so, so, so exciting, isn't it?" the final voice bubbled as they progressed further through the tunnel. "I mean… we're actually going to another universe. And I know that's not exactly a new thing for you Giratina, but I've never done this before, and neither have my siblings… you haven't right?"

"No, I have to say that I have not," the first voice agreed. "And while I know exactly what it is going to be like on the other side, I must admit that there is a thrill going up my spine at the thought. It's tickling the receptors of my brain."

"Now that's just giving me weird images, Uxie," the female voice uttered with a shudder. "Let's just focus a little, shall we? How long will it take us to reach the other universe?"

"Not long, Mesprit" Uxie clarified. "They are close enough to be colliding with one another after all so it would normally take much longer. We are almost there now. But because of the disjoints in time and space it is difficult to tell how long it will have really been before we reach the other side. Unless you know these kinds of things like I do."

"Well, it feels like we've been going for about a minute," the fourth voice murmured.

"Ah, that may be, Azelf… but I can safely tell you now that it has been over eleven hours since we left Lake Acuity?"

"What? Eleven hours in a minute?" Azelf yelled. "That's just weird."

"That's the problem we're facing," Uxie murmured bitterly. "Time and space are being thrown completely to pot across the barrier, and when the barrier can no longer take the strain of keeping the universes themselves apart, then time and space will converge in the universes themselves and cancel each other out."

"And that's what we're hoping to avoid, right?" nodded Azelf. "Because that definitely sounds like it would put a crimp in my day."

"It would do more than that," Uxie stated.

"Alright, we're coming out of it," Giratina cried, as the light appeared in the tunnel up ahead. "Brace yourselves."

The three smaller creatures crowded around the much larger form as they burst through the light and felt air rushing over them as they shot out of the hole in time and space that had opened before them to admit them into the other world.

* * *

As before in the Pokémon World, Giratina's body shifted into the clawed, legged Altered Forme that he used whenever outside of his own reality and he quickly flared his new-found claws to kill his speed.

As he touched his six legs down on the ground and reared upwards to his full height, he got his first look at this new dimension that their own was colliding with.

It was a desolate, barren desert… one of the most desolate and barren deserts he had ever seen in his entire life, and while he had not seen many, he knew of the few that could be found within the Pokémon World. And he knew that they had more features than this. All he could see before him was just sand… stretching onwards for miles and miles in any direction he turned his head, and there was also the faint silhouettes of dark, strangely shaped boulders in the distance.

"This is it?" he raised a plated brow in bemusement. "This is the universe that ours is colliding with? Looks pretty much devoid of life to me."

"You should know not to judge what you are looking at on what you first see, Giratina," Uxie informed him. "This universe is a vibrant place for the vast majority of it, and absolutely jam-packed with life in many different areas. There are seven different levels to it… and while this is the largest and the most desolate, all the others have life everywhere."

"Well that sounds great and all, but I was kinda hoping for something a little more… exciting," Azelf murmured, a little put out. "Not just endless expanses of sand."

"Well, what are they then?" Mesprit pointed off to their right. The four of them all looked over to see small, pink and slightly fizzling orbs rolling across the desert and passing in front of them to continue on their way in a completely straight line.

"Those are the weirdest tumbleweeds I have ever seen in my entire life," Azelf mumbled.

"Those are not tumbleweeds," Uxie informed him.

"I figured you were going to say that," Azelf chuckled. "What are they then?"

"Spare packets of data," Uxie stated. "Everything about this world is made up of the data from human-built computers. It is called the Digital World for a reason, after all. Absolutely everything, including the life forms that live here, are made of data. In fact, since _we_ are not in this universe, _we_ are now made of computer data as well."

"Say what?" Azelf blinked.

"Really?" Mesprit looked down at herself, expecting to see her tail gems flashing like some kind of strange button on a computer. "But I don't feel any different."

"It's not surprising," Uxie admitted. "You wouldn't feel the transition because your body changed at exactly the same time as the universe around you. In any case, despite this world and its inhabitants being made of data, it is all very much real. This is not a fantasy world that only exists in computers. If it were, then it would not be able to collide with our own Pokémon World. And it was created by humans, who live in the universe directly parallel to this one. The locals call it the Human World, or the Real World, and the two worlds are effectively one in the same – the same world but on two different planes of existence."

"Whoa…" Azelf breathed. "The humans made all this?"

"They began it," nodded Uxie. "But then the Digital World's inhabitants gained their life force and began to evolve on their own and build things up around them from there."

"Well, while this is all extremely fascinating, Uxie," Giratina inserted a little dryly. "How are we going to find those people that you mentioned so we can take them back to our world and get them to fix the problem and save both worlds?"

"Well, for a start, we're in the wrong universe for that," Uxie chuckled. "We're in the Digital World currently, but those we seek can be found in the Human World. We must travel there first if we are to find them."

"Lovely," Giratina sighed, heaving his much heavier body into the air. "We travel across the breaking dimensional barrier to find these guys you claim are so important and then when we get there, we're still not in the right universe?"

"Do not be so surly, Giratina," Uxie reprimanded him. "We must press on. Fortunately, there is a very easy way that we can get to the Human World. We must find the correct Data Stream. And I know exactly where we have to look to find it. Follow me now." He then rolled over with a flick of his tails and whooshed off across the desert landscape, taking a route that went directly north-east in a straight line from their current position.

"This is beginning to get complicated," Mesprit sighed.

"Aw, come on, sis," Azelf grinned at her. "Where's your sense of adventure. Come on, let's go!" He grabbed her little hand in his own and hoisted her on a start in the same direction that Uxie was going, drawing a yelp from her mouth as she was dragged through the air after their brother.

"Azelf! I can fly on my own!" Mesprit called as the blue-headed Lake Guardian dragged her do fast that they both overtook Uxie completely, and Uxie had to reach out with both his hands and grab them by the tails to draw them back behind him once more.

"I said 'follow me,' Azelf," Uxie chuckled. "Which means that I need to be the one that goes first."

"Yes, your Braininess," Azelf saluted immediately as he and Mesprit fell into line behind Uxie so they were flying in a miniature V.

Giratina shook his head as he forced himself to fly after them and muttered, "Dear Arceus, the antics of those three are going to scare away the people that we're trying to help."

"I did not hear that, but I know what you said!" Uxie called over his shoulder.

"Whatever!" Giratina called back as he spurred himself onwards to catch up with them. Flying in his Altered Forme was possible for his still, but it was much more difficult than flying in his Origin Forme. It was bulkier and far less streamlined and it seemed to drag through the air in comparison. Nevertheless, he was able to build up more than enough speed to keep pace with Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit as they shot across the sky of the Digital World."

"There's no sun," Azelf remarked. "But what the heck is that giant, blue, orb thing up there anyway?"

"That is our destination," Uxie replied immediately. "That is the Human World. Just as the Digital World can be found in computers in that world, that is the where the Human World can be seen in this one."

"I don't know how much more weirdness I can take," Mesprit murmured. "What are we looking for again?"

"We're not looking for anything. I already know where it is and we're heading towards it. But what we're heading towards is a Data Stream. They are effectively giant programs that can send anyone who enters one to other locations within the Digital World, but if you pick the right one, it sends things up to the Human World. It's like a data transfer device and works in a similar way to human e-mail, which sense information over a certain frequency to others. All we need to do is hop into the right Data Stream and we'll be there."

"But then how will we find the ones we're looking for in the other world?" Giratina asked.

"We won't have to," Uxie smiled. "They'll find us. They have the ability to detect when something crosses the barrier from the Digital World to the Human World and they'll go investigating. And the Data Streams always send anything sucked up by them to the same place – the general vicinity in which the Digital World was first created. And that is where these people live, for it is their duty to protect both the Digital World from any threats they can and the Human World from any threats presented by the Digital World."

"It still sounds like an overly complicated system to me," Giratina muttered.

"It may be complex, but it works," Uxie pointed out.

"Fair enough," the giant ghostly-dragon shrugged. "How long until we get there?"

"Not long. No less than twenty minutes if we continue at this speed."

"We need to hurry," Giratina growled and sped up until he was flying directly beneath Uxie. "Go faster! The longer I am away from the Distortion World, the more clouds of toxic gas will appear there, which means that there will be a lot more tears in the fabric of reality that I need to fix if I'm to continue slowing down the collapse of the worlds. And I've already been away for eleven hours according to you."

"You are quite right," Uxie nodded, picking up the pace himself. "Come, let us make haste."

Azelf and Mesprit glanced across at one another and nodded, spurring themselves onwards to take their points on either side of Uxie, with Giratina's enormous head looming over them all. Both of them knew the urgency of the situation and they decided to say nothing more until they reached their destination.

Although this decision was forgotten by Azelf a few minutes later when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned his head to see what it was. He blinked in surprise and he cried, "Hey look, guys. What are those things?"

The others tilted their heads to look in the same direction and Mesprit blinked in surprise as a phalanx of about five brightly glowing creatures with wide eyes and small wings came soaring towards them, arcing around so that they would soon draw up alongside the four Legendary Pokémon. Giratina's eyes narrowed, assessing them quickly to see if they were possible threats and opening his beaked mouth to ready one of his attacks.

"Steady, Giratina," Uxie cautioned him. "Those are not dangerous. They are only curious, as they have never seen anything like us before."

"What are they?" Mesprit asked, as Giratina slowly closed his mouth but still kept a wary eye on the newcomers as they drew alongside the flying group to stare at them with their large eyes. "Are they Digimon?"

The creatures made giggling noises and flitted between the three Lake Guardians as if they were playing some sort of bizarre game.

"They kinda look like weird Togetics or something," murmured Azelf.

"Indeed but no, they are not Digimon," Uxie replied. "Those creatures are known as Digi-Gnomes, the other main inhabitant of this world and able to grant wishes to people who ask them."

"Oh, so they're like Jirachi?" asked Azelf. "Wow… I wonder what I'll tell him next time I see him. Hey, Jirachi… guess what… the other universe is full of little yous."

"Well, they are like Jirachi in many ways and not like him in many others," Uxie replied simply. "They can grant wishes like Jirachi can, but they can only grant wishes for things that the person in question truly has in their hearts instead of granting any wish which Jirachi can do. And, unlike Jirachi, they use their own life force to grant the wish. If a wish proves too much for one Digi-Gnome then it will die, whereas if a wish proves too much for Jirachi, he will faint and take several days to recover. And also, Jirachi is more powerful than they are, as they are essentially totally defenceless against any and all forms of attack."

"Ouch. That sucks," Azelf wrinkled his nose.

"Excuse me, but I thought we were focusing on our target," Giratina reminded them with a growl.

"Right," Mesprit nodded. "Oh wow. Now I'm really looking forward to seeing what kinds of Digimon there are in this world if it also has those things in it."

"Well, look no further," Uxie smiled. "For we shall soon be meeting with the Digimon that we shall need to save both worlds. And, straight up ahead, is our goal. Do you see it?"

The other three Legendaries squinted ahead as they kept on flying, and, after a couple of seconds of nothing but blank desert and more large rock formations ahead of them, they finally saw something hove into view. It looked like a giant column of rushing pinkish energy that was moving and zig-zagging its way across the desert towards them. The top of it seemed to disappear off into nothingness, as in it literally faded from sight, so it just seemed like it was moving of its own accord rather than being manipulated by something.

"The column?" asked Giratina. "That is what we're heading for?"

"Yes," Uxie nodded. "That is a Data Stream. And I know for a fact that that one will take us directly to the place we need to be. Now, let us go. As soon as we dive into the column, it will take us where we need to go."

"And… it won't have any other side effects will it? You know, like, frying our internal organs or something?" Mesprit asked slightly nervously as she gazed at the thing rushing towards them.

"Of course not," Uxie chuckled. "It is perfectly harmless."

"Into the breach then," Azelf cried. "Last one there was a rotten egg when they were created!" And he shot off straight towards the giant rushing column with laughter peeling from his mouth as he spiralled through the air.

"But Azelf!" Mesprit shouted. "You hatched from the same egg as me and Uxie!"

"Then let's make Giratina last," Uxie snorted as he shot forwards as well Mesprit hard on his tails.

Giratina rolled his eyes at their actions, knowing that he was not about to take part in their childish antics. Nevertheless, he did increase his speed, eyes narrowing and claws flaring outwards like ghostly bat-wings as he soared straight towards the incoming Data Stream.

Azelf shot into it first and immediately changed direction and shot upwards with a cry, blurring out of sight a few moments later. Mesprit blinked and almost hesitated but Uxie had anticipated what she was going to do and threw out a hand to grab her own reassuringly and guide her into the column after their triplet brother, to the same effect.

Giratina let loose a roar at the challenge and plunged straight into the column a few moments later.

He felt a sudden rushing sensation all around him as his body was dragged upwards almost against his will, trying to make him tumble madly through the air as it did so. But Giratina was used to travelling through portals like this and quickly asserted control, pointing himself upwards and thrashing his short tail behind him as he whooshed straight up… or at least in what felt like straight up. Above him there appeared to be a light which he was heading straight towards and the three Lake Guardians were all tumbling over and over one another a few metres ahead of his nose, clearly far less used to this kind of thing as they tried to assert their Psychic powers to gain some greater amount of control.

Giratina found himself thinking that this had better all be worth it. When they reached this Human World and spoke to the ones which Uxie had told him about… then they better make sure that his trip to their world was not a wasted one. His home was getting further polluted at this very moment, the walls of their universes were crumbling… and if they refused to help… then there was going to be hell to pay.

Uxie has said that they would not refuse.

For their sake, he had better have been right. Giratina could get very violent very quickly when his temper flared.

One by one, the Lake Guardians vanished into the bright light and, a few moments later, Giratina plunged through right after them.

* * *

Aayla's eyes shot open as she felt the Force flare with a sudden, massive disturbance… on which was far larger than any single disturbance that she had felt since arriving in this universe. She surged to her feet in a swift backwards roll that accidentally sent MarineAngemon flying as her head snapped in the direction she had been staring in beforehand.

As MarineAngemon righted himself and blinked in confusion, all the other Digimon in the area looked at her sharply, knowing that when Aayla acted like this then something quite serious was probably up.

"What?" Lopmon asked quickly. "What is it?"

"A bio-emergence," Aayla stated. "And a big one. A _very_ big one. And close too. But… also different. Unlike any bio-emergence that I've ever felt before."

The Digimon looked at one another, startled for a moment, before Guilmon said, "I don't sense anything."

"No, nor do I," Renamon shook her head.

"I got bupkis," Impmon clarified.

Before Aayla could say anything else, a sudden and very large beam of light suddenly lanced into the air not far from their current position, shooting up from somewhere within the boundaries of Shinjuku Park. The Digimon who were still sitting down also shot to their feet and stared with wide eyes as a very big fog began to sprout out of nowhere, forming the largest Digital Field that any of them had seen in a long time. Even the one for that Brachiomon had been smaller than this.

"What the…" Terriermon gasped. "A Digital Field? But… I didn't sense anything."

"No, me neither," Elecmon murmured. "I don't think any of us did, except for Aayla."

"But we've always sensed it when something bio-emerges before," Guilmon gaped. "Why didn't we sense that one?"

"I don't know," Aayla's face took on its most serious of expressions as she summoned her lightsabers off her waist and into her hands. "But my senses detect that there is something different about this bio-emergence. Very different. But we'll worry about that later. For now, we have to deal with whatever the problem is. Let's go! Renamon, take Terriermon and Elecmon back to the school and gather the Tamers. Get them to the site and make sure that one of them calls Ryo. Lopmon, take Impmon back to the twins' school to pick them up. Guilmon, Guardromon and MarineAngemon with me. Let's go!"

Aayla had spent a long time as General of the Galactic Republic in the Clone Wars and was used to giving out orders in these battle situations. And the others all knew of her experience and followed her orders without question.

Lopmon seized Impmon by the hands with her own and hoisted him into the air with surges of her ears to zoom above the treetops and in the direction of the campus where they knew Ai and Mako would be. Aayla leapt off the top of the hideout and dashed down the road, Guilmon hurtling after her with the narrowed eyes he usually gained when expecting a fight, while Guardromon activated his jets to follow on while MarineAngemon grabbed Aayla's shoulder and hung on as she zoomed away.

Renamon also bounded down and called, "Stay out of trouble!" to Calumon as she scooped up both Terriermon and Elecmon from the ground and practically flew back towards the school they had left this morning.

_Rika!_ She yelled with her mind. _Rika, we've got a problem!_

_A problem? What problem?_ Rika's voice instantly filled the fox's head.

Terriermon chipped in with. _A very, very large bio-emergence kind of problem._

_What?_ Rika blanched. _A bio-emergence? But… what? That can't be right._ There was a pause as the girl pulled her D-Arc of her belt and stared at it for a few moments before saying, _My D-Arc isn't picking anything up. Are you sure?_

_There's an enormous Digital Field over Shinjuku Park_, Renamon clarified. _That's more than enough evidence for us. And we didn't sense anything either. Only Aayla did, and she said it feels different somehow. We don't know what's going on but just get everyone to the entrance of the school now so we can pick you up and sort things out. And call Ryo!_

_On it!_ Rika cried immediately, and Renamon increased her speed as she tucked Terriermon and Elecmon under each arm and whooshed down the road.

"You know, I can fly!" Terriermon shouted, but he was ignored in the rush.

* * *

Aayla, Guilmon, Guardromon and MarineAngemon hurried along the path towards the giant disturbance in the park. People who had already been in the park were heading in the opposite direction to them, as they had long since learned what it meant when a column of light followed by a fog bank appeared and that it was generally a good idea to leave the area quickly.

And Aayla couldn't blame them for the panic on their faces considering the size of the Digital Field that they were currently heading towards. It was _massive._ And it seemed to her that the larger the Digital Field was, the more powerful the Digimon inside it was. This wasn't always the case, but it was most of the time. And this one was definitely a big one.

Quite frankly, she wondered how much a Rookie and a Champion were going to do against something that could make a field that large. But they did have MarineAngemon with them and the little guy was quite powerful despite his small size, so hopefully if the worst came to the worst he would at least be able to hold the newcomer off until they others arrived. And she had a few tricks up her own long sleeve as well.

"The Digital Barrier appears to be fading," Guardromon noted as he jetted along. And he was indeed right. The fog was slowly lessening and decreasing in volume and density.

"Then let's make sure that we're there to keep whatever's inside away from civilians if it decides to go on a rampage," Aayla nodded.

"Right you are, ma'am," Guardromon nodded.

"But Aayla, this is weird!" Guilmon cried as they hurried forwards. "I don't smell any Digimon in there."

"You don't?" Aayla blinked as they covered the last three-hundred yards towards it. "Then, is it empty?"

"No, I don't think so," Guilmon frowned. "There's not Digimon in there, but… there's definitely _something_ in there. Something big."

"Let's see," MarineAngemon piped as they hurried along, Guilmon seeming to move even faster and more energetically than he did in a game of tag. They threw themselves down the last two-hundred yards or so and pulled to a stop just before the edge of the Digital Field, Aayla activating both of her lightsabers just in case they would shortly be needed and waiting for the fog to clear further.

And, as it did so, a dark silhouette could be seen slowly getting clearer through the fog. A dark and also a _large _silhouette. Aayla had seen bigger ones… much bigger ones in fact… but it was certainly extremely big in its own right. If Aayla had to hazard a guess, she would say that Digimon like MegaGargomon and Cherubimon were taller… but not by a whole lot.

"Oh my," Guardromon murmured. "It's a large one."

"And powerful," agreed Aayla. "I can sense it. Raw power and strength… and, whatever it is… it's angry."

"That cannot be good," Guardromon groaned, prepping his arms for a fight as he did so.

The shape roared and suddenly huge wing-like structures unfolded with snaps that blew away the rest of the fog almost instantly, revealing its bodily form to the four who were standing before it. All of them gasped in astonishment. It was a giant dragon-like creature with a long body that reared up to the sky, supported on six-trunk like legs and patterned with red and black stripes down its centre. A short tail stuck out behind it, platinum plates adorned its head and the wings were actually huge, black, ethereal looking structures with three red spikes jutting out of each one that extended out of its shoulders behind a set of platinum rib-like structures on its front.

And its eyes blazed red as it seemed to sense them immediately and tilted its head down to stare at them.

Aayla felt her heart almost stop slightly as the eyes focused on her. This creature, whatever it was, was unlike anything that she had ever experienced before. She could feel deep anger brewing behind those blazing red eyes but… fortunately, that anger was not being directed towards her. That much she did know. The being was a powerful monument of strength but despite the anger within him, she could not sense any evil inside him. This was not an invading conqueror, whatever it was.

Though it certainly looked the part of one. As well as the raw draconic power that she could sense flowing through it, there was also a slightly more ethereal side… a ghostly quality to him as if he was only partially there, but the part of him that was there was very solid and very real. She stared into those eyes and almost immediately became lost in their depths. This creature was old, very old indeed. It was possible that it had lived for thousands and thousands of years, far longer than the Digital World had ever existed.

She knew Guilmon was right. This was no Digimon.

But as to what it was, she had no idea. Especially since it had come from the Digital World, meaning it _ought_ to be a Digimon. But it just… wasn't.

"What is that thing?" Guardromon whispered.

"Aayla, what do we do now?" Guilmon added. "Do we attack it? It's a big one."

"Wait," Aayla lifted up a hand, sheathing her lightsabers. "Do not attack it just yet. I do not sense any ill intentions towards us or this world. Let us see what it does first, whatever it is."

The creature stared at them for a few more moments, but then its beak opened and it let loose a loud and guttural sounding roar-like noise, which was enough to make Aayla and the others all flinch slightly even though they could tell that it was not a particularly aggressive noise. It's head turned to the side and it seemed to be looking at something else entirely.

And then Aayla heard another voice in her head. One that did not belong to any of the rest of the Super Seven and certainly was not hers. It was a completely strange voice, masculine but still quite high, like that of a child rather than an adult.

_Giratina, don't be rude. That is not the best way of introducing yourself to the inhabitants of this world. You are a guest here, after all. It would probably be best to keep a civil tongue in your mouth around these people._

Aayla blinked. _Did you guys hear that?_ She asked through the bond to the others.

_Yeah, I heard it,_ Lopmon replied. _Who was it?_

"Why am I hearing a voice in my head?" asked Guilmon suddenly, startling Aayla out of her thoughts prematurely. He had heard it to? And he didn't even have a mind link.

"Oh good," Guardromon sighed. "You heard it too. I thought my circuitry was on the fritz."

"Strange voice," MarineAngemon concurred. All three of them had heard it. What was going on?

The enormous centipede-like dragon screeched slightly and flared its claws. Aayla and the others immediately tensed and struck battle poses, ready to do their best to fend off the enormous creature if it began to attack suddenly. And then the voice filled their heads again:-

_You should know by now that looks do not always guarantee how much strength or power an individual actually possesses, Giratina._

_Yeah,_ said another foreign male voice all of a sudden. _After all, take a look at us. Are we not powerhouses in very small bodies?_

_Azelf, you are not helping, _the first voice said. _As I was saying, these beings might be little but as you must surely be able to tell by their body language, they would be more than willing to fight you right here and now if they thought you were a threat to them. And you would be surprised by how powerful they all area. Especially the smallest one. But to answer your other question, these are some of the beings which we came to see. The others are on their way right now._

A third foreign voice, this one a female, piped up with, _I think that we're confusing them. Should we not go down and introduce ourselves._

_Yes, we should,_ said the first voice.

The giant creature shifted its enormous ghostly-claws and dropped them down slightly and, to the astonishment of the four onlookers, three more which had been slightly hidden before came into view. They were considerably smaller, each one only about the size of a long ruler, as in thirty centimetres tall if you didn't include their long tails, and they resembled miniature pixie-like creatures. One had yellow face with a growth that resembled a big brain, the second had a blue, cone-like head and the third had a magenta face with four tendrils that hung down to the sides like lekku.

The three of them made their way downwards, twisting around each other as if they were trying to pull off an intricate pattern with their bodies, until they were hovering just above the ground a few metres in front of the three Digimon and he Twi'lek.

"Aayla, they smell funny," Guilmon murmured. "And they aren't Digimon either, whatever they are."

"Yes, I know," Aayla nodded. "I can sense something… different about them."

_Hey, they're talking the language of humans,_ the second male voice cried, the blue-faced one blinking as it did so.

_Indeed,_ nodded the yellow-faced one. _And I have been projecting our shared thought patterns to them in their language so that they can understand what we are saying, as they do not speak the language of Pokémon. I may have to do something about that, but I shall wait until they are all here before I do._

_Oh, that little one is really cute, _the magenta-faced one placed her small hands together. _Like a smaller version of us. And the red one's quite cute too._

_I did just say that they can hear and understand what we are saying to each other, _the yellow one pointed out.

_Oh yeah,_ the magenta one went an even deeper magenta.

_And now to business,_ the yellow one turned around and floated closer, smiling in a friendly fashion as he appeared to stare at the group of four, although his eyes remained firmly shut in the process for some reason. _Excuse our intrusion upon your world, but I'm afraid that we have come to speak with you and the rest of your friends._

"Who are you?" Aayla suddenly found her voice again and lowered her weapons, recognising that these creatures were anything but unfriendly.

_I am Uxie, the Being of Knowledge,_ the yellow one nodded, placing a hand on his chest and bowing his head respectfully. _And it is an honour to meet such great heroes as yourselves. These two are my siblings. The blue one is my brother – Azelf, the Being of Willpower – and the magenta one is my sister – Mesprit, the Being of Emotion. And while it may be shocking to hear, but not quite as shocking as it could be to someone like you, Aayla Secura, but we come from another dimension. A dimension other than the Digital World, in fact._

Aayla blinked. "You know my name?" she started. "And… you come from another dimension too?"

_Say what?_ Azelf cried. _She comes from a… I thought she was a Digimon?_

_No, but the other three are, _Uxie clarified. _And yes, I do know your name. I know almost everything there is to know about you and this universe, as well as my own universe, as I am the Being of Knowledge. But I shall explain that in further detail shortly when the rest of your friends reach our current location._

Aayla swiftly recovered her senses and, recognising this Uxie as the literal brains of the outfit and sensing incredible power from within his miniscule body, she nodded and said, "Very well. It is a pleasure to meet beings from other dimensions such as yourselves. But, if you do not mind me asking, who is your giant friend?"

The giant friend in question let loose another large roar there made Guilmon flinch and loosened several of Guardromon's bolts.

_He is Giratina, the Being of Distortion,_ Uxie replied. _I know that you sense much anger within him but I assure you that he is not here to fight you. Considering the gravity of the situation which brings us here, it is only natural that he be so angry. In any case, he is the being that allowed us to come from our dimension into your own, for he possesses some control over time and space, and also of distortion and antimatter._

"Wow," Aayla murmured, looking up at the enormous creature. "Impressive. It is a pleasure to meet you too, Master Giratina."

Giratina reared upwards slightly and the side of his beak-like jaw quirked to the side, almost as if he was smirking, and he let off another low rumbling noise, which Uxie then translated:- _He says that it is a pleasure to meet you too, especially someone as respectful as you. He also likes that you are not afraid of him, and commends you for your boldness, as most people back in our world would not be so unafraid in his presence._

"Ah, well then, you're welcome," Aayla smiled.

"Well, it seems there will be no fighting today after all," Guardromon lowered his arms. "It's just as well, I suppose. I get the feeling that yon dragon creature could put up an extremely good fight."

_Yon?_ Giggled Mesprit. _Who says yon anymore?_

_Evidently him,_ Azelf grinned. _Any of these guys the ones that we need, Uxie?_

_On step at a time, Azelf,_ Uxie cautioned his brother. _We must wait for the whole group to be gathered before we begin our explanations. However, Aayla, I do have a small request to make of you right now._

"Oh?" Aayla raised a brow. "And what would that be?"

_In approximately ten seconds, your friend Cyberdramon is going to appear over the trees and attack Giratina. I would appreciate it if you could stop him before Giratina loses his temper – he can get very destructive when he goes renegade._

Aayla's eyes shot open and she was in motion before she knew what was going on, backflipping on top of Guardromon and crying, "Boost me up!"

As Guardromon quickly fired his jets, there was an extremely angry roar as the masked, bladed Ultimate-level dragon Digimon known as Cyberdramon suddenly lanced out from above the treetops and made a beeline straight for Giratina. He slammed his full body weight into the side of Giratina's head, and the enormous creature was taken off guard by the blow and knocked sideways, his thick feet staggering to steady himself as Cyberdramon shot past and wheeled around for another pass.

"Cyberdramon, stop!" yelled Aayla as Guardromon motored her upwards, but evidently Cyberdramon either hadn't heard or didn't bother to listen as his claws began to glow a fierce blue colour.

"**DESOLATION CLAW!"** Cyberdramon yelled, slashing his hands through the air and pulling them back, in preparation for his attack.

Giratina swung around to face him, a snarl of fury appearing on his draconic face and without a moment's hesitation, he lifted himself off the ground and threw himself directly towards Cyberdramon in a full-on charge right at the moment Cyberdramon unleashed a barrage of blasts from his powerful claws directly at him.

It looked like Giratina was going to meet the attack head on, but moments before impact the crest which ran over the top of his eyes flashed a bright blue colour and, to the astonishment of all present, his entire body turned black and he faded out of existence, the Desolation Claw travelling through the last remnants of his ghostly body before it vanished completely to slam into the ground with a colossal explosion.

Cyberdramon pulled back in confusion and annoyance but before he could do anything else an enormous burst of black energy appeared out of nowhere right behind him and crashed into his back, right between his wings and hurling him towards the ground instantaneously. The energy reformed itself back into Giratina's body, his red eyes flashing in anger as he swooped down after his attacker like some giant dragon-shaped arrow.

The sheer force of Giratina's attack had taken Cyberdramon totally and completely off guard. It was ridiculously powered and it felt like his back had just been hit by a nuclear warhead. He collided with the ground with enough force to cause an immense crater all around his body and he grunted as he struggled to push himself back up, a very large portion of his energy already depleted under that one incredibly powerful attack.

Nevertheless, Cyberdramon would not go down without a real fight and, gritting his fangs together he reared back onto his feet and whirled around, stumbling only for a moment as his back lanced with pain before roaring at the oncoming Giratina, who roared back furiously. Cyberdramon flung himself upwards to meet him, the blades on his arms glowing as he prepared another attack.

"Not good enough to defeat me!" he roared as he brought his arms up for a Cyber Nail, while Giratina roared back and brought his own enormous ghostly-claw-wings upwards, the red spikes in each of them suddenly glowing a bright magenta. The two dragons lanced towards each other with claws reared back to slash at one another simultaneously with incredibly violent strokes.

"I said STOP!" Aayla shouted as she took Cyberdramon completely off guard, springing off Guardromon's head moments before impact and using a combination of a Force-push and her own body to ram Cyberdramon in the side and knock him completely off-kilter sending both him and Aayla tumbling out of the way as Giratina's slash rent the air right behind them with such force that Aayla practically felt her back sizzling as they passed within an inch of her lekku.

As Giratina pulled himself out of his dive and landed with a thud on his six legs, Cyberdramon and Aayla both went rolling to the ground and over one another several times before Aayla managed to push herself upwards in mid-tumble with her hands and flip back onto her feet. Cyberdramon managed to roll over a few moments later and plunge his claws into the ground, raking them through the earth and forcing him to slow down as he tore up the turf before stopping.

"Out of my way, Aayla!" Cyberdramon snarled. "I must defeat him."

"No, you mustn't," Aayla held up a steadying set of hands as she slowly approached the enraged Cyberdramon. "You don't understand. This isn't a normal bio-emergence and your opponent is not a Digimon."

"I know that," Cyberdramon growled. "I can sense it. But he is a worthy opponent."

"And he is also not here to fight. Apparently there is a grave situation in the offing, Cyberdramon, and we need to listen to what these creatures have to say. Calm down and do not let your bloodlust get yourself and all of the rest of us into trouble. You may have the opportunity for many other fights in the not too-distant future. But not now. Please, listen to me and be calm."

Cyberdramon growled again and looked up at Giratina, who was still looking absolutely livid, and was opening his mouth to generate a huge sphere of some reddish fire-like substance from his mouth that hovered in front of his face. Cyberdramon sprang forwards as Giratina fired the attack, and before Aayla could stop him he had grabbed the Twi'lek in his arms, turning the other way and bracing for impact as he crouched protectively over the Jedi Master.

Though he really needn't have, because suddenly the three small beings; Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit, zipped in the way of the attack and the gems embedded in their foreheads suddenly blazed with red light, which seemed to congeal in front of them to form a powerful red barrier that took the attack and, though with considerable effort, stopped it in its tracks and caused a massive explosion that tore the attack and the shield apart and sent the three of them tumbling over slightly.

_Giratina, calm yourself!_ Uxie demanded. _This was a misunderstanding. Curb your temper this moment before you destroy our chances of saving our world by lacing mistrust in the inhabitants of this one._

Giratina snarled and made an unintelligible roaring noise at Uxie.

_You cannot blame the inhabitants of this world for mistaking you for a threat and trying to defend their turf,_ Uxie pointed out, presumably in reply to whatever Giratina had said.

_Yeah, you should have expected something like this,_ Azelf nodded. _Wouldn't you do the same thing if someone encroached on your Distortion World?_

_Please stop being so angry, Giratina,_ Mesprit cringed. _It's making me feel horrible._

Giratina glared across at Cyberdramon but his battle stance slowly began to go down and he stepped backwards, snorting in annoyance as his body slowly relaxed. From where she was kneeling beneath Cyberdramon's hunched form, Aayla stepped outwards as she could see the situation was now under control.

"Wow. Thank you for that, Cyberdramon," she said, placing a hand on his arm and smiling at him. "You were willing to use yourself as a shield for me. Seems that you do care for people sometimes after all."

Cyberdramon seemed to pretend that he hadn't heard what Aayla had said, and the Twi'lek chuckled and added, "Well, if you want to stay reserved then that's your decision. But please, let's just hear these guys out, alright? They apparently have some important things to tell us."

Cyberdramon growled, but nodded. Then he winced and fell to one knee as his back was suddenly filled with pain. Aayla caught herself, remembering he had been hit with a powerful attack and quickly waved MarineAngemon over to use his healing powers to fix up the dragon while she turned to Giratina and said, "Please forgive, Cyberdramon. He is a born fighter, and once he sees a potentially powerful opponent he can get carried away."

Giratina snorted again and raised a brow at the same time. He paused for a moment, and then made a loud, grating noise that sounded a lot like chuckling, before he added in another roaring noise at the end.

Uxie turned to face Aayla and said, _Giratina wishes to extend his own apologies as when he gets angry he often forgets what the situation is and can get very brutal very quickly. In that way, he guesses that he and this Cyberdramon are very much alike._

"Yes indeed," Aayla chuckled.

_And now, I believe the rest of your friends are arriving,_ Uxie added, as Guilmon and Guardromon group around the others and the Lake Guardians flew over to hover beside Giratina once more.

And indeed, he was right. In the space of the next thirty seconds the rest of the team arrived. Kyubimon suddenly bounded out of the trees with Rika, Takato and Suzie all on her back, while Rapidmon landed at exactly the same moment with Henry and Kazu in his arms. A few moments after that and Leomon leapt out of the foliage and landed in a crouch, depositing Jeri and Kenta on the ground in front of him.

As Aayla quickly assured them that there was no emergency battling needed and prevented the Tamers and Digimon from making the same mistake and Cyberdramon, Beelzemon arrived with Lopmon clinging onto one shoulder and a very disgruntled Ryo tucked under one arm. As he placed the Legendary Tamer down and Ryo went to berate his partner for flying off again, Beelzemon split into Impmon and the twins.

With the whole group gathered they stared up at Giratina in awe and then blinked as the voice of Azelf filled their heads. _So, are these the ones we're looking for?_

_Yes,_ nodded Uxie. _They are. Now, if you'll wait a moment – there is something I can do that will make this process a little easier._

He floated forwards and away from the others slightly before he placed his small hands together and raised his tails up, so that the little gems set in the spaded bases were parallel to the one of his forehead. All three of those gems began to exude a bright red light and Uxie let out a low humming noise at the same time.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Impmon stepped back cautiously as the red light washed over the entire group, seeming to envelop them. Aayla held up a steadying hand as several of the group tensed, and then, every single one of them felt a strange tingling sensation inside their heads, unlike anything they had ever felt before.

"What's he doing to us?" Takato asked nervously, touching his temples as the tingling intensified.

Uxie decided to reply… with his voice.

"I am altering your minds slightly," he said out loud. "We Pokémon do not speak the same language as you, though we can understand it ourselves. I happen to be very good with brains, and I believe that this process would go more smoothly if you could all understand what we were saying, so I am altering the speech centres of your brain and your auditory nerves so that instead of hearing our language whenever a Pokémon speaks, you will now hear your own in its place."

"Wait, shouldn't you ask our permission first or something?" Henry asked.

"I am the Pokémon of Knowledge," Uxie smirked. "I know that you would have all said yes."

"There he goes again," Giratina chuckled, startling everyone with his deep and slightly raspy voice. "Showing off his all-knowing brain to all and sundry."

"Yeah. We have a couple of fancy tricks in our own heads too," Azelf agreed. "If only they were useful in this situation."

Uxie casually withdrew the light once he had finished his work and the tingling in everybody's brains stopped. "You needn't worry about any side effects," Uxie stated. "I assure you that there will be none, and you will now be able to hear your own language in place of ours when we speak. And now, I shall reintroduce ourselves. I am Uxie, and this is Azelf, Mesprit and Giratina. We are Pokémon and we come from another dimension similar to your Digital World. And… we need your help."

* * *

Right then. The two universes have finally met one another and soon the real crossover will be beginning. Hope you liked this chapter and the little fight between Giratina and Cyberdramon close to the end there. Giratina is an incredibly powerful Pokémon and is more than capable of doing even Cyberdramon some serious damage, but at least the fight was cut short before anything too bad happened.

This chapter was initially going to be mostly about Uxie and the others explaining to the Digimon, the Tamers and Aayla exactly the same thing that Uxie told Giratina in Chapter 2. But I quickly decided to reformat the chapter so that we wouldn't have to repeat the same explanations again to different people, as that would just be boring. The explanation section will be extremely condensed down in the next chapter, so don't worry… there won't be a load of the same technical babble that Uxie gave before.

See ya soon.

* * *

Next time…

After listening to what the four Pokémon have to say and with the knowledge that if they don't act, two and possibly even three worlds would be destroyed, the heroes must decide how they proceed. Can they trust the Pokémon? And if they can, who should go and who should stay? And if they go… what will they tell their families?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 5 : Departure**


	5. Departure

Here I am again with another update, people. But I'm afraid it's just the one chapter this time. The presentation I've been preparing for over the last week or so destroyed my schedule on the first day of writing the Chapter 5s, and then I decided to allow myself a day off to celebrate an end to my second year of university. Now, as I have no work to do, I intend to focus all my efforts on this story before I am forced to go home and slow down my writing. Chapter 5 of my other story will be up soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one, though it's mostly just a large dialogue driven chapter.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 5:- Departure**

* * *

"You need _our_ help?" Rika raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Why would you need _our_ help if you come from a completely different dimension? Assuming that you're telling the truth that is."

"If you will allow me to explain," Uxie replied calmly, "then you will understand shortly. But first, I know that many of you are wandering what a Pokémon is and I can tell you this – we are very similar to the Digimon which you are very familiar with, but we differ in many key areas. The most important of these is our methods of evolution and the fact that we are made of organic matter rather than composed of computer data as you Digimon are. In our world, humans and Pokémon all live in the same universe and side by side, instead of being separated for the most part by a barrier as you and the Digital World is."

"How do you know so much about us if you come from another dimension?" Ryo asked. "Have you been spying on us?"

"No," Uxie chuckled. "But I am the Pokémon of Knowledge. I was involved in the very creation in the Pokémon world along with my three siblings here. I created all knowledge in our world and put it into the world so that life would be able to move forwards according to the will of our father. But I am meant to hold all knowledge in me and, for the most part, I do. That is why, from the moment my mind touched your world, I instantly knew everything that there was to know about it. I know all of your names, everything that you've done in the past and I can tell that right now, several of you think I am making this up."

"It does sound quite far-fetched if you ask me," Kazu murmured, folding his arms. "You can't create knowledge, can you? Nobody can do that?"

"You can if you're a deity, like we are," Uxie chuckled. "And from what I know, I can tell that you could do with a bit more Knowledge being put into your head."

"Hey!" Kazu yelled, scowling at the little Pokémon.

"Okay, I have changed my mind already," Rika snorted. "I like this guy."

"I had a funny feeling that you would say that," Renamon chuckled. "Anyone who can poke fun at Kazu is in your good books."

"Too right," Rika ignored the fuming Kazu. "Still, if he really knows everything…"

"…then I knew that making that little remark would lighten your opinion of me," Uxie smiled. "Yes. I did. And I apologise to your profusely already, Kazu Shioda."

"Right, well… yeah…" Kazu trailed off, a little dumbly.

"Well, if you created all Knowledge in your world, then what did the rest of you do?" Terriermon suddenly asked, pointing towards the other members of the Pokémon quartet.

"I created willpower," Azelf grinned, "So that life would have the drive to keep moving forward."

"And I created emotion," Mesprit smiled. "So that life would be able to evolve and help one another through the ages."

"And what about you, big guy?" Takato called up to Giratina. "What did you create?"

Giratina stared down at Takato with fierce red eyes for several moments, causing him to become nervous and start fidgeting under his blazing gaze, before he eventually said, "I created an entire parallel universe called the Distortion World, which reflects the structure of the Pokémon World. My brothers, Dialga and Palkia, created time and space. But in my universe, the laws of those two things do not apply, and that allows me to keep both the powers of my brothers in balance."

"Wow," Aayla murmured. "That sounds like a complex system."

"Perhaps," Giratina nodded. "But it works. My brothers are both very powerful and quite temperamental. An imbalance in their powers over a quarrel between them could destroy huge sections of the Pokémon World. Through the Distortion World, I can correct those imbalances before they build to threatening levels. But, that said, it is imbalances in time and space that brings have brought us here to talk to you today."

"Can you be any more confusing?" Impmon asked.

"Impmon!" hissed Lopmon. "I'd show some more respect if I were you. This Giratina looks like some sort of… Pokémon version of Zhuqiaomon."

"An apt description," Uxie chuckled.

"So, what exactly do you mean that you need our help then?" Henry asked, folding his arms. "If you can correct the imbalances in time and space then shouldn't you be able to fix it yourself this time around as well? Why would disturbances like that bring to us, and how would we be able to help you."

"I shall now explain to you everything," Uxie stated. "But it is a long and complex explanation so I will need your undivided attention as it will be a lot for you to take in, even the most scientifically comprehensive of you such as Aayla and Henry. But I shall start with this. Aayla, you have been sensing some strange disturbances in the Force for some time now, but they have been so minor that you decided that they were probably nothing, correct?"

"Yes, I have," Aayla nodded, no longer surprised by the things that Uxie knew.

"Well, I can tell you that if you had been in the Digital World when you sensed them, you would now that they are extremely big deals indeed," Uxie said gravely. "For you see, due to an unprecedented event that originated in your Digital World… our world and your Digital World are now slowly colliding with one another. If it keeps going at the rate it is then both of the world of Pokémon and the world of Digimon will be utterly destroyed."

"WHAT!" yelled everyone present.

"Indeed," Uxie nodded. "But please pay attention. Here is what I know…"

And, in great detail and long explanations to make sure that the most simple-minded of the Tamers and their partners such as Ai and Mako could understand what was being said, Uxie began to outline everything that he had explained to Giratina the previous evening to them. He told of how some event involving powers of darkness so strong that it was shielded even from him had caused this catastrophe to begin. He told of how the universes had smashed into one another around six months ago and how they had been slowly rubbing against each other ever since with the pressure building on them and weakening their walls the whole time.

He explained how Giratina had slowly become aware of the problem thanks to the events of the Distortion World and how the disturbances were still growing despite his best efforts to keep them at bay. He explained how he and the other two had been preparing for the day that Giratina would come to them to find answers so that they would be able to come here to ask them for their assistance in this endeavour.

He explained how the only way for them to stop the worlds from colliding would be by going on two separate quests in an attempt to wake up the Pokémon and Digimon Gods, Arceus and Fanglongmon, and how they needed a method of transferring part of the consciousness of the Gods across the barrier while the body remained in their own world in order to make sure that the universes did not tear one another apart during the forced separation of the now-fused walls.

* * *

"And so, that is why we need your assistance," he eventually finished. "Our two universes must be separated before it is too late and without the help of Arceus and Fanglongmon there is, quite literally, nothing that we can do to stop it. It is our only option. Even Dialga and Palkia cannot separate our world from yours due to the fusing off the walls. Time and space of our worlds have become linked, and as they have no power over the time and space of your world then attempting to separate the Pokémon World alone now would be disastrous.

"In short, we must work together to awaken our separate deities and ensure the survival of all three of our worlds."

"Excuse me?" Renamon blinked. "All three? I thought that you said that it was only the Digital World that your world was colliding with."

"It is," nodded Uxie. "But your Digital World and this human world are linked in many different ways while separate in others. If the Digital World is destroyed, then the Human World would most certainly survive, but there would still be a colossal impact on it, including massive disruptions and destructions all across your universe, let alone just your Earth. The human race would recover in time, but it would have been devastated by this event nonetheless."

"And the two other worlds we're talking about will be wiped out entirely," clarified Takato. "As in… kablooey? Nothing left. Nada?"

"Yes," Uxie nodded, straight and to the point. "Nothing will be left at all if the universes converge completely. None of the Digimon would be able to withstand it, not even the sleeping Fanglongmon. And the same holds true for our world. None of us will survive if we are in that world at the time of final merging. There is not much time left. Depending on how much Giratina and the rest of us can slow down the progress of the collision we could have anywhere between one month and three. But three at the very most, I belief."

"That's not a very long time," Guilmon murmured. "It always seems like it is but it isn't really."

"Indeed," Uxie nodded.

"And I've already been away from my Distortion World for half a day," Giratina growled from on high. "If I don't get back there soon to continue with my job of trying to seal the breaches between the worlds then who knows how much damage could be done and how much our time will be shortened."

"Considerably," Uxie nodded. "But, even now, there are others that are doing the same job as yourself, Giratina – on this side of the wall between our universes."

"There are?" Giratina blinked.

"There are?" Renamon agreed.

"Indeed," nodded Uxie. "I am aware that some of you are aware of a group of Digimon warriors known as the Royal Knights, are you not?"

"The Royal Knights?" Takato gasped and looked across at his partner. Both of them were thinking the exact same thing as their eyes locked on to the others'. When they biomerged together, they became Gallantmon, who was known as a Royal Knight Digimon. But they had not heard of a specific group known as the Royal Knights before, though they had met another Digimon who went by the same title in the form of the UlforceVeedramon that had helped them against the forces of GranDracmon over a year ago.

"I know of the Royal Knights," nodded Lopmon, raising a hand. "They're a group of Knight Warriors that serve directly under Lord Fanglongmon and it's their job to protect the boundaries of the Digital World from intruders. So far, they seem to have done their job well. But if what Uxie is saying is true then they have their work cut out for them this time."

"Indeed," nodded Uxie.

"Well, if these Royal Knights are meant to protect the Digital World then how come we've never even heard of them before?" Rika asked, in slight annoyance. "Surely we could have used their help sometimes, couldn't we?"

"Perhaps but they could not have helped you," Uxie replied. "You have met their leader once before, Rika Nonaka. As have you Henry Wong, and your partners. There was a time where you fought against a Digimon called Mephistomon, and you two were taken across the Digital Barrier to the location where Takato Matsuki was facing him by an Omnimon. Do you remember how he was unable to leave the Digital Barrier and help you out in the final conflict?"

"Uh… yes actually, I do," Rika nodded, now more convinced than ever that Uxie could not know all of this stuff just through spying alone.

"Well, most of the Royal Knights are trapped within the Barrier," Uxie supplied. "There are many different Digital Worlds, you see, all created in different ways, and it's their job to make sure that Digimon don't accidentally stray from one to another and that the worlds are kept separate. But this time, something breached this Digital World with our world so suddenly that they had no time to react. And they have been doing what Giratina has been doing this whole time and trying to slow down the progress of the collision."

"Well, I suppose that's another small comfort," Ryo murmured.

"And I still can't get over how you guys got to meet an Omnimon while we were still stuck at home," Kenta pouted, turning towards Henry and Rika. "That's so unfair."

"Maybe we should stick to what's important right now, Kenta," Henry flashed him a rather pointed look, before turning back to Uxie. "So, what you're saying is that we need to find a way of waking up Fanglongmon while you need to find a way of waking Arceus."

"Not quite," Uxie smiled. "I cannot explain the full reasons why, but we will need the help of some of you in the Pokémon World if we are to succeed. Which is why we need some of you to come with us to help us awaken Arceus. The rest of you who stay behind will have the job of waking up Fanglongmon."

"You want some of us to come with you into your world?" Rika cried incredulously.

"Yes. It is necessary."

"If I might interrupt here," Aayla raised a hand. "How do we know that we can trust the four of you? You are asking much of us as it is without the addition of some of us having to go to your dimension, which would cut us off from our other friends here and would mean that we are completely at the mercy of its occupants. How are we supposed to know that this is not some kind of trick?"

"Are you saying that we don't look trustworthy?" Mesprit asked, spinning around slightly in an attempt to make herself look cute.

"I have seen some of the most trustworthy of faces hiding true evil directly under the skin," Aayla murmured darkly.

"Indeed you have," Uxie nodded. "And I know that I am asking you to put a lot of faith in us, but I am afraid that that is all I can do. But the fact remains that unless some of you do come back with us, all will be lost. The only way to awaken Arceus is to gather all of his personal children – the Legendary Pokémon. Only all of them combined can perform the ritual that will awaken our Father, and whether you like it or not, your co-operation in finding the Legendaries will be essential."

"Funny how you can't tell us exactly _why_ that is," Impmon folded his arms and glared suspiciously. "And it's equally funny how you can't tell us why you can't tell us. Does anyone else smell fish?"

"Sorry," MarineAngemon grinned sheepishly.

"Not you!" Impmon rolled his eyes.

"It might seem suspicious to you, but I assure you that telling you why you are necessary would severely lower the chances of success," Uxie murmured grimly. "You must discover why for yourself."

"So you expect us to randomly pick a number of us to go with you into what could some sort of trap?" Ryo frowned.

"No," Uxie shook his head again. "I know exactly which ones of you that I want to come with us into our dimension to help awaken Arceus. It has to be the Super Seven."

"Us?" Suzie gasped. "Why us?"

"Wait, let me guess, he can't tell us," Terriermon interjected.

"Spot on," Uxie nodded.

"Wonderful," Terriermon sighed.

"Any of the rest of you coming to the Pokémon World is entirely up to you, but the Super Seven will be the ones necessary to come with us for the survival of both our worlds," Uxie continued. "Meanwhile, the rest of you must find a way of waking up Fanglongmon in this world. The success of our saving the worlds depends on the success of both missions. And before you ask any more questions, I will now say that you have all the information I can give you without further context. Now is the time to make your decision. And while I know that it will be a difficult one to make, I must urge you to hurry."

"You have to help us," Mesprit floated closer, putting her hands together and staring down at the group with imploring eyes. "You are, quite literally, our only hope if what Uxie says is true. And I have millennia of experience that tells me that what he says is _always_ true."

"You have to come and do the right thing," Azelf urged. "Or innocents that are quite literally countless to any normal person will die in both worlds. It'll be the end of everything we Pokémon have worked towards for so long, and the humans that live alongside us."

There was a pause, and the three Lake Guardians looked up at Giratina, expecting him to say something himself. Giratina glanced at them and rolled his eyes slightly, heaving a great sigh before he said, "Look, I don't know what decision you'll make. And you have every right not to trust us. I should know – there's next to nobody in my world who would trust me. Most people don't even believe I exist. You might think that we've got no right to just pop into you universe on the brink of doom and ask you to go off on a wild goose chase and quite frankly I agree with you. I have no clue why Uxie's not giving you all the details about why you're needed for this and it sounds like a load of bananas to me…"

"Baloney," Azelf interrupted.

"What?" Giratina frowned.

"A load of baloney," Azelf clarified. "You say something _is_ bananas, but you say something is _a load of_ baloney."

"Whatever," Giratina rolled his eyes. "Regardless, I would say trusting a complete stranger like this is completely mad and stupid. But, unfortunately, Uxie says that you are all the hope we have and I believe him. No matter how frail most of you look."

Cyberdramon growled and stepped forwards again, only to be stopped by Ryo placing a hand in front of him. Giratina gave Cyberdramon a significant look before he stepped backwards several feet and lowered his giant claws. The three Lake Guardians, their words given, withdrew as well, to allow the Tamers, Digimon and the Jedi Master to talk in relative privacy. The group converged around one another to talk in quiet voices.

"Well, the heck are we supposed to do now?" Kazu asked. "That Gira-whatsisname is right about one thing. This is a completely mad idea."

"He's got a point," Jeri agreed. "Can we really trust what these guys are saying? I mean, what if they just made the whole thing up and they're some kind of evil Digimon that are trying to trick us into walking into some kind of trap."

"I do not know what they are," Renamon shook her head. "But I know that they are not Digimon. If they were Digimon then we would know about it. We would be able to sense it, and no Digimon can hide the fact that they are a Digimon once they've been detected."

"That we know of," pointed out Takato. "Anyway, I can safely say that I'm totally stumped. I mean, it sounded genuine and all but… I don't know."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Aayla murmured. "We have to come up with a decision quickly. Because if they are telling the truth and there really is not much time then the longer we spend being indecisive the less time their world and the Digital World could have before we can fix the problem. So, when we make our decision, we need to get everything done at once."

"What do you suggest, Aayla?" Guilmon cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah come on, General Secura," Terriermon grinned. "We're awaiting your orders."

Aayla smiled. The others had often said that since she joined the group she brought an air of professionalism to it so they were becoming more organised and focused – less like a bunch of kids who didn't really know what they were doing and were just winging it. So, determined not to let them down, she nodded and instructed, "Ryo, call Yamaki. Get him to get down here immediately and bring anyone else who might be able to give us some valuable insight into this with him. The rest of you call your parents and tell them that this is an emergency meeting. We're going to need everybody down here as quickly as possible so that we can make our decision."

"On it, Aayla," several of them murmured, hands plunging into pockets and fishing out mobile phones so that they could go with Aayla's instructions and quickly summon the other adults to the scene. Aayla stood up and moved closer to Renamon as she did so, several of the other Digimon moving closer to her in the process.

"Do you really think that they could be telling the truth?" Lopmon asked.

"I don't know," Aayla replied. "But I do know one thing – that Uxie's explanations do make a lot of sense. I _have_ been sensing minor Force disturbances that have been in keeping with the time I felt you guys fall into my own universe a long time ago. That cannot be a coincidence."

"And what do your senses tell you?" Renamon asked.

"My senses are telling me that Uxie is not lying as well." Aayla smiled wryly. "I am not picking up any sign of deception from any of them. Giratina's aura is definitely very strong and full of anger, but I cannot tell whether this is at the situation or whether he is just like that in general. But I do know that that anger is definitely not being directed at us. I think it entirely possible that their world and the Digital World really is in danger."

"Again, you mean," Terriermon rolled his eyes.

Aayla did not smile this time. "Yes," she nodded. "Again."

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Yamaki frowned as he flicked his trusty lighter up and down and took off his sunglasses to look Aayla in the eyes. "You're talking about going to a completely different dimension… one that you've never been to before, with a bunch of complete strangers that you only just met and who claim that their world and the Digital World are in danger of wiping one another out. You don't know how long you'll be gone for, or even why your help is needed in the other world, but you've been told that all will be lost if you don't."

"That about sums up the potential situation," Aayla nodded. "And I have every reason to believe that what they are saying is completely true, unfortunately. It would mean that I, Henry, Rika, Suzie and their partners would have to accompany these Pokémon back to their world."

"Are you crazy?" Mrs. Wong cried. "Don't you remember the stuff that happened when you last went to another dimension? And the time before that? All those stories you told me about robots and men that can fire lightning from their fingers and guns and enormous lizards? What if that were to happen again?"

"Mum, we've been over this," Henry sighed. "All of those things were a result of us trying to do the right thing, and ultimately, isn't that the most important thing? Besides, I don't know what might be waiting for us in this Pokémon World, but if it is to save the world then I know I'd face it again."

"Me too," Rika nodded. "We've got a lot of experience at this sort of thing now, after all. But we're not talking about what might be waiting for us on the other side. We're talking about whether or not we should go at all."

"Well, if there are dangers like that there then I _don't _think you should go at all," Rumiko fretted, stepping over to Rika and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Are you listening to what you're saying, Rika? A year and a half ago you were whisked off into another dimension, and it took you six months to get back home. Six months of me not knowing how you were for most of the time, or even knowing that you were still alive. And now you're talking about travelling to an alternate universe _again?_"

"Well yeah," nodded Rika.

"Look at it this way, Mrs. Nonaka," Terriermon piped up. "Say, hypothetically, we were to go to this other universe. At least it would be by our own volition this time. And we'd have a way back this time as well, with Giratina on standby. Apparently he can travel between dimensions at will so if needs be we could even pop back for tea if we needed to, couldn't we?"

"Actually, yeah. That is true," nodded Henry. "We could."

"Maybe, but even so, we don't want to risk losing you again," Mrs. Wong shook her head vehemently. "You can't do this to us again, Henry. You too, Suzie. You've already done it twice. Why again?"

"But, Mum," Suzie bit her lip. "What if we don't go and then the Digital World gets destroyed. All the friends we've made in there… like the Devas and the Sovereigns – they'd all die and then wouldn't it be our fault?"

"That is not something that anybody would want on their conscience," Lopmon agreed from her Tamer's shoulder.

Mrs. Wong hesitated, but then she turned to her husband and said, "Please, Janyu… what do you say on all of this?"

Janyu had been mostly silent on all of this, with his hand on his chin as if strongly considering every word that was being said. He looked up and murmured, "Well, I think one of the fundamental questions before we go on to decide whether or not they should go is whether we can trust these… Pokémon or not. You say that they're not telling you why you're needed?"

"Yes," Aayla nodded. "They say that knowing would lessen the chances of success."

"Then how do you know that their story is a reliable one?" Janyu queried. "How can you tell that this is not some form of trap?"

"We really can't," Aayla murmured, glancing over her shoulder to where the four Pokémon were still waiting and were talking quietly among themselves.

"I thought that Jedi could detect when somebody was lying or bluffing," Yamaki frowned. "Is that not the case here?"

"Well, while it is true that I did not sense any dishonesty, I must confess that my senses could be wrong on this occasion," Aayla wrinkled her nose. "The three smaller ones – Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit. They possess Psychic abilities that could be considered on the level of and indeed higher than that of most Jedi when it comes to controlling their minds. It takes a lot of effort for a Jedi to communicate with someone telepathically if they have not forged a bond with said person or unless they have direct eye contact, yet those three pulled it off with ease."

"What are you saying?" Yamaki flicked his lighter shut decisively.

"I'm saying that it is possible that they managed to fool my senses. Their minds certainly have the power to do that if not the capability," Aayla replied evenly.

"Then how can we possibly know whether or not we can trust them?" Riley, who was also there, murmured, glancing up at the towering hulk of Giratina. "I may not be an expert on this sort of thing, but there is something about the big one that gives me the creeps."

"I think you're meant to feel like that around him," chuckled Renamon. "It's like a sort of vibe he gives off. He strikes me as some sort of… well, I suppose that 'renegade' might be the best description here."

"Well, he give me the creeps," Riley shuddered.

"Strangely enough," Aayla turned to face her with a wry grin. "I think Giratina was the most trustworthy of the whole group there."

"Huh?" Riley blinked. "Really? Why?"

"His blatant honesty for one thing," Aayla replied. "And the fact that he clearly doesn't have any telepathic skills at all. I did not sense any lies from his either, and I definitely believed that, out of all of them, he was the one who definitely believed what he was saying to a degree that I could believe him too."

"But the other three can't be untrustworthy if Giratina definitely is," Suzie protested. "They're all too… little and cute-looking to be bad guys."

"Little and cute-looking, maybe," Aayla nodded. "But it never hurts to be careful, even amongst the little and the cute."

"If you don't mind," Janyu stepped forwards, "I'd like to have a little talk with these… Pokémon myself."

"Suit yourself. It's not our call," the Twi'lek gestured towards them openly. She chuckled and added, "But try to keep the scientific curiosity about their physical anatomies to a minimum, alright Mr. Wong."

"I make no promises," Janyu chuckled back as he stepped forwards and called out, "Um, excuse me. Uxie, wasn't it? I have a couple of questions for you."

Uxie had not given Janyu and the others the ability to understand their speech yet, so when he communicated he did so with his mind this time. _Let me guess,_ he smiled. _You want to know exactly what the effects of this collision between the worlds is going to be before the final convergence itself takes place and everything in both of them is wiped out completely._

"Uh… yes," Janyu nodded. "That was exactly what I was going to ask you. Fascinating – is this what its like for my son and the rest of the group who can communicate with their minds?"

"Dad, stick to the point," Henry rolled his eyes.

"Right, right. Sorry," Janyu cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, right. Okay. Yes, that is the question I was going to ask."

_The Digital World will have already been feeling its effects just as our world has,_ Uxie responded. _With space and time being displaced all through the area, there will be large physical upheavals such as earthquakes and other natural disasters increasing on an unprecedented scale, and the volume of such events will increase the closer it gets to the final collision. Before long, physical rents will start appearing between the worlds, like tears in the fabric of reality across the sky as the walls between them thin. The Digital World might even be split into giant sections as the Digital Barrier forces its way deeper into the main fabric of reality._

_Not to mention, things could eventually start crossing over into the Digital World from the Pokémon World through those rents, whether unwillingly or not. Digimon could start appearing in our world, while Pokémon appear in the Digital World. And the effects of the rents will appear even hear in the human world, as the Digital World's walls weaken all around it. And when the collision finally happens, and the two worlds collapse and cancel each other out completely, the enormous disruption this will cause between two simultaneously exploding dimensions next to yours could well destroy half of your planet, if not more._

"Ah," Janyu murmured. "So… it's serious then."

_Very,_ nodded Uxie.

"Thank you," Janyu nodded as he turned around to walk back to the others. After a moment's thought, he threw in his opinion with – "Well, either that was a very well fabricated story, or Uxie knows exactly what he's talking about. I have to say, the gravity of his tone does speak volumes, though that might just be my interpretation of these things."

"No, it sounded like that to me too," Yamaki nodded. "And it is actually in keeping with what we know."

"Sorry?" Takato blinked. "What you know? What do you know?"

"Well, let me first apologise in advance for not informing you sooner," Yamaki turned to face the group. "But the truth is that we have been detecting several unusual fluctuations in the structure of the Digital World through our operating systems at HYPNOS. Over the last couple of weeks, they have been getting a lot more frequent and ever larger, but we first started noticing them a couple of months ago, but they were just tiny blips back then."

"And you're thinking that _now_ is a good time to be bringing this up?" Impmon cried. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"We were doing some analysis into the situation," Yamaki explained. "We wanted to build up a complete file with information from our findings, and fully determine what the cause of these disturbances were before we presented them to you. We have picked them up before, the time when Megidramon came into existence being the prime example, but they were mostly just blips. But they have been growing at an alarming rate recently, and we were just waiting for the results back before we told you."

"Though it now seems that we might not need those results back after all," Janyu agreed. "The story that these Pokémon are giving is extremely in keeping with what we have been monitoring. Still, we'd have to wait a couple of days for the test results to come back before we knew for sure what we were up against."

"We don't have a couple of days," Terriermon waved his ears wildly. "We have to decide whether we're going now."

"I don't want you to go," Rumiko shook her head, her long blond hair flowing down behind her in waves. "I… I can't go back to having a house that's without you in it again. Not after what happened last time."

"Mum," Rika moaned. "I'm sorry. Really I am. But you don't really get a say in this anymore. I am a Tamer, and I have to protect the Digital World just as much as this one, and it's true they are in danger then I have to do whatever it takes to protect them."

"We still need to decide whether they really _are_ in danger," Ryo murmured, while Rumiko struggled not to let more water leak out of her eyes as she buried her face in her hands. He turned to his own partner and said, "What do you think, Cyberdramon? Can they be trusted?"

Everyone turned to face the large Ultimate-level dragon, who hadn't said a word since he had attacked Giratina. Now that he had had the opportunity to calm down, Cyberdramon was a good choice for asking. He seemed to have a far greater ability to detect evil than any of the others, even Aayla, although nobody really seemed to know why this was. But as he was the only Cyberdramon they'd ever met, they all assumed it was just another of his natural talents.

Cyberdramon did not say anything for a long time, turning his head around so that he could fix his masked stare on the giant ghostly-dragon and the small fairy-like creatures, snorting as he stared at them for about half a minute, before he turned back and said:-

"I trust them."

"Really?" Ryo asked. "Why? What makes you say that?"

"The three little ones have pure hearts," Cyberdramon growled quietly. "They do not even have the capacity to be evil in them unless someone else were to control them. And the big one has a dark personality but he is not evil either. He can be trusted. They are not evil in any sense."

The rest of the Tamers and Digimon all exchanged looks with one another for a moment, each of them wondering the exact same thing at that moment. Several more glances were tossed back in the direction of the Pokémon, who were still waiting with what seemed like patience but they were beginning to notice that Giratina was starting to lose his.

"Well, Cyberdramon's never been wrong before," Ryo turned back to the others. "He's always known exactly whether an opponent is good or bad once he's calm enough to get a good look without charging in and fighting. I believe him. I think that those four really are on the level."

"Alright, fair enough," Takato murmured. "But even if they can be trusted, how do we know that they're telling the truth about the situation with the colliding worlds?"

Rika chuckled. "You know, Gogglehead, I highly doubt that they would just waltz over here from their own universe and declare that everything was doomed just for a laugh. If they really are trustworthy like we now seem to be agreeing that they are, then I think it's a fair bet to think that they are telling the truth as well, don't you think?"

"Well… yeah, I suppose so," Takato nodded.

"Okay then," nodded Terriermon. "We've now decided that they are telling the truth. What's our next move going to be?"

"Well, we need to decide whether or not we're going to go with them," Henry supplied. "I mean, they told us that we need to go and find a bunch of special Pokémon called Legendaries if we're going to wake up their God and stop the coming apocalypse. Now, I have no idea what that might entail exactly, but it does definitely sound like it could be dangerous. And there are so many untold potential risks involved…"

"I'll do it."

Henry blinked as he was cut off and he turned to look at the speaker – his own sister, Suzie. Suzie's fists were clenched at her side, her shoulder-length brown hair almost seeming to blow out around her as if a wind had picked up out of nowhere and her face set in determination.

"Suzie…" Henry gasped. "What…"

"I said – I'll do it. I'll go with them so that I can help them save their world and our worlds as well," Suzie confirmed, looking up into her older brother's face.

"But Suzie… I was just saying how it could be dangerous…" Henry protested. "And… and I… I don't want…"

"…for me to go walking into danger?" Suzie cut him off, a small smirk appearing on her face. "Sorry Henry. You're my big brother and I love you… and I might be your little sister… but I'm not so little anymore. I am almost as old as you were when you went into the Digital World for the first time, and you were a lot less powerful than any of us are now when you went. I'm afraid that you don't get to decide whether I do or do not go anymore. Besides, I've been in plenty of dangerous situations already, haven't I?"

"Well… yes, but… but… but…" Henry protested.

"Henry," Terriermon chuckled. "One of your biggest flaws has always been your overprotectiveness of your little sister. It was that overprotectiveness that led you to making rash decisions when she fell into the Digital World, remember. I recall that you even told her that she had to get rid of Lopmon because she was a former Deva. Can you imagine what kind of crap we'd be knee-deep in right now if you had reinforced that decision?"

"Uh… well…" Henry hesitated, looking down at Lopmon with a slightly guilty expression and his hand coming up to rub the back of his head anxiously. "Well… maybe, but…"

"No buts to it, Henry," Terriermon shook his head and grinned. "If Suzie's prepared to go heading out into the unknown like we did when we went to the Digital World, then I say that we let her. She's right – she has been in plenty of dangerous situations before. She busted Ogudomon with us. She wrestled Godzillo with us too and took on an entire Geonosian defence. She even made friends with a giant lizard and managed to escape from one of the most dangerous places in the Galaxy back then with Zarza's help. I think that she's ready for this, don't you?"

Henry was practically frozen to the spot for several moments, before he slumped and sighed. "I… I guess you're right," he muttered.

"Besides, Henry," Renamon smiled as she stepped over and placed a comforting paw on the young Tamer's shoulder. "She's hardly going to be alone, is she? And I'm not just talking about Lopmon. If Suzie's going to the Pokémon World, then I'm willing to bet that you'll still be there, right by her side, will you not?"

"I… yes! Of course I will!" Henry nodded, straightening up. "If Suzie's going to risk going to another universe and into who-knows-what then I'll be with my little sister every step of the way."

"Yay!" Suzie cheered (even with all of the maturing she had done lately the cry of "Yay" was still one of her favourites), and she dashed over to hug her big brother, Lopmon leaping into the air moments before being squashed between the two somehow. She chuckled as she alighted on the ground next to her own brother as she watched the sibling hug each other.

"Renamon is right," nodded Lopmon. "If my Tamer's going then there is no chance of me staying behind. And I'm willing to bet that you are the same, Terriermon."

"Oh definitely," nodded Terriermon. "I am so there. This Pokémon place sounds cool, and I'd definitely like to check it out as well as save it. Who knows, this might be a world without pineapples in it."

"And I think that the rest is obvious," Renamon laughed, turning to Rika. "I do not believe that there is a chance that you will want to split up the team after everything we've been through together so far. Am I correct, Rika?"

"Don't you know it?" Rika grinned back, socking her fist into her palm. "And it's not just that. If Uxie is telling the truth and we still stay behind then we'd be responsible for so much destruction. But we're going to make sure that that doesn't happen and when we do, we will do it like the team we have always been."

"Looks like we're going on holiday," Renamon smiled. "I was about to say that I was going to go anyhow, but little Suzie here beat me to it."

"Imagine that," Rika snorted. "Suzie beating Renamon in her readiness to go on a new adventure."

"Indeed," the yellow fox nodded. She frowned, and wondered. "I wonder if Fanglongmon foresaw this event before it began when we were talking to him last."

"Well, if he did then he warned us about it as cryptically as ever," Henry rolled his eyes as he turned his head back to look at them and he and his sister stepped apart.

"True," Renamon nodded. The fox then turned back towards the one member of their team of seven who had not yet stated their decision.

Aayla fixed her eyes with Renamon's and chuckled. After a moment she simply said, "You know my answer."

The rest of the team grinned. It was a Jedi's duty to protect those in need no matter who they were, or what the circumstances that was putting them in danger was. Aayla might not be in her own universe anymore but she was still technically a part of the Jedi Order and she had never lost her values even after a year in isolation from all other Jedi. Aayla was going. In fact, Renamon was pretty sure that Aayla had made her decision a long time before the rest of them had.

The tall Rookie Digimon stepped over and held up her paw. Aayla smirked and grasped it firmly. "Just think," Renamon chuckled. "You've been to more universes than any other Jedi as it is with just three, including your own," Renamon laughed. "Time to add a fourth to the list."

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "I guess it's settled. The Super Seven are going forth once again."

"No, wait…" Mrs. Wong cried. "You… you're really going away again…"

"Mum, didn't you hear what we were saying?" Henry interrupted. "We would love to just stay here and live in peace… but it seems as though if we do, countless lives will be extinguished, including possibly ours."

"But why does it have to be you that goes?" their mother replied. "Why can it not be someone else? Someone older? Why are you even needed at all?"

"We don't know," Henry sighed. "But we're going all the same."

"Mayumi," Janyu placed a hand on his wife's arm. "You know I don't want to see them go either… but I fear that we may have to this time."

"What?" Mrs. Wong gasped. "But… Janyu… how…"

"…can I say that?" Janyu sighed. "Well, I hate to say it, but I grew accustomed to the fact that our children were meant to be saviours of worlds a long time ago. It's almost like it's written into their destinies considering the number of times they have now done it. And if they trust Uxie and believe that they are the only ones who can do it, then I believe them too. We have to let them go this. At the very least, we know that they will not be trapped there. They are right – Giratina can bring them home if they need to be."

"But I don't want to go back to what we went through before, Janyu," Mrs. Wong murmured sadly. "The not knowing. The waiting. The hoping that your child will come home but with nothing to lay that hope on."

"I do not want that either. But… we may not have much of a choice."

"He's right," nodded Yamaki. "This all makes too much sense for it to not be true. And I, for one, have faith in your children and their partners. They have been through much so far, and I believe that they would have a far better chance of success and coming out of this alive than if I were to send in the entire Japanese military into the Pokémon World. They can now take care of themselves."

Mrs. Wong hiccupped a couple of times as she looked into the plaintive eyes of her children and, slowly, she fell to her knees and opened her arms wide, allowing the two of them to come over and give her a much-needed hug. Sniffing over their shoulders, Mrs. Wong murmured, "I know. I know that. But… no matter how much older or experienced you get, the two of you will always be my little babies."

Henry rolled his eyes but smiled at the same time. "You are aware that I'm fifteen now right, mother?"

Mrs. Wong hiccupped again. "Yes. Yes, I am. But you've grown up so fast that… I just can't stop thinking of you like that anyway."

"We love you too, Mum," Suzie began to do a bit of sniffling herself. "But we promise that we'll all look after ourselves. We'll be okay. Really."

"It's the same deal as always, Mrs. Wong," Terriermon nodded from where he was standing next to Lopmon. "Anyone wants to pick on Henry and Suzie, they're going to have a pair of very cross bunnies to handle. And if that's not enough, we can always have missiles and axes aplenty within seconds if things get serious."

"The safety of your children has always been our top priority," Lopmon agreed. "And nothing has changed in that regard."

Mrs. Wong forced herself to smile as she nodded at the two bunnies. "Thank you," she murmured. "Both of you."

"Momentai. You don't really need to thank us," Terriermon laughed. "Caring about the safety of your Tamer is kinda part of the package deal of being a partner Digimon."

As Henry and Suzie broke away from their mother to give their father a hug as well, Rumiko walked up to Rika, with Seiko not far behind. Rika had grown considerably over the last year, but Rumiko still had to kneel slightly in order to get her eyes level with her daughter's. She placed her hands on Rika's shoulders, tears forming in her eyes, as she said. "Listen, Rika. I… I know that the others are right and I… can't stop you going. I guess I should know by now that this is not only your life but your way. And you need to follow your way."

"Mum…" Rika murmured softly, feeling her own eyes dancing slightly.

"But I want you to make me a promise," Rumiko ploughed on. "Promise me that you will not take unnecessary risks. I know you, Rika. You've always had quite a reckless mind. Please… don't do anything that could get you killed unless you absolutely have to. I can stomach you being gone for a few months. I can_not_ stomach losing you."

"Of course, Mum," Rika nodded earnestly, stepping forwards to hug her mother. "I… I'll make sure I'm still in one piece when we come back at the end of all this. I'll always come back to you, I swear."

"Thank you," Rumiko sniffed as fresh tears began to pour down her face. "Thank you, Rika. I'll… have to hold you to that."

"And you make sure that you save those worlds too," Seiko added with a sad smile. "I will not tolerate failure from you, young lady."

Rika chuckled and sniffed at the same time, creating a bizarre sound blend of the two. "Yes, ma'am," she nodded. "By your command."

"And Terriermon and Lopmon's words hold true for me as well," Renamon stepped forwards to hover over them. "I will never stop fighting if Rika is in danger, and I will use every ounce of strength in my body to keep her safe from anything that might interfere with us. You have my solemn oath."

Both Seiko and Rumiko nodded, gratitude extending out towards the yellow fox in waves.

"Ahem," a voice suddenly cleared its throat. "I think that you're forgetting about something."

Everyone in the clearing swung their head around to face the speaker – Impmon. He had folded his arms and was tapping his foot with a slight scowl on his face.

"Forgetting about something, Impmon?" Renamon raised a brow.

"Yeah," nodded the smaller Rookie. "That Uxie guy said that you all _had_ to go. But he didn't say that you had to be the _only ones._ And if the lot of you are going then I sure as hell am not staying behind. Not this time. I worried about you lot for months on end a year ago, and if you think you can go swanning off to another dimension and leave me behind this time then you can forget it. It's not happening. You go, then so do I."

"Impmon…" Lopmon murmured.

"Hey, yeah," Ai suddenly cried and stepped forwards. "We can go too. We can help you in this world of Pokingmon…"

"Pokémon," Impmon corrected her.

"Yeah, them," nodded Ai. "We could help you guys too."

"Yeah, we could go and totally kick the butts of anything that tried to mess with us," Mako agreed, a huge grin splitting his face. "Oh, this is going to be so cool."

"Hold on," their mother, Haruhi, suddenly cried. "You two are not going! I know that you've faced a lot of danger yourself in the past already, but you are still not as experienced as the rest of the Tamers. You can't go to this other world as well."

"Oh, but Mum," Ai protested. "You let us go to the Dark Ocean to rescue Impmon when he was in trouble."

"That was different," Haruhi stated. "The worlds may be in trouble, but your friends are safe. You have to stay here with us. You… you can't go. You're too young."

"No, we're not," Mako whined. "We're seven now! That's nearly as old as Suzie was when she first went into the Digital World. We can do this too."

"No, I can't allow it," Haruhi shook her head. "The other Tamers might now be growing older but the two of you are still too young for all of this. You really _are_ still my babies. I can't let you go out into potential danger again."

"Well, I _am_ going," Impmon turned back to Haruhi. "I've had enough of being left behind, so I will definitely be going, and by the way, there's nothing that you guys can do to dissuade me…" he glanced back towards the Super Seven.

"We weren't actually going to," Rika smirked.

"Good, because it wouldn't have worked," Impmon smirked back, before returning to Haruhi and saying, "But are we seriously going to go through this same argument every time that Ai and Mako decide they have to fulfil their duty as Tamers? Like it or not, this is as much their life as it is for the others, and regardless of their age, they gotta make their own decisions now. You can still make the choices about what TV programs they're old enough to watch or what to put in their lunchboxes still… but I think that this should be _their _choice now."

Haruhi hesitated at that and bit her lip, before sighing and murmuring, "Look. I felt horrified at the prospect of you going into that Dark Ocean and I was restless the entire time you were there. And you were only there for a few hours, though it still took you the better part of a day to get back here. I was terrified. The thought of you going into another dangerzone, but for so much longer? I… don't know if I could handle it. You're still so young."

"But Mum, we have to go if Impmon's going," Mako pouted. "We _have_ to. Isn't that part of our job. We have to help save the universe too."

"And with their help," Impmon nodded. "I will blast the living daylights out of anything that tries to get within a mile of these two with intent to cause harm. I can promise you."

Haruhi's expression only tightened at that and she opened her mouth and then shut it again several times as she tried to think of a new and appropriate protest. But before she could, Aayla stepped over behind the two twins and fell to her knees on the grass. Even kneeling she was so much taller than they were, but she placed a hand on the shoulder of each of twins and gave Haruhi a level, calm and earnest look with her brown eyes.

"If it helps at all, Mrs. Terada," she murmured. "I can make you a promise to. It is not up to me to convince Ai and Mako to stay here. I would never take a child their age into a danger zone if I thought there was a high probability of them not making it back. The other Tamers in my team know this – I hardly ever let them anywhere near the battlefields in my universe."

"It's true," nodded Rika.

Aayla smiled and then went on, "But I too firmly believe that the choice is theirs' alone. And I give you my personal guarantee that I will do everything in my power to make sure that your children return safely to you as soon as possible. I will protect them with my very body if necessary, and you know that would not lie about this. You have the solemn vow of a Jedi that as long as there is breath in my body I will stand by your children and protect them from all comers."

Haruhi read Aayla's expression several times, and could see the bare-faced honesty in her eyes and the determination and desire that flowed in her. Nearby, unseen by the others, Azelf did a quadruple flip as he felt a surge of energy at the willpower sweeping through Aayla's body.

Eventually, Haruhi sighed and said, "Alright. Alright. You… you have my blessing. You can go. Just promise me that you will try your hardest to stay out of trouble. And come here."

"Don't worry, Mum," Ai and Mako cried simultaneously as they ran over to hug her, while Haruhi joined the club of three mothers that now had leaking eyes. "We will."

"Oh, so Aayla's word that she'll be protecting the twins carries a lot more weight than mine then?" Impmon scoffed as he rolled his eyes and threw up his hands.

"Yes. Yes, it does," Lopmon smirked. "Aayla's a lot more observant, faster and less reckless than you are."

"True enough," Impmon muttered.

"And smarter," Lopmon added.

"Yeah, I kn…HEY!"

Lopmon snickered.

Aayla suppressed a chuckle herself as she pushed herself back onto her feet and turned around. "That promise applies to the rest of the team as well. Mrs. Nonaka, Ms. Hata, Mr. and Mrs. Wong – I shall watch over all of your children as I did when they fell into my own universe. I will guard them with every last fibre of my strength, and if it seems that I will fall and all will be lost, I will get them to safety no matter what the cost to me. I will gladly lay down my life if that is what it is necessary to protect your kids."

"Oh, do not talk like that," Renamon stepped forward and gave Aayla a light punch on the arm. "It won't come to that, I'm sure."

"Nevertheless… and selfish as though it sounds… it is settling to the heart to hear those words," Janyu nodded. "Thank you, Aayla. But, if it's all the same, try and make sure that it does not come to that. I've grown quite fond of you too over the last year. You make sure that you come back as well as the children, alright?"

Aayla grinned. "You can count on it, Janyu."

"Good," Janyu nodded, placing an arm around his wife's shoulders as she continued to cry and smile gratefully at Aayla. The Twi'lek turned back to face Rumiko and Seiko and flashed them a brief smile, which they returned, before she went into what Terriermon called 'General-mode,' and turned around to face the other Tamers.

"Alright," she nodded to them. "With four Digimon, five Tamers and myself now agreed on going to the Pokémon World, that will leave the rest of you here to make sure that the mission required on _this_ side of the universal wall is carried out as quickly as possible as well. You guys must find a way of waking up Fanglongmon if this is going to succeed. If you don't then any work that we do in the other universe will ultimately be for nothing."

"How come it's always you guys that get to go into the other universes anyway," Kenta complained.

"Focus, Kenta. You have your own mission," Aayla countered quickly. Her blue hand reached behind her and unclipped something from her belt, before lifting it up and showing it to the others. "You know what this is?"

The Tamers did know what it was and they all nodded their heads. When Aayla had first arrived in the Digital World a year ago yesterday, she had met with the Digimon God in question personally, as he woke up every time a Great Prophecy had run its full course as it had done when Beelzemon had gone to get the other Tamers back from Aayla's world. The object in Aayla's hand had been given to her by Fanglongmon. It resembled a small, relatively flat disk that fit snugly into the palm of her hand. In her old universe, similar devices were used as communication devices that could display holograms of the person at the other end.

This particular one had a special function though. Or rather, a special contact at the other end.

Aayla tossed the disk deftly to Ryo, who quickly grabbed it and held it close like a precious treasure. "Use that to contact the Sovereigns. There must be a way of waking Fanglongmon up ahead of schedule and if there is then they must be the ones to ask."

"And if they can't," Impmon added. "Then track down the Celestial Temple on the Prairie Level and give the Heavens a visit. There's probably some new wackadoodle prophecy about all this anyway so you should be able to wake him up by fulfilling that. But if there isn't then the Great Angels should definitely know what to do."

"Don't you worry, Aayla," Takato grinned, nodding his head firmly. "We'll have everything covered on this side of the collision. Fanglongmon will be awake on time. We'll make sure of it."

"Yeah, and we'll all look out for one another," Jeri agreed. "Make sure that you do the same."

"We will," Henry nodded. "Of course we will."

"Actually we all have to look out for one another in this instance," Aayla murmured. "Even if there is a dimension wall separating us, we all need to rely on one another in this coming catastrophe. If one group of us fails to carry out their mission then it doesn't matter how good a job the other team do. We all need to do our jobs right now."

"Way to lessen the pressure of the situation, Aayla," Terriermon gave her a thumbs up. "I like it."

"I'm just telling it like it is," Aayla sighed. "I wish it were different. Then none of us would have to go on the wild bantha chase that this is sounding like it's going to be. Nevertheless, now that we know we're going, we have to leave now. I sense that Giratina is starting to get impatient."

All heads swung over to face Giratina and they could see that Aayla was right. The giant draconic Pokémon was now beginning to get very restless, stamping one of his six feet at random every few seconds and shrugging his shoulders, causing his massive ghostly-claws to swing up and downwards as if scything the air.

"Well… I guess… this is it then," Terriermon murmured. "Huh. Fancy that. Just yesterday we were celebrating a year of being back in this dimension, and now we're going to gallivant off to adventure once again. Is that a coincidence or just dumb luck?"

"You call this dumb luck?" Henry raised his brow.

"Whatever it is, Terriermon is right," Renamon nodded. "This is it. We now have a mission to fulfil and the sooner we all get started the better considering how little our timeframe actually is right now."

"Indeed," Aayla agreed. "Alright everyone, let's make our final goodbyes and make them as quick as we can. We need to move out."

As the departing Tamers quickly went back to hug their families one last time before they left, the Digimon too felt the need to say goodbye to their compatriots, as they had not had the opportunity to do so the last time they had gone to another universe. Terriermon firmly shook his ear with Guilmon's clawed hand, promising that when he came back he would bring back any special foods he found in the other world for Guilmon to try. Renamon knocked Cyberdramon on the arm and instructed him to make things easier for Ryo during the time where they were gone. But, all in all, they tried to keep things as brief as they could despite the obvious emotions that were raging at the parting.

Aayla moved over towards the four Pokémon, who all looked over the moment she started her approach. She nodded respectfully to them as she drew closer and she announced, "We've made our decision. We, the Super Seven, will join you and come to the Pokémon World to help you with this crisis. And we'll be bringing an extra Digimon and his own Tamers along for the ride, while the rest of us stay here to carry out the other part of the mission."

Uxie smiled. "I knew you'd say that," he chuckled. "But, of course, I still had to let you make the decision on your own."

"And I thank you for that," Aayla laughed. "It's certainly better at getting us to co-operate than forcing us, which I suppose you could have also done."

"True, but we are not like that," Uxie nodded. "Our Father, Arceus, believes solely in free will, which is why he put himself to sleep in the first place. We would never try to deny our own Father's beliefs."

"Yay! We're going to be okay after all. Our world will be saved," Mesprit cried. "I'm sooo haaappppyyy!" She twirled around in a tight corkscrew so fast that Aayla couldn't for the life of her count how many times she rotated in a full circle and then she dived down to hug Aayla's stomach with her tiny body. Aayla held up her arms, startled, and stared down at the small creature which had just attached herself to her.

"If it's any consolation, she did that to me earlier," Giratina coughed. "She's just like that."

"It's alright," Aayla smiled, pulling Mesprit off her stomach and pulling her into a proper hug like a plush toy. "We know the value of a good hug around here."

"Oh dear lord… our saviours are a bunch of mushy saps," Giratina sighed.

"Giratina," Uxie folded his arms.

"Right, right… be polite. I forget that people don't like it when you're rude."

"This is so awesome," Azelf grinned. "Are the things that Uxie said about you guys really true? That you can morph into giant creatures that can even give Giratina a real challenge."

Aayla laughed. "Well, I can't. I'm not a Digimon. But it is true that the Digimon _can_ change into much bigger shapes."

"You're not a Digimon?" Azelf blinked. "Since when?"

"Since always," Aayla smiled. "I'm a Twi'lek. I come from another universe entirely as well, but I live here now."

"Ah," Azelf murmured. "That's… confusing."

"And it's about to get more confusing," Uxie stated. "For we must now go back into our own universe and begin the quest. The Quest of the Gods. I am sorry to hurry you in your goodbyes, but you know that this is urgent. Could the chosen children and Digimon come over here with you, Aayla Secura?"

"Of course," Aayla nodded. "Guys! Come on. We have to go!"

"Coming, Aayla!" Rika called over her shoulder, her arms tightening around her mother as she now struggled not to cry herself.

"Remember your promise to me," Rumiko whispered as she let go of her only daughter.

"I will," Rika nodded as she turned and moved away, Renamon bounding along behind her. Nearby, Janyu touched Mayumi's shoulder and prompted her to release her own two children.

"Take care of each other," Mayumi sniffed. "And everyone else too."

"You can count on it," Henry nodded firmly.

"Yes, Mum," Suzie nodded.

"That goes for you too," Haruhi swallowed as she released her own children. "Now, go before I do something rash to try and get you to stay."

"Bye, Mum," Ai cried, equally tearfully.

"We'll be good. We promise," Mako yelled as the two of them hurried away, falling in next to Henry and Suzie as they followed Rika over to the Pokémon.

"Don't worry about a thing," Impmon gave Haruhi a thumbs up. "I'll keep my eyes on your little Teradalets. And with me as their role-model, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Not helping," Lopmon muttered as she took Impmon's hand and guided him across the grass after their Tamers. This left Terriermon the only one standing next to the rest of the group. The small, white bunny took a momentary look back at the rest of the assembled adults, Tamers and Digimon, before he gave them all one of his biggest of grins.

"I know I usually say this in jest," he said. "But seriously guys – momentai. We'll be alright. And when we get back we'll all have a bunch of new stories to tell one another I'm sure."

"Too right," Ryo smirked. "But next time you guys plan on going to an alternate universe try and make sure we can come along this time."

"You got it," Terriermon nodded as he lifted off and shot off towards the others, who were now all standing in Giratina's shadow. As the group assembled, Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit began to swoop in circles around them, equally spaces from one another as they did laps of the group of nine.

"Please just relax," Uxie instructed them. "It will be over in a moment."

Before any of them could ask what he meant, the eyes of Azelf and Mesprit flashed blue and the jewels in the foreheads of all of them glowed a deep red colour. Without warning, all nine of the group were suddenly outlined by a strange blue aura and they began to levitate off the ground as the three Legendary Pokémon exerted their psychic powers over them.

"Whoa," Impmon blinked as he stared at the ground getting further away from them. "Now this is cool."

"You know, Lopmon and I can fly," Terriermon protested, but the Pokémon ignored him as they floated the whole group further upwards. Giratina slowly turned around and exposed his back to them, and the other three Pokémon moved the group over to the large rib-like ridges that extended over his back and between his ghostly claws, settling them down on top of Giratina's shoulders and allowing them grip the surface while still retaining their psychic hold.

"Make sure you've got a firm grasp on Giratina," Uxie instructed. "It will make the journey much easier." Aayla quickly scooped Ai and Mako into one arm and took a firm grasp on one of the ridges with her other hand, while Renamon braced Rika and Henry against Giratina, Henry himself keeping a tight hold on Suzie.

After a pause, during which the group gave each other one final look, Aayla finally nodded and said, "We're ready."

Without another word, Giratina pushed himself off the ground and into the air, rising slowly upwards as if completely defying gravity and flaring out his claws like wings as he levelled his body out, allowing his passengers to sit astride him more. "In no way does this feel natural," he murmured quietly, feeling an urge to shrug all of them off but managing to stop himself from doing so.

"Goodbye, Mum! Goodbye everyone!" Rika called out, raising an arm to wave at the group still on the ground. The others on both sides promptly did the same and the air was filled with shouted goodbyes and others which included a shout of, "Give 'em hell, you lot!" from Kazu. But they did not have much time for this exchange, for Giratina suddenly swooped forwards without warning, his eyes focusing dead ahead as his mind fixated on his homeworld, the people on his back being buffeted by the wind and steadied by the three Psychic-types who were flying alongside and above.

Giratina wasted no time. His jaws opened and he exhaled and enormous tornado which crashed into thin air ahead of them and warped the fabric of reality into another portal – a swirling vortex of purple and other shifting colours which he plunged straight towards.

"Here we go!" Impmon shouted.

"Brace yourselves!" Aayla and Uxie shouted at the same time.

Giratina barrelled through the portal in one second flat, the other Legendaries zipping in alongside him. A second later and the portal had already closed, leaving the Tamers down below staring once more at an empty sky.

For better or for worse, their friends were now gone from their universe. Again.

* * *

I know, I know. Some of you are waiting impatiently for the crossover to actually begin, and I assure you that it will be coming soon. But I was hardly going to just have them agree to go charging off onto another adventure just like that, and not doing a goodbye to their family scene when they actually have the option this time would be a crime. So, there you have it. The board is set and the pieces are now about to start moving, as our heroes embark on an epic quest to stop two universes from obliterating each other.

But first… there are some more characters we have to introduce.

* * *

Next time…

In the Pokémon World, the trainers continue with their daily lives as normal. And this includes one particular trainer who lives a nomadic lifestyle with his twelve Pokémon in the shadow of Mount Silver, and as far away from people as possible. Who are they? Why do they live like this? And what do they have to do with this story?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 6 : Exile**


	6. Exile

Heya guys. I got to admit that posting this chapter makes me slightly nervous, because this marks the first appearance of my first main character OC that was completely created by me. I have seen far too many OCs out there who have far too much amazing powers and abilities just for the sake of being awesome, and I have done my best to ensure that my own personal OC is not like that, and I'm trying to give him as much depth of character as I can, though it's supposed to remain mysterious for this chapter. I hope that you like it and him, but I am keen to make sure that this character does NOT become a Mary Sue, but I would appreciate any help I can get on that score.

Read on and tell me what you think.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 6:- Exile**

* * *

The Pokémon World had its fair share of major geographical features, including enormous mountains, wide seas, enormous canyons, long rivers and massive lakes, cave systems which could be composed of rock or ice, and many others besides. It was a thriving place with a wide range of habitats to suit all of its various Pokémon inhabitants that existed in the wild beside the human-made cities and towns that were dotted around the area. It was a veritable patchwork of different areas and climates and conditions if it was viewed from space.

It was certainly much wilder than most of Earth, as the humans would not dare encroach too far on the territories of some of the more dangerous Pokémon who lived out there. There were creatures in this world that you did _not_ want to piss off at any cost.

One of the most prominent examples of this was Mount Silver the easternmost edge of the Johto region. Mount Silver was one of tallest mountains throughout the world, and it stuck upwards out of the ground like an enormous spire with many smaller ridges around the outside. It was called Mount Silver due it smooth sides which made it nearly impossible to climb and which gave the mountain a silvery sheen under the light of the sun. The mountainsides had been worn away to their smooth composition by countless generations of feeding Larvitar who lived within the mountain.

Few people ever came to Mount Silver. Its wild Pokémon were among the most powerful in the world and they were well beyond the capabilities of most trainers, even some of the more experienced ones. Not to mention most of them were extremely territorial and very protective of their family, so the most sensible time to approach the mountain which had a fair share of Tyranitar living in it was when you had a death-wish.

The mountain was surrounded by thick forest with only a few relatively open spaces, and a couple of large lakes, and no human would ever dare to come here to cut down the trees and annoy the local Pokémon in an attempt to build a town.

For that reason, this place might be considered a great place for someone to go if they did not want to be found by other humans for a long time. Provided that they were strong enough to take on the wild Pokémon, clever enough to befriend them or wily enough to avoid them.

Most of the time, Mount Silver was a peaceful place which remained relatively undisturbed.

Now, was not one of those times.

Now, it was a battleground between two raging titans.

With a pair of furious, bellowing roars the two large dragons slewed towards each other like a pair of comets and slammed into each other with enough force to shatter hillsides, locking claws with one another as they tumbled over and over in the air, each of them snarling into one another's faces as they tried to get a better purchase on the other one and force themselves on top as they plummeted out of the sky.

Limbs were flailing and tails were thrashing around them as they dropped downwards several dozen metres before one of them planted a kick into the stomach of the other one to push it back, forcing the two of them apart and both zipping upwards again to gain more height. They both glared at each other furiously as the heat of battle roared through their veins and they readied themselves for the next attack.

One of the dragons was mostly orange in colour, with a stocky body and four thick limbs tipped with bone-white vicious looking claws. Its belly was a creamy-yellow colour and the undersides of its broad wings with a deep, dark blue. Its lizard-like head was perched on top of a long neck and displayed vicious looking jaws, intelligent eyes and a pair of horns that stuck out backwards like ridges. Its long tail flailed out behind it as its wings powered it upwards, and a bright orange flame seemed to blaze on the tip of said tail of its own accord.

He was a Charizard.

The other dragon was more shark-like in appearance. He was mostly dark blue with a bright red throat, lower jaw and chest, and golden triangular patch on its stomach, as well as another star-shaped cross on the tip of its snout. It did not have wings, but its front limbs had large fins set under the one enormous claw that it had in place of hands that resembled wings and it seemed to be able to use them to fly without flapping them. Its body was lean and its tail was tipped with a shark-like tailfin. Spikes jutted out from its upper arms and legs, and one either side of its head above its large jaws were a pair of horns that jutted out to the side that resembled jet engines and gave it a hammerhead appearance. Topping it off was the huge dorsal fin that extended out of his back, with a large notch in its underside.

He was a Garchomp.

And right now, both of them seemed to be determined to trash the living daylights out of one another.

The Garchomp was the faster flier and gained altitude quickly, shooting over the top of the other dragon and then lashing down from above with blazing blue claws to slash down towards him. Charizard flared his wings and twisted to the side to avoid the attack and hurled a huge jet of flames from his mouth down at the Garchomp. The other dragon levelled out and shot aside to avoid the plume of fire and its head-horns glowed a bright blue as it shot back up. Its body was enveloped in an equally blue aura moments later as it powered straight up towards the Charizard.

Charizard snorted and braced for impact, flaring out his wings and his tail before lashing out with his arms and grabbing the Garchomp by the horns. The force of the attack still sent both of them flying upwards at high speed but Charizard was able to endure Garchomp's strike with relative ease. Smirking at this little triumph, Charizard forced them to slow and them flapped his wings hard, generating a powerful wind that filled with flames to batter down on the Garchomp's body.

Garchomp snarled and wrenched his head free of Charizard's grip and was blown down several dozen feet by the fiery wind. He raised his arm fins over his face to shield himself, before lashing them outwards to dispel Charizard's attack and generating an enormous ball of orange light in his jaws and send it pelting upwards as a huge beam. Charizard rolled to avoid it but it still struck one of his wings and knocked him out of the air, sending him spiralling downwards some distance past Garchomp before he was able to regain his equilibrium and stop his descent.

But now, Garchomp appeared to be frozen in mid-air, trembling slightly as he tried to get his muscles to obey him. Charizard took advantage of Garchomp's temporary paralysis and motored upwards, his claws gaining a dark aura around them as he pelted them into Garchomp's chest to knock him backwards and then span around to lash out with his suddenly glowing tail straight for Garchomp's head. But Garchomp suddenly moved and his own suddenly glowing arm fin lashed up to meet it and counter the strike, before his fangs also glowed and he snapped them forwards to sink them into Charizard's tail.

Charizard let loose a strangled yelp of a roar as Garchomp's teeth Crunched down, but he yelled further as he was hauled out of his flightpath with a wrench of Garchomp's head and sent tumbling again as Garchomp shot down in hot pursuit, spitting out a glowing green beam of pure power in Charizard's direction. Charizard caught himself and quickly countered the beam with a huge burst of flame from his jaws to create an explosion of smoke between the two combatants. Both of them winged their way up and over the smoke and Charizard flapped his wings hard, generating blades of air that lanced out towards Garchomp as the other dragon pelted towards him.

Garchomp skilfully rolled in the air, one blade of air passing clean past him before he slashed through the other one with a well-aimed attack from his claws. Snarling profusely, Garchomp closed in on Charizard and slammed a glowing arm-fin into his opponent's gut. Charizard grunted but seemed to bear the attack fine and lashed out with his own glowing arm to pelt Garchomp in the side of the head with the edge of his hand.

Garchomp twisted with the blow and brought his tail swinging in to slam Charizard upside the jaw and knock him backwards too, but Charizard righted himself quickly and threw out his arms, generating large orbs of energy around his body which congealed into a huge cascade of rocks that rained down straight towards Garchomp.

But Garchomp was not to be outdone. A furious growl forming on his face, he plunged straight into the oncoming Rock Slide. This time both his arm fins began to glow white and brought them crashing into a pair of boulders above him to shatter them into pieces, dodged around another and span past a fourth, launching another beam of greenish energy from his mouth to make another three burst into grit and then slamming out with his legs to kick the other one directly back towards Charizard. Charizard's eyes narrowed and he seized the rock in one arm, spinning around himself with it and using his momentum to hurl it back, following it up with an enormous tornado of fire from his jaws that seared through the air and sought to envelop Garchomp completely.

Garchomp smirked as he saw the incoming projectiles and he suddenly threw out his arms. Out of nowhere, a huge storm of sand seemed to exude from his very body in a huge, swirling gale of gritty material that swept out in all directions around him and promptly screened Garchomp from view. The boulder sailed through it and hit nothing as it fell and the fiery blaze was put out by the flying sand as the storm washed over Charizard as well.

Charizard growled in frustration and began to launch Flamethrowers at random around him, sand filling his eyes as he tried to hit something in the mess around him and seemed to fail every single time. He had no idea where Garchomp was now and he hurriedly flapped his wings hard to try and clear the sand from around him, but before he could accomplish it Garchomp suddenly crashed into his side with another rushing attack that had coated him in a blue aura. Charizard had all the wind knocked out of him as he was sent hurtling backwards like a tennis ball hit by a racquet.

Gritting his teeth and his tail flame flickering in the sandstorm, Charizard was eventually able to right himself, but sand was still billowing all around him and his opponent had vanished again. He snarled, knowing that two could play at this game, so he shut his eyes firmly and listened as intently as he could, waiting for the attack that he knew would come shortly. And indeed it did. He heard the rushing sound of the incoming Garchomp now coming from directly below him, and he immediately belched forth a huge, billowing cloud of smoke from his jaws that spread across the area as fast as the sandstorm.

Now there was flying smoke and sand in the air and neither of the opponents could see one another. Garchomp missed his target and went flying right past Charizard, who heard him pass and quickly winged up after him. Garchomp heard the sound of Charizard's wings from below and quickly flipped himself over to swoop back down. Both of them suddenly had their bodies engulfed in searing yellowish-orange energy and were surrounded by what looked like colossal, purple energy spheres as they plunged towards each other at tremendous velocity.

The collision between them was with enough force to shatter a small mountain, but the two of them only seemed to strain against one another for several moments as their attacks tried to overwhelm the attack of the other, before both of them promptly gave out and the attacks exploded with tremendous force, throwing both of the opponents back and away from one another. The force of the explosion was also enough to clear the air of sand and smoke and disperse it to the winds, leaving the two of them hanging in the air and temporarily unable to move, but now both able to see one another.

As soon as they regained control of their muscles, they both glared at one another, eyeballing their opponent as they both waited for several moments for the other one to make the first move. When neither of them did, they both snarled and began to move at the same time.

Charizard's entire body suddenly burned with a bright red aura as the flame on his tail ignited to a phenomenal size and he opened his jaws, the inside of his mouth building to near-critical heat levels.

Garchomp's body glowed with a more orange aura, which swiftly congealed and became a condensed ball of orange that seemed to be inside his chest and blazed with power and suddenly shot up his throat to hang between his open jaws and build up to a ludicrous size.

Their attacks ready, both dragons reared back their heads to fire…

"That's enough!" shouted a voice, and something shot up towards them from down below at incredible speed and aimed itself right for Charizard, the swift-moving form being surrounded by white streaks as it lanced upwards. It crashed into Charizard's stomach and knocked the breath out of him, dispelling the imminent attack and, almost faster than the eye could track, the newcomer changed trajectory and whooshed across to slam Garchomp in the chest and knock him backwards to the same effect.

The two dragons caught themselves in the air and shook their heads, both of them looking up to give annoyed looks at the new Pokémon that was hovering between them. This one was a bird, with dark blue plumage except for its red face and chest and white underbelly. Its beak was yellow, its feet were red and tipped with black talons and its tail consisted of two long, blue tail-feathers that jutted out behind it like spikes and were tipped with red. It also had a tuft of blue feathers on the back of its head.

"Swellow," Charizard glared at him. "What was that for? I was really beginning to get into the zone."

"Yeah, so was I," nodded Garchomp with a growl. "I was about to really lay it into him."

"I think you'll find that _I_ was the one who was going to beat the tar out of you," Charizard shouted across at him.

"I beg to differ," Garchomp snorted.

"Guys, guys," Swellow flared his wings and looked from one to the other. "That's enough. You two both take your training matches way too seriously as it is, but do you realise what you were about to do? You were about to unleash a Blast Burn and a Draco Meteor _at the same time_! You two could have destroyed the entire forest with that. Charizard, Milotic's already ticked off with you as it is."

"She is?" Charizard blinked and looked down to the ground below. Several trees down below were smoking and were also sopping wet, and at the edge of a lake, there was a large serpentine Pokémon glaring up at him. She had a cream body, but her tail was covered in alternating blue and pink scales, four elongated blue ones with pink centres sticking out at the tip like a fan. She had long, red eyebrow-like projections jutting out from her head and two red fins that fell down to either side of it like hair. She was tapping her tail against the ground as if it was a foot and was clearly not happy.

"Whoops," Charizard chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess we _did_ kinda get carried away, didn't we?"

"You can say that again," Garchomp agreed. "How many times have we nearly destroyed the forest when we practice battle against one another now?"

"By my count," Swellow rolled his eyes "Thirty-four. But this one really did take the cake. Come on – I mean, Charizard, your species has a penchant for accidentally causing forest fires just with your tails, but I think a Blast Burn would have done some serious damage."

"Is there anywhere that I can safely use that attack?" Charizard whined. "I never get to go all out these days."

"Not around here there isn't," Swellow chuckled. Charizard sulked. Garchomp snorted.

"Well, now that Swellow's interruption has successfully managed to kill my adrenaline rush, I guess that we'll have to call this bout a draw again," the Dragon/Ground pseudo-legendary chuckled as the three of them began to descend towards the ground. "But one of these days when we fight, we _will_ eventually get a winner."

"Only if we seriously hold back and the fight ends up going on for days as a result," Charizard murmured.

"Quit complaining," Swellow laughed. "I'm sure you'll settle this petty contest between you one day. Now come on, let's just go and take a break." He upended himself and dropped back towards the ground as swift as an arrow, swooping in low to the ground and flaring his wings to land with expert precision. The two dragons followed less gracefully and thudded their feet into the ground after dropping a considerable distance.

The sea-serpent-like Pokémon, Milotic, slithered towards the three of them from the water's edge, her eyes narrowed as she fixed her gaze on Charizard. The dragon nervously stepped backwards and coughed slightly under her gaze as she pulled to a stop next to him, uncomfortably reminded of how much taller than him she could be when she reared up as she was doing now.

"Um…" he tried. "Sorry?"

Milotic responded by firing a small jet of water out of her mouth which doused Charizard's head, and causing him to step back and instinctively wrap his wings around his blazing tail to keep it from going out.

"Sorry?" Milotic asked in a rather melodious voice, especially considering she was annoyed at him. "You do know that if I didn't have such an aversion to violence that I'd probably end up smacking you in the face right now. Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to make sure that all of _your_ flaming attacks didn't set the forest alight?"

"I said I was sorry," Charizard snorted. "Shouldn't that be enough?"

"It might be if this was the first time that you'd done it, but you know as well as I do that it isn't," Milotic huffed, raising one of her long eyebrow-tendrils.

"Well, I really am," Charizard murmured. "It's not my fault I have such a hot head. I'm a Fire type – it's kinda what we do. I guess I got… carried away… again."

"Yes, you did, didn't you?" Milotic sighed.

"Anyway, why are you only yelling at me? Garchomp was doing just as much with the overkill as I was," Charizard complained, pointing at the other dragon who seemed to be having a problem with not bursting out laughing at the powerful Charizard being told off like a little kid by Milotic. "Go yell at him as well."

"If Garchomp had let off that final Draco Meteor at the end then I think we'd _all_ have a good cause to yell at him," another male voice chipped in from the edge of the forest, and the group all turned around to see a large, green lizard-like creature reclined on a thick branch with his back pressed to the trunk. Apart from his lower jaw and a line across his waist, which were red, and several yellow orbs running down his back, this Pokémon was entirely green. Its neck was long and its head had a pair of crests jutting out of the top, with three claws on each limb and a pair of leaf-like blades sticking out of each arm. Its tail looked like thick palm tree branch and hung down underneath it like a small bush.

"True that," Swellow agreed. "And not just us either. You'd be fending off all of the wild Pokémon whose homes he destroyed for days on end, wouldn't you, Sceptile?"

"Indeed," nodded the lizard. "And that is something that I'd prefer to avoid, thank you very much."

"Don't blame us if our dragon power is always bursting to come out and play," Garchomp snorted. "You know what it's like to get carried away when you're in a fight, Sceptile."

"True, but I daresay that I have a fair but more self-restraint than either of you two," Sceptile chuckled, plucking a leaf off a nearby tree and chewing on it for several moments.

"I think that _all_ of us have more restraint than those two," another growling voice uttered, as its own emerged from out of the trees. "But then again, that's not a particularly hard thing to achieve, is it?"

"You're one to talk, Mr. I-Meditate-All-Day-Long," Charizard muttered.

"Perhaps you should try taking up meditation," the smaller Pokémon smirked. He resembled a humanoid jackal-like creature with a cream-coloured torso and limbs with blue and black fur on its limbs and head, the latter of which had a black stripe running across its eyes and another from its snout to between its large dog-like ears like a mask. A short tail stuck out behind it and it had a large spike jutting out of its chest and the backs of both paws, as well as four strange, black appendages that dangled from the back of its head. "Who knows, it might teach you a little more discipline in battle?"

"Who needs discipline, Lucario," Charizard batted his chest with one fist and smirked, "When you can go for full out power." He raised his head and fire billowed from his jaws into the air… only to be put out moments later by a burst of water from Milotic's mouth.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake… what did I _just_ talk to you about?" Milotic rolled her eyes. "You never learn, do you? Somebody smack him for me please."

"I'll do it," cheered another voice, and small blur darted out of the forest and sprang upwards to swat Charizard in the snout with its tail before it tumbled back to the ground and landed neatly on all four feet. The new Pokémon snickered as Charizard rubbed his snout and glared down at him.

"If you weren't an Ice-type, I'd fry your sorry butt into next week," the much larger dragon growled at the giggling newcomer.

"No, you wouldn't" the newcomer grinned cheekily, who was small and fox-like and covered in light blue fur except for the insides of his large, diamond-shaped ears, the tips of his paws and tail and a pair of spots on his back which were all a darker blue. He also had a blue tuque-like growth on its head with two large cap-endings that fell down either side of his face and were also tipped with dark blue. "Because if you did then Milotic would probably violate her peaceful beliefs and kill you."

"Very probably," Milotic agreed. "Nobody messes with Glaceon and gets away with it on my watch."

"See," Glaceon grinned cheekily and poked his tongue out at Charizard.

"Ooh yes," Charizard smirked. "Go and hide behind Milotic's skirts you little girl."

Glaceon's eye suddenly twitched and he growled at the much large Pokémon. "Will you stop doing that?" he demanded. "It's bad enough that everybody new we meet mistakes me for a girl but you guys don't have to constantly go around pointing it out as well."

"But it's so much fun sometimes," Sceptile chuckled from his place in the tree.

"You all suck," Glaceon humphed and looked away.

"Maybe if you didn't overreact every time they did it then they wouldn't do it so often," Lucario proffered.

"Oh shut up, Gramps," Glaceon sniffed. Lucario just chuckled, knowing that most things Glaceon said were all in jest anyway.

"Ugh, can you guys keep it down," another voice complained from within the trees, the user to said voice curled up in the shadows and barely visible. "You do know that I'm trying to get some sleep here."

"You're always trying to get some sleep, you lazy sod," Garchomp chuckled. "Why don't you get up and about and do some training like you're supposed to. It's a great day for it."

"So, I heard from the amount of sheer overkill you two power-mongers put into you training session up there," the Pokémon muttered as he stood up, stretched and walked into the light. His bright yellow eyes were the first things that could be seen as they glared like headlamps even in the darkness. Most of the rest of him was black fur by contrast, except or his blue face, ears, hind legs and abdomen. The backs of his front legs had alternating yellow and blue stripes on them and the end of his tail had a glowing, yellow star on the tip. The hair around his neck was thick and bushy, like some kind of spiky main. "Honestly, did it ever occur to you that some people _might_ be trying to get some rest?"

"Be honest, Luxray," Swellow chuckled. "Do you think anything like that ever occurs to either of them _ever_?"

"Watch it, birdie," Garchomp raised an eye-ridge.

"Actually, I don't think it does," Luxray yawned. "Alright, alright. I'm up now. What am I supposed to be doing now?"

"You could try perfecting that Superpower move that you've been trying to get right over the last few weeks," suggested Lucario.

"I'm honestly beginning to give up on that one," Luxray shook his head. "It's hard to get the focus into it just right when you need it to and it always makes me feel so lethargic after practice sessions."

"Yes, and for an already lethargic Pokémon like yourself, that can hardly be called a good thing, can it?" the next speaker on the scene added as he seemed to loom out of the darkness like a wraith, appearing from the shadows and walking right past the startled Luxray.

"Ack! How many times do we have to tell you _not_ to slink out of the shadows like that?" Luxray glared at the newcomer.

"Well, my apologies," smirked said newcomer. "But I really can't help it. It is, after all, in my nature."

This new Pokémon was definitely a canine, and most of him was an even deeper black than Lucario or Luxray was. He was quite tall and lean with a long orange snout and equally orange underbelly, white bone-white bands around each of his ankles, as well as three white ridges across his back like some sort of bone and a fourth one around the back of his neck like a large bony collar with a skull-like pendant-like mark on his chest. His tail was long and spaded, like that of a devil and he had two, long curved horns jutting out the back of his head.

"My kind were, after all, once mistaken for the Grim Reaper when we called in the night," he chuckled. "And what does the Grim Reaper do but loom out of the darkness and scare people like that."

"Sometimes, you scary me, Houndoom," Glaceon murmured from beside Milotic. Houndoom swung his head around to face him and narrowed his red eyes, a slightly sadistic leer appearing on his face and instantly causing Glaceon to shrink backwards.

"Well, from my point of view, that's a good thing," Houndoom sniggered. "It wouldn't do well for a Dark-type not to send chills down people's spines now and again, would it?"

"Absol is nowhere near as scary as you are sometimes," Glaceon countered.

"Well, Absol's had his fair share of reasons why being scary might not be such a good idea for him," Lucario pointed out. "Houndoom is fortunate enough to have not had the same sort of encounters and experiences as him."

"I don't envy him," Houndoom admitted. "Even I can't help but feel sorry for the guy after the crap that he's been put through all his life. Where is he anyway?"

"Probably curled up at the base of a tree and shivering," Swellow sighed. "That is what he seems to do most often these days."

"Poor guy," Milotic sighed. "I really wish that there was something we could do for him, but I don't have a clue what to do this time."

"Oh sure, Absol gets the pity but you only yell at me," Charizard rolled his eyes.

Milotic rolled her own eyes even more. "I have not yelled at you at any point during this conversation, Mister Pyromaniac. But if you really feel that bad…" she suddenly slithered forwards and startled Charizard when she wound her neck across his back and nuzzled the side of his face with her own, emitting an air of calm around her that seemed to flow into Charizard and make him relax a little bit. "There. Is that better?"

"Well, it's a little awkward," Charizard coughed. "But yeah, I guess. Thanks, Milotic."

"You're welcome," Milotic smiled. "I do my best."

"And we all appreciate your efforts, Milotic," Sceptile nodded. "I don't know where we would all be without you."

"Oh, you make me blush," Milotic smiled.

"Hey, I have a question," Luxray suddenly piped up. "Where the heck is Scyther? Is he not going to join the meeting of this dysfunctional family of ours?"

"Where do you think he is?" Sceptile chuckled. "He's in the same place that he usually is at this time of day." He jerked his thumb out towards the lake. And there, visible in the distance and perched on a large rock jutting out from the water some way from the bank was a very large insect Pokémon. He was mostly green, with three-pronged ridges on his head, sharp fangs coming out of his mouth and hefty claws on his hind feet. He had four thin wings sprouting out of his shoulders and his front limbs were, essentially, giant curved blades like sickles. He was currently using those sickles to fence with the air, jabbing and slashing as he span around in a series of combat positions and his eyes narrowed in extreme focus.

"Of course," Luxray murmured. "That was kinda silly of me I suppose. I say that he tries too hard with his own training sometimes."

"As opposed to the laziness that comes from yours?" Houndoom probed with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up," Luxray muttered.

"You know as well as the rest of us why Scyther motivates himself to train so hard," Lucario pointed out as he settled down on a rock with his paws folded beneath him. "He might be trying harder than any one of us to become stronger."

"True," Luxray nodded. "True enough."

"Hey, Scyther!" Glaceon shouted across the water. "Quit hacking apart imaginary enemies and get over here."

"Subtle, Glaceon. Very subtle," Garchomp snorted.

"It's my specialty," Glaceon grinned.

"No, I believe that subtle is the exact _opposite_ of your specialty," the dragon type objected.

"What's going on?" Scyther asked.

"WAAAH!" Glaceon yelled, having completely failed to notice the bug apparently hearing his shout and zipping across the water to alight next to him with all the skills of a swift and stealthy ninja. Glaceon was taken completely off guard and practically backflipped backwards as he tried to put some distance between himself and the large bug. "Don't do that! Appearing like that with two huge great blades is enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone!"

Scyther laughed, scraping his arm-blades against one another. "Well, it's not as if I can't really do much about my blades."

"Actually, you could evolve," pointed out Charizard. "That would get rid of them pretty quickly."

Scyther glared at him. "You know why I don't want to evolve, Charizard," he growled. "How would you feel if you had another evolved form and suddenly you found yourself unable to fly when you evolved into it?"

"Oh, don't even go there," Charizard shuddered. "I don't think I could face life knowing I'd never fly again."

"Exactly," nodded Scyther. "And that is the same reason why I will be keeping my scythes for the foreseeable future, thank you very much." Even if it does mean I'm the only one in this group that's not at his highest stage of evolution."

"Or her highest stage," Milotic smiled.

"That too," Scyther added, pointing a scythe in Milotic's direction. "So then, what's going on?"

"Pretty much the same as normal," Houndoom muttered as he lay down on his stomach. "Nothing except sitting around, making sure that we're not disturbed by any other humans and waiting for the day where our trainer finally decides to snap out of the state of mind that he's been in for the last five years and do something with his life except just sit here."

"Houndoom, you could have phrased that just a little bit better," Sceptile murmured.

"I'm just saying it like it is," Houndoom stated matter-of-factly. "We all feel the same way, don't we?"

The ten Pokémon exchanged glances with one another but nobody said anything in answer to Houndoom's question. Several of them turned their heads around to peer through the trees under the relatively shaded canopy towards the base of a large tree in the distance. There were three beings clustered around the base of the tree and one of them… was a human. _Their_ human.

There was nothing overly special looking about the human. As far as things went, he was relatively nondescript. His most notable feature was his hair, which was a brown that was so dark that it looked completely black, and was also relatively long and hung down the sides of his face. But the rest of him was just… normal. Blue eyes, ordinary face, rather thin but quite tall frame and that was about the only thing you could say about him really. Nothing special whatsoever.

But to all ten Pokémon, he was one of the most special people in the world. For he was their trainer. The one who had brought all of the together from out of the wild into the "dysfunctional family" as Luxray put it, that they were today. He was the one that had helped them to build up the mutual bonds of intense friendship that existed between them today. Every one of the ten Pokémon cared greatly for every other member of the group, despite the fact that they argued with one another a lot in many cases and some of them tried to avoid displaying those feelings as much as they could.

And it was all thanks to him. And also to one of the other two figures that were by the tree – the other one who was leaning over the third, who appeared to be curled into a ball for some reason.

"Something's up with Absol," Garchomp noted, and immediately started to make his way through the trees towards the three distant figures.

"Probably the same thing that it usually is," sighed Swellow as he took to the wing and the rest of the group fell in behind Garchomp and followed him over.

The group, each of varying shape and size, moved their way through the trees until they were at the edge of the smaller clearing which had its single tree at the centre, where the other three members of their team were together. The human was leaning on the ground next to the Absol, who was indeed shivering with his head in his paws just as the others had suspecting.

"No," Absol was moaning. "It's coming. It's coming. By Arceus, it's coming. Growing more and more prominent all the time. There's not much time left anymore. No time. No time."

"He's been like this for months," Glaceon murmured to Luxray. "Do you think that he'll ever snap out of it?"

"Yep," Luxray nodded. "Whenever this thing he keeps sensing is going to happen happens. _That's_ when he'll snap out of it."

Glaceon shuddered and looked over at Absol with pitying eyes. Absol was relatively feline in appearance, with a sleek body covered in white fur, including a large ruff-like bundle of it around his neck and chest. Each of his four paws with tipped with three black claws on the toes and one more that stuck out backwards from the elbows on the front legs and the heels on the back legs. His tail was black and blade-like, and his head resembled a yin-yang symbol, with a tuft of white fur over and to the right side of its face to represent the white half of the symbol and an enormous sickle-like blade that stuck upwards from the left side of his head to represent the black one. His face itself was also black and his eyes, which were red, were now clamped shut as he continued to shiver.

"Poor guy," Charizard muttered. "He's not been himself for a while now, has he?"

"If I had the ability of an Absol," Houndoom sniffed. "I'm pretty sure that I would be the same if what he's sensing is as bad as he claims."

"True that," Sceptile nodded.

"Just calm down, Absol," the trainer was murmuring, running his hand down Absol's neck and back in an effort to calm down his distraught Pokémon. "Calm down. I'm sure that everything's going to be fine. Whatever you're sensing, it has nothing to do with us, I'm sure. Just relax and try to calm down."

"No, no, it won't," Absol murmured. "It's coming closer. Coming for all of us. I can feel it getting closer by the day… picking up speed. It'll be on us soon and… I don't know if we can stop it."

The trainer could not understand a word that Absol was saying but he didn't have to to know that his words were having little effect on the distressed Dark-type. He sighed and looked up towards the others who were gathering around in concern. "Milotic!" he called. "I think we need you over here again."

Milotic nodded and slithered forwards towards Absol, as the trainer and the final Pokémon of the team stepped backwards and out of her way. Absol continued shivering and moaning and gripping his head in his claws as Milotic coiled her thick body gently around him to wrap his entire form in her long torso and began to make low keening noises as she fanned the trembling Pokémon with the scales on the tip of her tail. A calming aura began to settle over the entire group as Milotic's body glowed a warm, light colour and Absol's shivering depleted noticeably over the space of several seconds.

One of Milotic's special abilities was the ability to calm those who were angry or scared. Her talents worked better on angry, but recently she had been putting them to use on Absol a lot, and though she was able to calm the poor guy down during that instance, the feeling of whatever it was that was scaring him just kept coming back to haunt him.

The trainer sighed, worry for his Pokémon clearly etched onto his face as he turned to the final member of his team… or rather the first as he had known this particular Pokémon for far longer than any of the others. "Has it become any clearer yet?"

The deep red eyes of the Pokémon fixed on her trainer's as she shook her head sadly. Of all of them, she was the most humanoid in appearance, standing just as tall as her trainer and able to look him in the eye on the same level. She appeared to be wearing something akin to a long ballroom gown which was whit on the outside and green on the inside and covered her long, slender legs that ended in blunt tips rather than feet. Her arms were also long and slender with three fingered hands at the end, but they were green and resembled long gloves that might go with the gown, the greenness extending down her sides and across her lower chest to separate the white gown from the rest of her body, as the gown itself was technically a part of her.

Her face was white with three blunt spikes jutting out behind her on either side like a masquerade mask, and her eyes were very large. She had short green hair that pointed down the centre of her face between her eyes and curled down to either side over her shoulders.

She was a Gardevoir, and she was the one who had known their trainer for the longest amount of time, which was one of the many reasons why she was the closest to him out of all twelve of his team.

But there was one thing that was noticeably different about this Gardevoir. While someone who had never seen a Gardevoir before might not realise it, there was something missing from her design. Most Gardevoir had a large, red, flat horn sticking out of the centre of their chests and another, smaller one sticking out of their backs. This Gardevoir had neither, and there was a reason for that. A reason that all the other Pokémon in the glade knew well.

Gardevoir was one of the two Pokémon in the team who could actually talk to their trainer in a manner he understood, the other being Lucario, and she could do it with her Psychic abilities, enabling the transfer human speech directly into his mind and talk to him that way, as well as translate what all the other team-members was saying.

_I'm afraid not,_ she said to him with a sigh. _He only ever says that it is coming closer. Whatever it is that he sensing, he either still doesn't know what it is… or… well…_

"It's so terrible that he doesn't want to tell us?" the trainer asked.

_Possibly, _Gardevoir nodded sadly. _I have reason to believe that it is the former because nothing he's said on the matter has been coherent but… I cannot read his mind to check on that fact since he's a Dark-type._

"That's what I feared," the trainer sighed. "He's been like this for half a year now though. I almost wish that whatever he is sensing just happens so that he will be freed from the torture that its causing him. I don't like seeing Absol like this, Gardevoir. Especially after the stuff he's been put through."

_It will be okay, Felkan,_ Gardevoir gave him a sad smile, reaching out to gently take his hand with her own. _Everything will be alright eventually, I promise you. We will all face whatever difficulties lie ahead of us as we always have done – together. And you, Felkan, you will help Absol overcome this problem just as you helped all of us overcome everything else that we've been through._

"How do you know that, Gardevoir?" the trainer, who's named was indeed Felkan, bit his lip. "Why do you always have such faith in me?"

_You have never let any of us down before,_ Gardevoir smiled sadly, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb as she brought her other hand up to where her chest horn should have been if she had one and rubbing the spot sadly. _This is a living testament to what lengths you will go to in order to help us, is it not?_

Felkan sighed again and looked across at Absol, who was still trembling but had calmed down significantly in Milotic's tender embrace. His Pokémon was clearly suffering and even though Gardevoir had so much faith that he would find a way to alleviate that suffering, Felkan didn't have a first clue where to begin. Gardevoir noticed his obvious distress and quickly stepped forwards, wrapping her arms gently around her trainer and bringing him close in a soothing embrace of her own, which he slowly returned.

_Trust me,_ Gardevoir murmured in his mind. _My… our… faith in you is not as misplaced as you think. I believe in you. Absol believes in you. We all believe in you._

Felkan pulled Gardevoir closer and rested his chin on her shoulder. He felt incredibly grateful to his oldest friend. In fact he was pretty sure that without her constant support and presence by his side that he would most likely have snapped quite a long time ago considering what had happened to him.

Felkan heard footsteps approach and he opened his eyes to see that most of his other Pokémon had stepped forwards to now stand around him and Gardevoir, with earnest looks on each of their faces. Evidently Gardevoir had been broadcasting what she had been saying to each and every one of them so they knew exactly what was going on.

"Gardevoir's right," Garchomp nodded firmly. "We all trust in you now, even if we did not when we first became a part of your team."

"I have been with you from nearly the very start of your journey," Sceptile clenched his fist. "And I have never lost faith in you even when you have long lost faith in yourself."

"You have spirit, Master," Lucario agreed. "And I believe that you shall one day understand just how much of it that you have in you."

"You're the glue what pulled us together," Glaceon wagged his tail. "And it's that same glue that still holds us together now even after all this time."

"The bonds we've all forged between us are your doing," Scyther grunted. "Your care for us is unparalleled even if you refuse to care about yourself."

"And we trust in your decisions," Swellow spread his wings. "We will follow you to the ends of this world and we will do anything that you ask of us as long as you believe that it is the right thing to do."

"You've proven to us time and again that you are the trainer for us without a shadow of a doubt," Charizard rumbled. "There has never been any point where I found myself wishing that I had been caught by another human."

"You've always come through for each of us in the past when we needed you," Luxray declared. "And I, for one, believe that you will always continue to do that in the future."

"And maybe one day," Houndoom finalised. "Maybe one day we will finally get out of this place, strike out back into the world where we once thrived and show the world exactly what we've got under your leadership."

To Felkan's ears, everything they said sounded like complete gobbledegook, but Gardevoir was translating everything that they said as they said it within his mind, so he knew exactly what it was that each of them was saying. He had to admit that he could feel his spirits rising with most every word that they uttered, and he knew in his heart that he was extraordinarily lucky to have such a loyal and trusting team of Pokémon who worked with him.

Nevertheless, while their words raised one portion of his spirits, they simultaneously lowered the other portion, which always happened when they all tried to comfort him like this. He liked to think that their faith in him was as well-founded as they claimed it was… but in the end, what was the point of that faith if it couldn't be put to use? There was a reason that they were forced to live here, far from humanity… and Felkan knew that that reason would never allow them to be accepted by the rest of the world ever again.

If there was one thing that he knew about humans, it was that old prejudices ran deep within them. They were not likely to forgive him so easily.

Gardevoir evidently sensed his mental distress and she tightened her grip on him. _Felkan, please. Do not think like that. There must be a way. There's always a way._

Felkan sighed and slowly eased himself out of Gardevoir's arms to find himself looking into her eyes again. "Thank you," he murmured. "All of you," he turned to the others. "For this belief that you have in me. But you all know as well as I do that we cannot return. Humanity has decided to cast us out, and… the price for what would happen if we were to return is too high a price to pay. I will not put any of you in danger unnecessarily.

"Can we really hide forever out here in the wilderness, Master?" Lucario asked, transmitting his words directly to Felkan's mind himself with his special aura powers.

"We have no choice," Felkan sighed, as he turned to walk away and kneel back down beside the shivering Absol. Gardevoir bit her lip, distress clearly evident on her face, as she turned back to look at the worried expressions on the faces of the others. She did not have to read minds to know that they were all thinking the same thing right now.

All of them were worried for their trainer. They had been for the last five years, ever since they had been forced to flee together and run into the wilderness, where they had lived together ever since. Felkan had been badly damaged by what had happened to him, though not in body. A very large portion of his spirit and his faith had been crushed as well, and despite the prolonged isolation - maybe _because_ of the prolonged isolation, those wounds had never healed. Not even a fraction.

Felkan's faith in humanity had been all but obliterated by the event. He no longer trusted them as far as he could throw a Snorlax, which was not at all. That's why he considered Mount Silver such an ideal location. Few trainers ever came up here, and those that did were often extremely foolhardy and relatively easy to evade. It hadn't seemed to have occurred to any of the authorities that he might have gone to a place like this though, for they had been able to live their lives here completely undisturbed from people like them.

But that had not been the only thing about him that had been damaged in the incident. Felkan had started out with the dream that every young trainer had, making him absolutely no different from any of the others. They all wanted to be the best – to see their names up in lights after they trained up an unstoppable team and battled their way through the eight gym leaders of a region, won the conference that would determine who got to advance forwards, and then eventually defeat the Elite Four and then the Champion, allowing them to take their place as the most powerful trainer in the region.

So many trainers set out with that dream heavily on their minds.

So few ever managed to make that dream into a reality.

Most Pokémon trainers went onto to do other jobs when they grew older instead of battling, of course, but the childhood desire to be the best almost seemed like some kind of virus. Every kid had the same dream, and most of them did their best to accomplish it.

Felkan had been no different, so when he had been forced into exile like this, forced to flee with no possibility of ever fulfilling that dream, his determination to be the best had been totally stripped away, as if someone had physically taken a pair of scissors and managed to cut it free from the rest of his body. Now, five years later when he was nineteen years old, he considered those old hopes of his to be petty and childish, but the fact that his determination had gone remained the same.

Though he had initially tried to keep training his twelve loyal Pokémon who were sticking with him no matter what, he had eventually lapsed into pretty much not bothering at all. What was the point of training to become the strongest if you were never going to have the opportunity of putting yourself to the test? So, Pokémon training had lost just about all meaning in Felkan's mind a long time ago by this point.

Now, he just lived here, brooding on what had happened and on what might have been. If it had not been for his Pokémon, specifically Gardevoir, he would no doubt have gone completely insane not long after he had been forced to come to this place, far from any of his old home comforts.

And though all twelve of his Pokémon had gotten used to this face, it just didn't feel right to any of them. Seeing Felkan like this, even after all this time, simply felt so utterly wrong. They all wanted the old Felkan back – the Felkan who believed in himself, the Felkan who had taken every opportunity to bond with them and help them grow stronger.

Yet it seemed that Felkan was gone and none of them, not even Gardevoir, had been able to bring him back.

Life out here in the wilderness wasn't so bad. They had all the amenities they needed here such as clean water in abundance, enormous amounts of food thanks to the numerous berry trees that grew throughout the area and there were more than a few cave systems nearby where they could take shelter if the weather took a turn for the worse, so all in all they didn't have it too badly.

Of course, berries were only going to get a human like Felkan so far, but some of the others like Garchomp and Charizard were capable of hunting something more substantial, meaning that the Pokémon all worked hard to make sure their trainer was well looked after and kept in good condition. That seemed to be about the only thing that they had been able to do for him besides try and support him emotionally.

Nevertheless, while the trainer had lost faith in everything but his friendship with these twelve, his team still had yet to give up. Almost from the very start of their exile, each of them believed that there _would_ be a time where they could finally return and that when they did they would be able to continue with Felkan's old dream of becoming the Champion of a region. But since Felkan had lost his determination to do grow stronger, the Pokémon had all taken it upon themselves to get stronger themselves.

They had trained amongst themselves most every day for the last five years, gaining speed, accuracy, higher defence, greater attack power – ironing out as many kinks in one another's fighting styles and skills as they could to become stronger both individually and as a team, pitching fights against one another in the open spaces as they tried harder than ever before to improve on their techniques

And it was all for him. It was an attempt on their behalf to show Felkan that _they_ would never lose faith in Felkan's old beliefs, nor would they lose faith in his own faith in them. And also so that when, if ever, they did come out of their exile they would be ready to rejoin their old battles despite how much the rest of the world must have also changed by this point, but also so they could face anything that the world had to throw at them, whether that be from other trainers, from the law or from something totally unexpected.

It had not been easy for them to work on training each other without Felkan analysing what they were doing and making improvements, but they had managed to do it anyway. Lucario and Gardevoir had both proven pivotal to the success of each and every one of them. The nearest human settlement to Mount Silver was Blackthorn City, which was still quite a long way away, and the two of them would occasionally pay the place a visit in secret. It had quite an extensive library filled with books and guides to training which they had… borrowed… and brought back with them to try and help the others get better.

They had been able to use these guides to expand the repertoire of attacks that each of them were capable of learning naturally. Pokémon could use many different moves, often of many different types, though in order for them to learn some of them they had to go through a specialist process depending on the move and the Pokémon in question. It had often been a challenge, but they had managed to do it with more efficiency as they gained greater strength all the time. And now, each of them could use a wide range of physical and ranged attacks of varying degrees of power.

And it did not end there either. During one particular visit to Blackthorn while Lucario and Gardevoir were busy selecting new guides and replacing the ones they had borrowed and no longer needed, Swellow had been perched on the roof and keeping lookout while remaining mostly unnoticed in the dead of night.

And that had been how he overheard some people nearby discussing a family of people who lived in this very city who knew how to teach some Pokémon some very specialist and extremely powerful moves. One of them was boasting to the other about how his Feraligatr could now use Hydro Cannon – one of the most powerful Water-type moves there were.

Swellow had been intrigued and immediately informed the others. Those kind of powerful moves could not be found in the guide books and it was extremely rare for any Pokémon, trained or untrained to possess them. Lucario had done some more investigating and had eventually located the family in question and discovered exactly what moves they would be willing to teach.

Which was why, shortly afterwards, the family had been very surprised when Sceptile, Charizard and Garchomp had turned up on their doorstep, with Lucario also present to translate through his aura powers, which he had been developing slowly overtime on his own.

It had taken some persuasion on Lucario's part because the family normally only taught the moves to Pokémon who had proven they had a strong bond with their trainer, but Lucario was able to convince them that they did without Felkan needing to come to the scene himself. And things had progressed from there. It had taken them a while, but eventually they had all been able to learn the three most powerful moves of their types available to them.

Sceptile had managed to learn Frenzy Plant. Charizard had managed to learn Blast Burn. And Garchomp had managed to learn Draco Meteor.

Possession of such powerful moves bolstered the confidence of the team even further and now they were all very strong indeed. Certainly more than a match for all of the wild Pokémon in the area, even the occasional angry Tyranitar. But they still had no way of knowing how strong they were in comparison to some other Pokémon teams out there since none of them had been part of an official Pokémon battle for so many years now. Even Absol, who had been almost as crushed as Felkan had thanks to their exile, had picked up the pace and determination had filled him up to gain strength and prove to himself and to Felkan that they could still fight in the faint hope that they would one day leave Mount Silver and try to reconnect with their old ways.

Felkan made no attempts to try and stop his team from advancing their skills, even though he still believed that it was ultimately pointless considering what had happened. His Pokémon had every right to train themselves if they wanted to after all. And who knew… maybe their strengths might be needed if they ever were found by the authorities. And while he played little to no part in their training anymore, he still made the effort to connect with each of his Pokémon and at least boost the bond of friendships between them. After all… they were all he had now.

But, out of all his team, his bond with Gardevoir was the strongest. Gardevoir was his main anchor and he had no idea what his life would have been like if he had not had the chance meeting with her at age seven when she had been just a little Ralts. Gardevoir had been with him ever since, evolving through Kirlia into her present form as he had grown older and matured, meaning they had effectively grown up together… more so than any of Felkan's other Pokémon.

Gardevoir were known as Embrace Pokémon due to their extreme ability to sense the emotions of others and their need to do what they could to help those who were sad and were suffering. But more than that, Gardevoir cared so deeply for Felkan that it bordered on insane. Her love for him was incredibly deep. It was not romantic love – far from it. In fact, you could say that her love for him ran even deeper than romantic love even could, as if her care for him was woven into the very fabric of her soul, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

It might sound cliché to say so, but the two of them were effectively soulmates.

Such was the strength of Gardevoir's feelings for her trainer that she, quite literally, could not stand to be away from him for a prolonged length of time. She could maybe tolerate a few hours without his presence at least in her mind, but much longer than that and she began to feel a burning ache in her heart that indicated how much she missed him already, even though they hadn't even been apart for a day.

Of course, all Gardevoir that had trainers cared extremely deeply for the human as it was a part of their nature to, but Felkan's Gardevoir seemed to take this to a whole new level than other Gardevoir did. And there were numerous reasons for that, besides the length of time she had spent by his side. But perhaps one of the most prominent of those reasons had to do with the fact that the red horns she was supposed to have on her torso were missing.

For one thing, it meant that Gardevoir could do what other Gardevoir could not and give Felkan a proper full-on hug when he needed it, which seemed to be quite a lot. If other Gardevoir tried something like that then their chest horn would get in the way and they'd have to do an awkward side-on embrace if they wanted to live up to their own names. The horns of a Gardevoir were supposed to amplify their ability to sense the emotions of others, so it was a bizarre twist that this Gardevoir's lack of it brought her closer to her trainer than another Gardevoir would have been able to get.

But it also had to do with what caused the lack of horn. For Gardevoir had been born with two horns as a Ralts just like any ordinary one, but now she no longer had either. But the story behind that had happened a long, long time ago now.

It pained Gardevoir greatly to see Felkan like this. She loved him no matter what he did, as did the rest of his team, but still she couldn't shake the image of the old Felkan either. Felkan used to be so vibrant and full of life and eager to set forth and seek out adventure. Now, he was quiet, he was reserved and could often be quite surly. Of course, Gardevoir didn't unduly blame him… but still, she knew that this was not the person that he should have become. He could have been so much more than this. He didn't deserve what had happened to him. None of them did.

Yet they were all still here. Still together. Still fighting for survival in their own different way. Gardevoir had made many attempts to get Felkan to try and head back to a human settlement and see what happened, but Felkan had always refused, insisting that he didn't want to put any of them, particularly Absol, in harm's way because he knew that the humans wouldn't forget so easily. And Gardevoir had never had the heart to press the issue, so she resolved to be Felkan's support in any way that she could. As well as his translator.

"Do you ever think that we will be able to get out of here and go and see the world again like we used to?" Glaceon looked up at the other members of the team.

"We can only hope," Scyther murmured. "I know that I, for one, would like to see if all the training we've been doing over the past few years has been paying off."

Gardevoir sighed and turned to the others. "Felkan's mind is scarred," she said with the use of her voice this time. "I have done all I can but his beliefs about the rest of the world are in a fragile state and they may even be broken forever. But, I'm sorry to say that the only way that he will ever change his mind is through experience. No amount of words are going to break through to him and convince him that he shouldn't give up on humanity as he has. He has to see it for himself."

"But he refuses to go back and give it a look," Garchomp grunted. "And we're not allowed to let any humans anywhere near our location."

"I know," Gardevoir murmured sadly. "But we cannot force him to go back on the move. If ever the opportunity comes for us to get back on the road and sway him to come with us then I believe that we should take it."

"And what are the odds of that happening?" Houndoom asked bitterly.

"At present," Gardevoir muttered. "There may be quite a high chance. But not in a good way," she added, glancing across at the shivering Absol.

The others all knew what she meant. Absol had the natural ability to detect incoming disasters in many different forms, which was what Absol was sensing right now. Something very big and very disastrous was looming, and for Absol to have begun sensing it six months ago and for it to have still not happened let everyone know that _this_ was a pretty big deal. More than that… it seemed like a disaster to end all disasters. Absol had sensed this kind of thing before, but never had he had such a reaction as this to any of them. Usually he just freaked out, not lie there moaning and groaning and cowering in fear.

The group had wondered many times whether any of the other wild Absol scattered across the world were feeling anything similar.

"Any further ideas on what he might be sensing at all?" Sceptile questioned the Psychic-type.

"Not really," Gardevoir shook her head. "My ability to see the future is normally clearer than this. At the moment the only thing I'm really getting is a few vague pictures of things that I've never seen before. They look like strange Pokémon but… well, as I said I have no idea what they are. As to the nature of the disaster itself, I have no idea. But I get the feeling that a certain couple of Pokémon we know well will be heavily involved and…"

"HI GUYS!" a voice yelled as another Pokémon materialised out of thin air right in the middle of the group. Glaceon yelped and darted behind Sceptile, and all the rest of the group automatically tensed themselves for combat. But when they saw who it was, they all sighed and relaxed, rolling their eyes.

"Oh, it's you again," Luxray snorted. "Still the same old prankster, aren't you?"

"What can I say?" the hovering Pokémon giggled. "It's so much fun making all of you jump. And one of these days, Lucario – I _am_ going to take you by surprise."

"Not likely," Lucario, who hadn't flinched at her appearance like everyone else, smirked.

The new Pokémon was vaguely dragon-like, but also had the characteristics of a jet plane. Her entire lower body was red with stubby feet-like fins on her abdomen in place of legs and two, long jet-like wings extending up and out of her back. She had a blue triangle on her chest, and her arms were short with red on the lower half and white on the upper. Her top half was white, with a long neck that head up to a pointed red face with a white pentagon in the on the forehead, triangular ears that pointed backwards out of her head, large, sparkling orange eyes and a cheeky grin.

"Sorry about that," sighed a nearly identical Pokémon that shimmered into view next to her. This one was slightly larger and was also blue instead of red and had a red triangle on his chest instead of a blue one, but other than that and his smaller eyes he was exactly the same. "You know what my sister's like. She just can't resist a dramatic exit."

"As opposed to being a sourpuss like you, brother," the red dragon snickered. "When are you going to learn to lighten up? I've been telling you too for… eons." She giggled at her own pun.

"Oh haha Latias," the blue one rolled his eyes. "And I've been telling _you_ for eons that I'll lighten up when you… serious down."

"That's not even a phrase, Latios," Latias giggled again. For these two were indeed Latios and Latias, a pair of Dragon and Psychic type Legendary Pokémon and the two youngest children of Arceus. They were known as the Eon twins and the pair of them were globetrotters, capable of flying across the entire world in a day and still have enough time to watch an eight-hour movie marathon and more. Latias, the girl, was known for her cheerful and energetic and cheeky personality while Latios, the boy, was much more serious and did his best to keep his sister out of trouble. Quite often this did not always work out for him.

Neither of these two were Felkan's Pokémon, as they much preferred to go about and do things their own way, but not long into Felkan's exile here they had chanced across the group and befriended each of them which meant that they always came back to visit for a week or so whenever they felt the need, leading a lot of Felkan's Pokémon to consider them honorary members of the family, even though they didn't stick around.

Latios looked over to the shivering Absol and Felkan noted the presence of the two Legendaries with a nod of his head before turning back to the distressed Disaster Pokémon. "Absol's still not getting better, huh?" he observed quietly.

"Exact opposite actually," Swellow pointed out. "He's been getting a lot worse recently."

"Poor guy," Latias murmured. "Is there anything we can do for him?"

"I don't know," Gardevoir stated. "But as I was just saying before you arrived… whatever it is that he's sensing, I get the feeling that it will heavily involve the two of you."

"Us?" Latios blinked, instinctively hovering closer to Latias protectively. "What do you mean? What can a disaster possibly having to do with us?"

"I don't know," Gardevoir sighed.

"Are you suggesting we cause it?" threw in Latios.

"No, I don't think so," Gardevoir murmured. "The future… is so vague at the moment. I have almost no idea what it has in store for any of us or in what context. All I know is that you two will be involved in this in some way… but I haven't a clue why."

Even Latias was sobered by this news, and she looked across at her brother worriedly. Latios looked back and gritted his teeth, not liking the sound of anything that might put his dear sister in harm's way.

"You know," Latias suggested nervously. "I… wouldn't feel too averse to hanging around here with you guys for a while. You know… just in case we need some help with… whatever this is that Gardevoir and Absol are sensing."

Latios nodded and gave an earnest look at the others, silently begging for any assistance they could give in making sure his sister stayed unharmed. As Felkan's official starter Pokémon and possibly the unofficial leader, Sceptile gave them a friendly smile and a nod:-

"Of course. I don't know what giant looming menace is just over the horizon, but I do know that you can both count on our support in facing it down. If something decides to come and hunt you down, it'll have us to go through first."

* * *

Well, I guess this is the moment of truth. I eventually decided to call him Felkan after a wolf from my original story attempt that had the dragon Fergus in it which I got my pen-name from, in order to reflect his "lone-wolf" style character since he doesn't trust other humans at all. Now, I want your honest opinions on this chapter, vague as it might have been at times, and what you thought of Felkan. As I said at the start, I am determined not to make him a Mary Sue, and I'd appreciate any feedback that might help me make sure that doesn't happen based on your initial impressions. As you can plainly see, he is definitely not some uber-trainer, though his team are very powerful… but they kinda have to be considering the nature of some of the opponents they'll be facing.

So, I eagerly await your opinions on Felkan and the rest of his team. I hope that I at least managed to make him interesting, and make you want to know more about him.

* * *

Next time…

The moment that you've all been waiting for finally arrives. Giratina deposits the group of heroes into the Pokémon World close to Mount Silver before departing back to the Distortion World. Uxie tells them that their future companions are close by… and it does not take them long to find them.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 7 : Three Worlds Combine**


	7. Three Worlds Combine

Heya guys. I'm back again with the next instalment of this story as you have probably guessed by this point. For some of you, this is the moment that you have been waiting for, the moment where the main protagonists of the Pokémon World finally meet with the main protagonists from the world that their universe is colliding with. This meeting does not go quite as smoothly as it did the last time that the Digimon found themselves in a different universe, but I hope that you enjoy it nonetheless.

I would like to thank every one of you as well who were supportive of my OC Felkan and his team in the last chapter, which was the vast majority of you. It bolstered my confidence greatly, though I am still going to do my best to keep him out of Marty Stu territory throughout the story. But if I do fail in that task then I hope you guys continue to like him anyway.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 7:- Three Worlds Combine**

* * *

The portal rushed past them in a blur of motion and a rushing wind that was familiar to each and every one of the beings now shooting across the Void at what seemed like incredibly high speed, though it was impossible to gauge how fast they were really going considering the lack of noticeable objects around them. But all of the ten passengers atop the mighty Giratina's back had been through this kind of experience at least once before, and twice for everyone except Aayla.

_I still can't believe we're doing this,_ Henry thought, still feeling the need to shout in his mind over the roar of the wind, if you could call something that you found in a portal wind. _We're going to another universe and voluntarily this time. I thought that our lives wouldn't be able to get much weirder and now this?_

_Henry, Henry, Henry,_ Terriermon shook his head. _You should know by now – this is _us_ we're talking about. Our lives can ALWAYS get weirder. It's a fact of life._

_Good point,_ Henry nodded.

_Momentai,_ Terriermon chuckled. _We'll all be fine. You'll see. I'm sure that whatever it is we're going across to their universe to do will be quite a challenge, but it will also be a blast. I can pretty much guarantee it._

_Oh, can you?_ Renamon smirked across at him. _And why would that be?_

_Because if it's not a blast, then I will make it one, _Terriermon promised with a mighty grin. The other's laughed, knowing that he was definitely not lying. Terriermon could be very determined to make things fun if they didn't feel fun to him within the first five minutes.

"Hey, quit talking in your heads, guys," Impmon griped. "Don't forget that me and the Teradalets are here with you this time. You can't go around having conversations that the rest of us can't hear."

"Yeah, that's not far," Mako complained.

"Oh boy, oh boy. We're off on a brand new adventure," Ai grinned. "This is going to be so sweet. What do you think the first thing that we see is going to be over there?"

"Nothing threatening, I hope," murmured Lopmon. "But I honestly don't know, kids. We'll just have to wait and see."

"And if it _is_ anything threatening then we'll all face it as a team," Aayla nodded. "Impmon is right. We should refrain from talking in our heads as much as possible now on so that we can all be included on the conversation. You remember how left out Barriss felt when she first joined our team and couldn't hear half of what we were talking about, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Renamon sighed. "Alright then. We'll try. But talking in our heads has become almost second-nature to us now so you might have to prompt us a couple of times if we start to do so, Impmon."

"Oh, don't worry, I will," Impmon chuckled.

"How you holding up there, Suzie?" Rika called over to the girl who was sitting closest to Giratina's head. The brown-haired girl turned around and gave the redhead a grin, her shoulder-length hair whipping into her eyes under the force of the portal.

"Great!" she called back. "This is so exciting. I mean I know that we were talking about all this bad stuff about the end of two different words, but I'm still finding myself very excited." She paused and added, "I just hope that we get a better start this time than we did the last time we were taken to another dimension."

Henry winced, recalling the huge wound he had gained on his back, how they had been taken in by a kind family of Twi'leks and how the adults of that family had been killed that very night by the Separatist droids, while Henry and Rika had been taken captive and Suzie and the young Twi'lek girl Numa had managed to get away but were reduced to hiding in terror. He had to admit though, Suzie had come a very long way since then, judging by the comparatively bold look on her face now.

He had to admit there was a ripple of excitement building within him as well. The last year had been fun but relatively quiet in terms of adrenaline-filled excitement. Was it weird to say that he might be looking forward to this new adventure as well?

"No, it is _not_ weird," Rika chuckled, having been scanning his though patterns and reaching up to take his hand in her own. "I think we're all excited for this, whether we choose to admit it or not. Including Aayla."

Aayla chuckled and said, "You know that a Jedi does not seek adventure, Rika."

"But you're looking forward to this one anyway," Terriermon smirked. "Admit it."

"Never," Aayla laughed, her lekku streaming out behind her in the portal-wind.

Uxie suddenly soared over so that he was flying above them and the other two small fairy-like creatures moved in on either side of him. "Pray direct your attention to the front of the vessel," Uxie chuckled as he spoke like a flight attendant on an aircraft. "And you will soon be seeing your first images from within our dimensional reality. Or more precisely Giratina's as we'll be entering his world soon enough."

"There's a light at the end of the tunnel," Azelf chuckled. "Forwards everybody?"

"A light?" Mako gasped. "I thought you weren't supposed to go into the light!"

"That's when you're dying, kiddo," Impmon snorted. "Which we are currently not."

"Oh," Mako murmured. "I knew that."

Mesprit snickered. "You people are so funny."

Uxie suddenly gasped and said, "Everyone, hold your breath!"

Such was the tone of his voice that nobody bothered to wait and question why. Each one of them took a quick lungful of the sparse air around them, which was only present at all because it had filtered in through the portal along with them when Giratina opened it, and they held their breath as they plunged into the light…

* * *

…and straight into a thick, dark cloud of gas. Giratina cursed loudly as he found himself surrounded by the stuff and everyone on his back was so completely engulfed by it that they couldn't even see anything else and they all quickly shut their eyes. As Giratina's body glowed faintly and shifted back into his Origin Forme, he spread his new claws and motored his more snake-like body forwards to burst out of the giant cloud of toxic gas… the exact kind of thing that he was supposed to be destroying in order to preserve the balance.

"Oh hell!" Giratina cried as he got a good look around. He was definitely back in his Distortion World, but in the period he had been gone it had been practically filled with the gassy stuff. There were at least ten large clouds of the stuff within sight right at this point and who was to say exactly how many of them were now rolling throughout the rest of his world. There could be hundreds by this point, because he'd been away for hours on end going through the portals where time was completely out of joint thanks to the universal collision.

"Will you look at this place?" Giratina bellowed angrily, his faceplates moving aside to let him speak. "You were right, Uxie! It has been getting much worse!"

"It would not be this toxic here now if you had been here all along," Uxie replied. "And not just because you were cleaning up. The longer these clouds are left here then the quicker additional ones will spring up. The universes have converged quite a bit more since we departed, even with the help of the Royal Knight Digimon on the other side of the divide."

"Then there is no time to waste" Giratina growled.

"Oh my goodness," Aayla breathed as she looked out at the incredible landscape around her, with the vertical floors and the bending waterfalls and the rocks suspended in the air of their own accord. "This is… phenomenal."

"Okay, forget the adventure. I am obviously dreaming," Impmon muttered. "Even the Digital World is not as weird as this place."

"There's a sentence I never thought I would hear," Terriermon agreed, with his breath taken away.

"Hey, Giratina. Where did your legs go?" Suzie asked, staring down at their host and ride and marvelling at the change that had suddenly been wrought in his body.

"I was about to ask that," Rika agreed. "And what's with this strange place? Why is everything all in weird shapes and angles and…"

"Look," Giratina growled back to them. "I'd love to go through this little question and answer session with you but right now, I do not have the time. I need to get started on those clouds of toxic gas immediately – they represent the tears in time and space and if I don't get rid of them then the universal collapse will speed up! Uxie, Azelf, Mesprit, take them from here and get to the Pokémon World immediately. I have work to do."

"Indeed you do," Uxie nodded. "If you would please head across to the equivalent area of Mount Silver and open a portal there, we will leave through it straight away. However, before we go I would ask that in roughly about an hour or so, you open up another portal above Mount Silver and allow the three of us to return. Azelf, Mesprit and I will, from today onwards, help you in getting rid of these toxicity clouds as long as our universes are in jeopardy."

"You mean I have to put up with you guys for even longer?" Giratina rolled his eyes as he swerved around and bent the laws of time to allow him to shoot straight across the Distortion World to the right place in about five seconds flat. "Joy."

"That's rude, Giratina," Mesprit pouted.

"You're going to have to get used to me sooner or later if you're going to be hanging around me," the giant Legendary pointed out.

"We could say the same to you," Azelf snickered.

"Again, joy." He breathed out another swirling vortex to open another portal in the fabric of reality. "Well, see you later then. And you ten who are supposed to be saving our world… get out there and do your best for all our sakes. I'll buy you as much time as you can on this mission that Uxie insists you need to do. Just make sure that I don't waste my efforts, alright?"

"We'll do our best," Renamon promised as the three Lake Guardians surrounded them with their psychic powers again and plucked them off Giratina's back to direct them towards the portal. "Good luck."

"I think we'll both need it," Giratina nodded before he swept around and blasted apart one of the closest and smaller toxic clouds and swooping his way up towards a much larger one with flashing anger in his deep red eyes.

"Hold on," Aayla cried as she was directed towards the portal. "I had a question I was going to ask. Can you…?"

* * *

But she was too late. The ten beings from other worlds were guided straight through the hole by the three pixie-like Legendaries and the hole zipped shut behind them, cutting off their view of the Distortion World and leaving nothing by blue sky, thick trees and a very large silvery mountain jutting out of the landscape ahead of them in its place. They were back in a reality that at least seemed to make some semblance of sense and judging from the position of the sun it was getting close to evening, despite the fact that they had left their own world in the late morning.

The Lake Guardians gently corrected the angles of the floating humans, Digimon and Twi'lek and gently settled them on the forest floor with, allowing them to maintain their balance and stay smoothly on their feet.

"I'm afraid the answer to your question would have been no," Uxie said.

"It would?" Aayla turned to his questioningly. "How so?"

"And what were you going to ask?" Terriermon frowned.

"She was going to ask if Giratina could make an additional trip," Uxie stated. "A trip to her own universe, where I believe that there are three particular individuals that you all had numerous adventures with and bonded with that you would wish to see again."

"There are many people from my home dimension I would like to see again," Aayla pointed out. "But yes. I was going to ask if there was any chance that Giratina could travel there so that the rest of our team could join us in this quest. Then we could have become the Tenacious Ten once again."

"Hate to break it to you," Impmon smirked. "But there _are_ ten of us here. Does that make us the New Tenacious Ten?"

"Possibly," Aayla chuckled. "But the point does stand. Why couldn't Giratina have done such a thing?"

"He would have the same problem as your Monster Makers did when they were experimenting with the portal machine with your friend GranKuwagamon," Uxie grimaced. "Giratina can travel through the dimensions as will but usually it is completely at random, unless he has either been to the other universe once before, in which case he can return there at will. Your Digital World was an exception to that rule because of the collision."

Aayla sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot," she murmured.

"It's certainly a pity," Renamon agreed. "Regardless, I am assuming that this is the world of Pokémon that you all claim to have come from."

"Of course it is," Azelf grinned. "What do you think? Pretty cool, right?"

"It doesn't look a whole lot different to any other forest I've ever seen," Terriermon chuckled. "That mountain's pretty cool though. Is it made of silver?"

"No, it just looks like it does," Uxie replied. "That's why it is called Mount Silver."

"Wow. What an unimaginative name."

"And you can do better?" Henry raised a brow.

"I didn't say that, I just said it was unimaginative," Terriermon said quickly.

"Keep telling yourself that," Henry chuckled. "Still, now that we're here, what's the plan? You said that we need to go out and find these Legendary Pokémon, right?"

"Even though you won't tell us why it has to be us," added Lopmon, folding her arms.

"Indeed. But you will need help," Uxie nodded. "We have brought you specifically to this part of the Pokémon World because this is the current location of two of the Legendary Pokémon…"

"Uh… before you give us any more about that…" Aayla interrupted. "May I ask – how many Legendary Pokémon are there out there that we have to find exactly? You never did tell us the exact number."

"Excluding the three of us, Giratina and his brothers, the two we are about to introduce you to and Arceus himself," Uxie rattled on. "There are twenty-five different Legendary Pokémon that will be necessary to awaken Arceus."

"Twenty-five?" Terriermon blurted out. "That's way bigger than I assumed! And you're telling me that these twenty-five different Pokémon are _all_ scattered across your world?"

"Yeah, kinda," Mesprit smiled nervously.

Impmon groaned. "Sounds to me like we've got a lot of walking to do. Are you guys completely sure that you couldn't have come to us and brought us here earlier than this?"

"Hey we came as soon as we could," Azelf objected. "I was rolling around in my lake with impatience and waiting for the day we came to get you to come. I was practically itching all over with the waiting."

"Yes, but this just sounds like a mammoth task," Henry objected. "Are you really sure…"

"…That it has to be you? Yes," Uxie nodded. "However, you will need help, which, as I was saying before, is why we have brought you here. Because this is the current location of two Legendaries who will be just as essential as you are to the saving of both worlds. Their names are Latias and Latios and they are not far away from here. They must join you on your travels to find the other twenty-five Legendary Pokémon and if they refuse then all will still be lost."

"What are the odds that they will refuse?" Renamon frowned.

"Are you kidding?" Mesprit snorted. "They won't refuse. Latias would never back down from an adventure like this, and Latios would never allow anything to happen that could get his sister hurt. They'll both join you on your quest in an instant once they know what it is."

"Yeah, it's just that they're both normally very wary of strangers," Azelf agreed. "Latios especially. It takes a lot for him to trust someone to be around Latias. He's kinda overprotective that way."

"Really?" Lopmon chuckled, sending a pointed look Terriermon's way. "Sometimes I wish my brother could be like that."

"What? You'd rather I was like Henry?" Terriermon snorted. "Have you _seen_ the way he tries to smother Suzie?"

"Terriermon!" Henry protested.

"Momentai. You're getting better. Really."

"Ugh, why do I bother to keep you around."

"Because you'd be lost without me?"

Impmon cleared his throats. "Hey guys, if we could get back to the matter at hand, that would be nice. End of the world and all."

"Quite right," nodded Aayla. "Is it likely that they will run away when they see us?"

"Technically, they can't run," Azelf chuckled. "They have no feet. But they should run off… because you're with us. They know us. They have done since Father created them as his youngest personal children before he went into his deep sleep that we're trying to wake him up from now. They'll trust you if they see us hanging around with you."

"Indeed," Uxie nodded. "Now, if you would all like to step this way and we shall guide you to your future comrades."

"Alright," Terriermon cheered, bouncing onto Henry's shoulders. "Let's get this show on the road! Hya, mule! Hope to it!"

"You're calling me a mule?" Henry spluttered indignantly as the rest of the group dissolved into laughter while they set off through the trees.

"You got a problem with that?" Terriermon snickered. "Now, I said, hya! Get going."

"Seriously, why _do_ I keep you around," Henry murmured darkly as Aayla patted his back in mock sympathy.

"You know," Mesprit glanced across towards the other two Pokémon. "Something tells me that that guy and Latias are going to get along like a Mantine and a Remoraid."

"You can say that again," Azelf agreed.

* * *

As the day had worn on, Felkan's team of twelve Pokémon had dispersed outwards again to take care of their own business. Not that there was a whole lot for most of them to do around here. Some of them had gone on patrol, which they all took turns doing in order to make sure that some random trainer didn't come across their campsite, but the majority of them were just sitting around, listening to Latias recount what she and her brother had been doing since they last me.

Absol's shivering had calmed down slightly, and he was still wrapped in Milotic's tender coils. He appeared to have fallen asleep, and Felkan and Gardevoir were both crouched down nearby to make sure that he didn't start wildly thrashing in his sleep like he had done once or twice over the last month. Felkan has to suppress a sigh. The longer Absol was like this the more helpless he felt.

Some trainer he was… unable to look after his own Pokémon. You'd have thought five years of independence from facilities like Pokémon Centres would have forced him to learn this sort of thing but apparently not. Absol's condition had really brought how little he had really been doing for his Pokémon to light in his mind. He growled, annoyed with himself. He really should have tried harder to look after them at least.

He felt Gardevoir resting her hand on his again and looked up to see her soft, crimson eyes gazing at him reassuringly. He attempted to smile back and gripped Gardevoir's hand softly, leaning over with his other arm to gently place it on Absol's head and ruffle his fur without waking him up. It had really come to light how annoying it was that none of his Pokémon knew moves that could put Absol to sleep. Gardevoir knew Hypnosis of course… but that wouldn't work on a Dark type like him. Sceptile was now trying to learn GrassWhistle, but he said it was a challenge to get it to sound anything like a tune.

The group looked over to Latias, who was attempting to cheer everyone up and was struggling not to laugh as she told them her current story.

"And then, he looked behind him, but I had already turned invisible by that point so he just looked straight through and didn't even see I was there," she was giggling. "But he was definitely suspicious by that point so he kept walking, but then I thought I'd have a little more fun so I blew gently into his ear. Then, when he lifted his hand to brush the breeze away I went around and blew into his other ear instead. It was so funny. The more I kept swapping ears the more frustrated he got. You really should have been there to see it."

"What did you do after that?" Glaceon asked, wagging his tail.

"Ah, well I thought that I had messed with him enough," Latias grinned slyly. "But I decided to go for a grand finale right before I left him alone. He was looking around and trying to spot his mysterious assailant but he still couldn't see me… so…"

"Come on, don't hold us in suspense," Glaceon was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "What did you do? What did you do?"

"Oh, please settle down, Glaceon. You're making me lose energy just by looking at you," Houndoom remarked. "You're turning me into Luxray."

"Oi! I am not _that_ lazy," Luxray glared at him, which had quite a scary effect considering his head-lamp like eyes. "I just happen to be a bit more… lax… than you."

"A bit?" Houndoom chuckled.

"Excuse me, I believe _I_ was doing the talking," Latias scowled, folding her stubby little arms and tapping her claws on one arm.

"Yes, you were," Lucario nodded. "Go ahead. Regale us with whatever foul deed you inflicted on this poor, innocent human."

"Regale?" Latias grinned. "Not the word I would use Mister Fancypants," she took on a mock posh voice and added, "But I shall endeavour to oblige, my good sir."

Lucario raised a brow and Latias giggled, returned to her normal voice and said, "Well, anyway, I moved over so that I was hovering above him and he still looked right through me even though I was only about half a metre or so above his head, right? But he eventually gave up and probably assumed that I was a draught or something, because he eventually looked down and continued to move on. And that was when I dropped right down… grabbed the sides of his head in my hands… craned my neck over and gave him a whopping great kiss on the mouth."

Glaceon howled with laughter and fell over onto his side, legs kicking in the air as he desperately tried to get control of his laughter so that he could breathe and not achieving anything in the slightest. Even Houndoom and Luxray's jaws practically dropped open at Latias' words and the female Eon dragon had stuffed both her hands in her mouth to keep herself from following Glaceon's example.

"You did what?" Latios yelled from where he was hovering nearby. "You didn't mention that part!"

"Of course I wasn't going to tell you about it then," Latias rolled her eyes. "But it's just too good a story not to tell to these guys."

"You _kissed _a human? On the mouth?" Milotic blustered. "But… what? You seriously did that?"

"Uh-huh," Latias nodded. "I'd never tried that for a joke before, but the look on his face made it absolutely priceless! He just stood there, stunned beyond belief for at least five minutes… complete statue. It has to be among one of the ten most hilarious moments of my life."

Lucario shook his head and chuckled. "Now I've heard everything. A Pokémon giving a human a peck on the lips just for a laugh. And did you ever reveal who you were to him before he left."

"Nope," Latias snickered. "He probably hasn't guessed what I was even to this day."

"Latias, I asked you not to go bugging that human as it was," Latios stressed. "You saw how he had that Golbat who knew how to use Mean Look. If he had used that on you then you would have had to battle him. But you couldn't handle the temptation could you? And now I find out you _kissed_ the poor guy?"

"Oh relax," Latias waved a hand. "He never saw me and he was too stunned to send out his Golbat. And besides, it wasn't like it was my first kiss. I believe it was _you_ who dared me to kiss Celebi at the last Legendary gathering."

"And may I remind _you_ that I was _drunk_ at that time because _you_ thought it would be funny to spike my water with vodka."

"Oh yeah," Latias giggled. "That was funny too."

Latios sighed. "Look, just… don't do that again, alright?"

"What, seriously? You think I'm about to go around kissing every human I see just for fun? Come on, Latios, you know I'm not like that. It was a one-off, even if it was hilarious."

"Good," Latios nodded. "Thank you."

"Though I might just do it one more time," Latias added. "Hey, Felkan, you up for a smooch?"

"LATIAS!" Latios glared at her.

"Oh come on! You know it was a joke. I'm not a Jynx."

Fortunately for Felkan, he had not been privy to most of that conversation as he was concerning himself with the sleeping Absol and Gardevoir had not been translating in his head for him. But that was because the Embrace Pokémon was now staring out towards the mountain and through the trees with a frown of uncertainty on her face.

She didn't know why… but for some reason her senses were telling her that something… different and rather… unusual was out there. Unusual but… familiar, in some strange way, and Gardevoir couldn't put her finger on why.

"Lucario," she raised her voice slightly to catch the Aura Pokémon's attention.

"Yes?" Lucario glanced over towards her.

"Over that way," Gardevoir raised her hand to point off into the trees. "Can you sense anything… unusual… heading in this direction?"

Lucario frowned and his hackles raised slightly at Gardevoir's tone of voice. Knowing not to question Gardevoir's own senses, he turned around and shut his eyes, the appendages on the back of his head rising upwards seemingly of their own accord until they were almost horizontal as he stretched out with his aura sight.

Aura was an unusual power that was only given to a select few individuals. Lucario were one of the only Pokémon subspecies that possessed it naturally. Aura itself was a spiritual energy that was essentially the essence of every living creature, and there were some people who could use the power of that energy to do all sorts of things. Most other Aura-worthy people and Pokémon seemed to be selected at random, and through the use of Aura, Lucario could connect to the world around him in a way that none of the others, not even Gardevoir or Absol, could.

Right now he was using his power to locate and investigate the auras of every other individual within a three mile radius. And it did not take long before his eyes opened slowly and he murmured something quietly, but everyone in the glade heard it nonetheless:-

"Hmm. That's interesting."

* * *

Sceptile was some distance away from the main campsite at this moment, doing his rounds as he usually did at least once if not several times a day. It was one of his major duties to prevent any unwary human from getting too close to the campsite, and there had been more than one instance where he had had to do just that. Most of the trainers he had encountered while they had lived here had run away pretty quickly as he approached.

One of them had been brave enough to send a Magmar out against him to try and capture him, unaware that he already belonged to someone.

Sceptile had made short work of the Magmar. Even with the type disadvantage of Grass against Fire.

While he loved spending time with the others, it was on his patrol rounds that he felt most free. His kind was born to exist in the forest, quite literally, and he was one of the most nimble creatures in existence when it came to moving through the trees. All Sceptile were brilliant at it – it was a part of their nature. Which was why Sceptile was currently hurtling through the branches faster than any squirrel could ever hope to achieve by quite some margin, and making just about as much noise as a squirrel in the process.

Sceptile dashed along a branch on all fours and then leapt off the end to grab another in his clawed hands and swing his way over to the trunk of the next tree and slide his way around the thick trunk to bound away once again and rebound three times across several smaller branches to shoot past another pair of trees. He paused briefly on all fours on the next thick branch he landed on, before he quite literally fell sideways off the edge.

As he went into freefall on his back he timed himself to perfection before twisting around and seizing the branch he had been about to smack his head against and swing underneath it instead, his toes skimming the ground beneath him as he launched himself back up into the branches above, somersaulting several times to land on another thick trunk and bound straight up it without so much as a pause, before flipping off onto another thick but sloping branch. He promptly slid straight down it on his hind legs as if he was going down a hill on a snowboard, before sailing right off the edge and clean over a small clearing.

And how did he come to land in the next tree?

He brought his tail under the branch he was about to sail over and grabbed it like a hook, pulling himself downwards and in a complete circuit of the branch with his tail gripping it tightly before he was right-side-up once again, whereupon he let go and flipped over to land smoothly on the branch on his hind legs.

"I gotta admit," he chuckled to himself as he stood up straight. "The rush you get from dashing through the treetops never, ever gets old."

He had been going for some time and he had found nothing, making him consider going straight back to the campsite to hang with the others again when something caught his attention. A noise in the distance. A noise that sounded like… voices?

His eyes narrowed. It was voices alright? Or at least one voice. And it was human.

And not far away.

Sceptile switched to stealth and bounded off the branch and around the trunk of the next tree with ridiculous lightness for something of his size and stature, zig-zagging his way through the trees in several wide leaps as he travelled from trunk to trunk to avoid stirring many of the leaves as he would do by landing on the branches.

It did not take him long to find what he was looking for and he crouched low on the branch he had landed next to, his green body blending in amongst the leaves as he peered through a gap to see a girl with orange hair moving out of some bushes on the ground below and to the base of the tree next to the one he was lying on. She looked reasonably young… younger than his own trainer certainly. Perhaps fourteen or fifteen… sixteen at a stretch. Sceptile was no expert in human growth rates but that was what he guessed.

"I'm serious, Henry!" she was shouting over her shoulder. "I don't care what kind of dangers there might be out here, I am not going to pee in a place where you guys can see me, even if you do all look away. Just stay there and I'll be back in a second."

Sceptile decided that if he was going to do something, he'd better do it before she pulled her trousers down as she was reaching up to do. So he stood up and murmured, "No offence, little one," before he backflipped off the branch and plunged down towards the ground.

Rika was taken completely off guard when the large, green lizard made a swift and supple landing six feet away from her just as she was about to unbuckle her belt, generating a small thud as it did so. She yelped and backpedalled swiftly as the lizard roared at her, its bushy tail sticking up like quills and the leaves on its arms merging together and extending outwards into long, curved and glowing green blades.

"GET OUT OF MY FOREST, HUMAN!" Sceptile bellowed and advanced on the poor girl, raising his arms to intimidate her and glaring at her with his deep yellow eyes. "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"

He charged and made a faux swing at her, trying to simply scare her enough to make her run away rather than actually hit her. If he had wanted to hurt her he would have been a lot more precise, and his swing passed some distance over her head, but the girl yelled and lost her balance, falling onto her backside and scrabbling away quickly as Sceptile advanced slowly.

"RENAMON!" Rika yelled.

"PREPARE TO D…!" Sceptile yelled, believing the human wouldn't understand a word he was saying anyway, but he never did get to finish that sentence because something yellow and furry came bolting out of the underbrush off to his left and slammed into him at high speed, generating a solid punch to the side of his jaw. Sceptile yelled and staggered to the side, but recovered quickly as he saw the yellow creature spring up and whirl around to aim a sweeping aerial kick right for his nose.

Sceptile responded immediately and ducked underneath the kick with high speed, twisting around until he was facing the attacker on all fours before he lashed out himself with blinding speed. The creature actually managed to dodge the punch to the gut and the slash to the chest with swift movements of her own but she was unprepared for Sceptile's tail to come sweeping around and swipe her across the stomach while she was in the air, sending her flying backwards to crash into a nearby tree with a painful yell, falling to the ground on one knee and glaring up at the lizard Pokémon.

Sceptile finally managed to get a decent look at his adversary and he realised he had never seen anything like her before. Yellow fur, humanoid, long purple gloves, thick furry tail, pointed muzzle and ears and piercing blue eyes. This was not any Pokémon he knew.

And that made Sceptile naturally wary. He had no idea what this creature was capable of, therefore he might have to tread carefully.

"Who are you?" he asked, flexing his arms so the Leaf Blades were in prominent combat positions.

"I could ask you that," the fox creature glared. "You're the one who decided to attack my Tamer. That was a very, _very_ bad idea of your part."

"This is my territory," Sceptile lied. "Humans are not welcome in my territory and I will defend it against them, even if I have to go through a strange Pokémon like you to do it. And since I believe that you are the intruders here, I will be the one asking the questions. Now get out of here and take your precious tr… Hold on. Did you call her a Tamer?"

"I did," the fox growled. "And we're not going anywhere."

"Oh really?" Sceptile's eyes narrowed, shoving his curiosity aside in favour of doing his job and making sure the human and her strange Pokémon stayed away from the main campsite. "Well then, I guess we have problem."

"Not for long," the fox scowled and she sprang forwards with her claws at the ready, closing the space between the two of the in seconds to slash out towards him.

Sceptile knew better than to go for an all-out attack until he had got the measure of what attacks his opponent knew first so he swiftly dodged the slash by leaping backwards, but the fox landed on her front paws and twisted into a spinning kick that forced Sceptile to duck before throwing herself into the air to aim a double kick for his chest. Sceptile lashed out and grabbed both her feet in his hands to swing the startled fox about but she twisted in his grip and aimed a kick at his jaw which narrowly missed before she planted her feet back on the ground and brought her fists into play.

Her adversary was not normally prone to simply dodging but this time he wanted to see what his opponent could do so his eyes flashed blue as he initiated Detect – a move that would allow him to dodge anything she threw at him automatically. The fox's punch aimed at his face went wide when his face was no longer there and she began to lash out with a furious barrage of punches and kicks at the large reptile.

Punch to the gut, swing around to swipe at his neck and bring up her leg to try and kick him in the stomach, throwing herself upwards to sweep at his head before swinging downwards with both clawed hands and landing on them to lash out with both feet while handstanding, ducking into a roll as sweep-kicking at his legs while on the ground and then whirling upwards into a spinning slash with one paw after another, then throwing herself into a backflip to kick at his lower jaw and sail backwards to slam her paws into the trunk of a tree before barrelled straight at him in a full on dive. Every single strike missed its target as Sceptile ducked and weaved with Detect held active, and he dropped completely to all fours to allow the fox to go sailing over his head and skid to a halt nearby, twisting around to face him as she did so.

"You are fast," Sceptile observed, with a smirk. "But I am faster."

"We'll see about that," the fox growled and threw herself forwards again. This time Sceptile took more action and bounded upwards and onto the trunk of a tree, rebounding off it to another and bounding up into the branched above before whipping around launching a lower power Bullet Seed from his mouth down at her, designed to encourage her to follow him up. She took the bait, twisting out of the way of the attack and dashing straight up the nearest trunk and towards him with claws raised.

Sceptile bounded off the branch moments before she crashed into him and, after regaining her balance, she leapt after him, following him closely as the two of them dashed helter-skelter through the branches. Sceptile smirked as he led them higher. He was deliberately not going as fast as he could do and the fox was slowly gaining on him. He came to rest on a nearby branch and waited for the fox to pounce at him before bounding across a gap to another at the last second. The fox crashed into the branch and immediately bounded after him, twisting around and her paws glowing with a light blue aura as she plunged a kick straight down towards him and the branch she assumed he would land on.

She was wrong.

Moments before Sceptile landed on the branch he grabbed the narrow trunk of the tree instead and swung himself around it with one hand, causing the fox to crash into the branch with an impact that almost shattered it. As she gasped and tried to maintain her balance, Sceptile swung right around and slammed his feet into her back sending her flying into the air with a yell of pain.

Not letting up, he dashed after her, sailing past her falling form and rebounding off a branch to slam into her and carry her higher before grabbing her shoulders and thrusting her upwards, delivering a powerful kick to her stomach that knocked the wind out of her, twisted her down so that she was beneath him and then spinning about to slam his thick tail into her and send her shooting back down towards the ground with an impact that nearly cratered it, while he himself snagged a nearby branch and swung down onto another.

The fox lay prone on the ground for several moments, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath. Sceptile had to admit that he was impressed with her. His kind naturally excelled at forest combat, but for something that was clearly not a Grass-type she had done quite well, even if she hadn't actually managed to hit him.

"Renamon!" the human girl ran over to kneel beside her partner. "Are you okay?"

Renamon, for that appeared to be her name, coughed and groaned as she pushed herself upwards. "I'm fine. He caught me off guard, that's all."

"This is your last warning," Sceptile called back down. "I will be lenient and let you walk away unharmed if you just leave now."

Renamon glared up at him for a moment, before that glare turned into a smirk and said, "Word of advice, my lizard friend. Never assume that a Digimon fights alone."

"Digimon?" Sceptile blinked, but his ears registered a swooping sound behind him that made his head snap to the side to see two small bunny-like creatures, one white and one brown about to cannon into him from the side. Quick as a flash, Sceptile swung underneath the branch so he was hanging upside down from it like a sloth, and the two bunny creatures shot by overhead, missing him by an inch.

"Whoa! He's fast!" one of them commented in a high but male voice as the two of them flared their ears which they were using as wings and swung around to face him again.

"More of you?" Sceptile asked from where he hung. "There are _more_ of you?"

"You bet your ass there are," the same bunny, the white one, said. **"BUNNY BLAST!"**

"**BLAZING ICE!"** added the other one in a female voice.

The two of them suddenly sprayed a barrage of pellets from out of their mouths, one of green energy and one of ice shards. Sceptile quickly evaded them by dashing upside down across the branch before letting go with his back legs and swinging around to catapult himself towards the two with blades at the ready. He was still unwilling to hurt these creatures too badly so his arm blades to unleash a powerful but restrained False Swipe as he shot right between the two startled creatures. The blades slashed into them and knocked them both out of the sky with slight but not serious cuts on their stomachs.

"NO!" Renamon cried as she tried to surge upwards and ended up falling to one knee instead, not quite fully recovered from the dizziness yet and mistaking Sceptile's restrained attack for a more serious one. But help was at hand for the bunny's when the most startling creature of the day for Sceptile appeared.

She looked more humanoid than even Gardevoir, the only thing separating her from an actual human being her cerulean coloured skin the nubs on the side of her head above where human ears would be and the two long tails she had in place of hair. She shot out of nowhere and grabbed the bunny's before they landed roughly and sailed down to the ground to land smoothly and place them on the ground.

"Terriermon, Lopmon, are you alright?" she murmured.

"Yeah, I think we're good," the brown one nodded, touching the large cut that had appeared on her stomach. "That… hurt a lot less than I thought it was going to."

"Hold still while I heal them up anyway," the cerulean woman instructed, holding her hands over the stomachs of the bunnies and shutting her eyes. And Sceptile was amazed to see her palms begin to glow a light pale blue as the injuries on the two bunnies almost immediately began to heal over.

Just who were all of these creatures that had suddenly appeared? None of them were anything like what Sceptile had ever seen.

And then things began to get more serious when something large and black suddenly hurtled out of the sky and towards him. Sceptile spotted it out of the corner of his eye and bounded off into the trees again, his tail narrowly avoiding being sliced in half by a long sword. He twisted in the air and landed neatly on another branch as the one he was standing on was sliced in two by a large humanoid creature in medieval-like armour, complete with helmet… except he had three eyes and enormous jet-black feathery wings jutting out of his back.

Sceptile's eyes widened and he knew immediately that this was an _extremely_ powerful being, whatever it was. Stronger than anything that Sceptile had encountered before, and currently it was glaring at him, quite clearly pissed. And when it spoke, it spoke with what sounded like three different voices, none of which sounded appropriate to be coming out of such an imposing looking being.

"You made a big mistake trying to pick on us, pal," he growled, levelling his sword. "Most people who try that don't tend to last for very long."

"Just who are all of you guys?" Sceptile asked. "I've never seen anything like any of you before."

"Well, maybe you should be more careful about who you pick fights with," the Demon-like warrior smirked. "Now, are you going to surrender now or are we going to have to continue this little dance?"

Sceptile weighed up his chances. He was fairly certain he could handle most of the creatures down below, but this one he was not so sure about. But, nevertheless, he had been training long and hard for five years and the odds being stacked against him did not change the fact that there was a human… no – three humans! Two more had emerged from the undergrowth below, a boy and a girl, and they had hurried towards the cerulean woman and the bunny creatures she was taking care of.

Regardless, his trainer had asked that any and all humans be kept away from their campsite and Sceptile was not about to let him down without at least trying. "Alright then," he readied his Leaf Blade attack again and a look of determination flashed across his face. "Let's see what you've got."

"Bad idea," the tall, winged one growled and spurred himself forwards with a swipe of his wings with blade held ready. Sceptile launched himself off the branch to intercept and their blades clashed together with a furious clang, but the winged one clearly had the upper hand and flung Sceptile backwards towards a tree trunk. Sceptile twisted and caught the trunk, sliding down it as the creature lashed out with his sword again and carved through the drunk before bouncing away through the branches with his adversary swooping after him around the trunks of the nearby trees.

Sceptile grunted, knowing that this time he was going to have to go all out if he wanted to get anywhere. Bounding into the open he summoned a green Energy Ball in his jaws and launched it at the winged guy, but he slashed through it with his sword with ease before abruptly sheathing it and summoning a pair of orbs in his hands himself – one black and one white and hurling them at him. Sceptile slammed up a Detect and therefore flipped himself around in mid-air to narrowly avoid the white orb and duck beneath the black one, bounding off the trunk and sailing straight towards his opponent.

Said opponent drew his sword again to prepare for the strike but Sceptile took him off guard by sweeping his tail around as the yellow orbs on his black glowed a bright white and a huge Leaf Storm sprung into life around him to surge forwards and sweep over the winged guy, buffeting him with the extremely powerful grass attack and sending him tumbling over and over, completely taken by surprise and his wings caught in the wind of the attack to slam back-first into the trunk of another tree. Sceptile's arm blades glowed as he relinquished his attack and raised them upwards, preparing to slash them down with an X-Scissor as he closed the gap between them.

But this time his adversary caught _him_ by surprise by suddenly changing slightly, his armour becoming a little thinner and his sword disappearing as a giant cannon grew on his right arm instead, which he levelled at Sceptile and fired with an enormous green blast of pure energy. Sceptile gasped and instinctively launched a Hyper Beam from his mouth to counter, the two beams slamming into each other and detonating with a colossal explosion that threw Sceptile back threw the air like a shuttlecock but at least unhit.

He crashed into a tree branch and just managed to grip it before he fell, but now his entire body felt completely paralysed. That was the problem with Hyper Beam – it was a powerful attack but it left you temporarily unable to move after you had used it. And Sceptile saw the black winged figure morphing back into his sword forme or whatever it was and surging towards him to deliver the final blow.

There the sound of clashing blades and the winged figure was again taken by surprise as suddenly something else appeared in front of him and caught his blade with two of his own. Two of his own that appeared to be part of his arms.

"Scyther!" Sceptile grinned. "Good to see you, buddy."

"What the heck is going on here?" Scyther growled as he pushed the winged guy back.

"I don't know," Sceptile growled as he regained the ability to move. "But it's definitely a problem. Let's double-team him!"

"The wings?" Scyther smirked.

"Yep. Bear him to the ground!" Sceptile yelled as he flung himself off the branch with a swift Quick Attack and latched onto one of the dark figure's wings with his arms before he could even blink. Scyther pulled back and used the same move and with both of them suddenly gripping the black figures wings all three of them dropped like a stone.

"Hey!" the winged guy yelled with one voice. "Get offa me you…!" he lashed out with both hands and grabbed both of his attackers by the necks and with powerful wrenches that took both of them by surprise they were pulled free almost straight away, although they did yank out many feathers in the process. The winged guy span around and hurled both of them towards the ground underneath it. Scyther was able to catch himself with his wings and zip to one side but Sceptile plummeted the rest of the way down.

He did manage to right himself and go ploughing to a standstill, though he did fall to one knee and now he was beginning to pant a little bit. Scyther swooped down to land beside him while the winged guy landed on the ground in front of them and was promptly joined by a very ticked off looking fox.

"I gotta admit," the winged guy chuckled. "You two are good. But let me in on a little secret – I've been holding back on you. Didn't really want to kill you by accident if I didn't have to, you see. You've yet to see what I'm really capable of doing, so I suggest that you back off now if you know what's good for you."

"Oh really?" Sceptile let off a smirk of his own. "You were holding back on us, huh? Well, I've got a bit of news for you too – you haven't seen everything _I_ can do either."

That said, Sceptile suddenly reared up with a furious roar as the yellow orbs on his back flared a bright yellow colour once more, so intense that it was almost white. He had been gathering up sunlight energy for about twenty seconds as they had been talking and now he opened his mouth, preparing a huge Solarbeam and directing his head in the direction of the winged guy.

Scyther leapt up to hover behind him, his wings beginning to blur and glow a bright white colour as he focused on the fox and began to muster up a powerful Silver Wind that could do some serious damage if it hit.

The two strangers responded in kind. The winged guy morphed back into his cannon forme and levelled it at Sceptile, the jaw like barrel opening up and sparking with green energy as he charged up his own powerful attack, while the fox sprang upwards and crossed her arms, glittering and razor sharp diamond shards appearing the in the air all around her as she seemed to hover in place.

But then, just as they had built up their attacks to critical levels and were about to throw them at each other and see what happened, there was a flash of light blue from directly between the two opposing factions that materialised with into Gardevoir with a swirl of her white ballroom gown. He literally appeared out of thin air and she threw out her hands into either direction with a cry of "STOP!"

Sceptile and Scyther both did just that, gasping in horror and instantly powering down their attacks at the sight of Gardevoir standing in the way, though it took considerable effort for Sceptile to stop the Solarbeam before it exploded out of his mouth. The two creatures on the other side seemed to have similar reactions, looks of shock crossing their faces as the one with the cannon quickly pointed his weapon upwards and reigned in the blast before he could fire it.

But it seemed that the fox had already hit whatever trigger she used because a huge storm of razor diamonds speared across the gap, their viciously pointed tips closing in on the white-garbed Pokémon.

"No! Get out of the way!" the fox yelled, having clearly not intended to do that as she dropped back down to the ground with an expression of fear on her face.

But Gardevoir did not move. Instead, she simply turned her head and her eyes flashed blue, and instantly every single flying diamond completely froze in mid-air, surrounded by a similar blue colour. Several of them came to a stop within inches of piercing Gardevoir's body, but the Embrace Pokémon didn't flinch. After a couple of moments of just hanging there the diamonds disintegrated into data as if they had never been there at all.

There was no sound on the scene for several moments as both sides quickly processed what had just happened and both suddenly felt slightly awkward for some reason. Gardevoir slowly lowered her arms and turned towards her friends. She raised a brow at Scyther and said, "You know, Scyther – when I contacted you with my mind and asked you to go and check things out, I didn't mean that you should start fighting them."

"I didn't have a whole lot of choice," Scyther protested. "That big guy was about to slice Sceptile into two pieces with a whacking, great sword. I wasn't about to let that happen."

"And after that?" Gardevoir's brow remained up.

Scyther opened his mouth to reply but then realised he didn't really have anything to say on that matter so he just alighted on the ground next to Sceptile and murmured, "Well… I suppose I got a bit carried away. Heat of battle and all that."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around today," Gardevoir chuckled. "Don't worry though. There's been no lasting harm done, fortunately." She then turned around to face the newcomers and said, "May I apologise on behalf of my friends here. I assure you that neither of them meant you any real harm."

"No real harm?" the fox objected. "The lizard attacked my Tamer. With a pair of blades."

"Not quite," Gardevoir smiled, her face projecting a near literal aura of friendliness and reassurance. "He was not trying to attack her, only to intimidate her. There are strong reasons why we do not want humans near this area but we would never harm one unless they attacked us first."

"She's right," nodded Sceptile. "I was deliberately throwing my slashes wide in an attempt to scare her off. If I _had_ wanted to hurt her then I would have cut her down when I jumped out of the tree. She never would have known what hit her."

Gardevoir coughed and said, "I don't think that talking about who you _could_ have killed her is the best way of resolving this situation, Sceptile."

"Yeah… right," Sceptile coughed. "Sorry. Anyway, yeah – I wasn't really trying to hurt her."

"Then why didn't you say that when I attacked back in the first place?" the fox questioned suspiciously.

"Because I still had the goal of scaring her off, and you too since you obviously belong to her," Sceptile pointed out. "I was maintaining the façade. I didn't expect the fight to become so aggressive though."

"You _did_ attack Terriermon and Lopmon with your blades though," the fox threw in again.

"Yes. With False Swipe," Sceptile nodded.

"False Swipe?" the winged guy frowned with all three voices.

"You've never heard of it? It's a deliberately restrained move that's designed to cause some damage but not so much as to cause permanent harm. You know… some Pokémon use it against each other in tests of leadership over a group. Not ringing any bells?"

"We are… not from around here," the fox murmured.

"We can see that," Scyther snorted. "We've lived here for five years and not seen anything remotely like you guys before."

"Yeah," Sceptile nodded. "And since my façade has effectively been broken by this point then I guess I should say I am sorry. I didn't mean any harm."

The two strange creatures glanced at each other, as if silently asking whether they believed what was being said. But then a voice piped up behind them. "Well, I believe the guy." And the white bunny creature suddenly swooped over and alighted on the yellow fox's shoulder, rubbing his perfectly intact and unmarked belly. "Those blades looked like they could do some serious damage. He could probably have cut me in half if he wanted to. But look at this. Not even a scar."

"Indeed. It only took me a mere few seconds to heal him," added another voice as the cerulean woman approached, with the other bunny on her shoulder and all three human children in tow. "And besides, I do not sense a lie. All three of those Pokémon have pure hearts and no ill will towards us now that we have stopped attacking."

The word of the cerulean woman seemed to carry a lot of weight, for every one of the group finally stood down completely and relaxed, prompting Scyther and Sceptile, who had been prepared for another fight just in case they weren't believed, to do the same thing.

"Not the best way of introducing ourselves to some of the locals, huh?" the human boy chuckled.

"Hey, momentai. It could have been worse," the white bunny grinned. "We could have _killed_ one of them."

"Oh really?" Scyther leered. "We are kinda tough you know."

"Yes, we saw plenty of evidence of that," the winged guy nodded. "You even caught me by surprise a couple of times there. Next time I pick a fight with a Pokémon, I'm going to be more wary."

"You do that," Sceptile chuckled. "The Pokémon of this area are particularly… hold on," he suddenly frowned. "Pick a fight with a Pokémon? That makes it sound like… you aren't a Pokémon yourself."

"Hit the nail on the head there," the orange-haired girl that Sceptile had initially fake-attacked said.

"Whoa," Scyther blinked. "She understood you, Sceptile. Gardevoir, are you translating?"

"No, I am not," Gardevoir regarded the humans curiously. "And neither was anyone else. They understood exactly what you said. And did you also notice that all of their members who are clearly _not-_human have been speaking in the human's language?"

"Hey, you're right," Sceptile gasped. "I didn't even realise it but… yeah, they were. Where did they learn how to speak human?"

"We've always spoken this way," the brown bunny stated. "And you're right. We are not Pokémon."

"You're not?" Scyther blinked. "Seriously? Oh come on, is this some kind of really weird practical joke that I don't get?"

"No, we're serious," the winged guy smirked. "We're not Pokémon, we're…"

"INCOMING!" came a roar from up above, and everyone on both sides of the equation looked up to see three shapes shooting down through the foliage up above. Charizard whirled around the thick trunk of one of the giant trees and accidentally set a branch alight with his tail flame, prompting Swellow to twist around and put it out with a flap of his wings before continuing on down, and Garchomp also twisted through the thin gap between two large trunks and swung his feet down as he came in to land.

The pseudo-legendary Dragon landed with a thump that literally shook the ground next to Gardevoir, while Charizard thudded down on her other side. The two of them stretched out their arms and wings and let loose two fully-throated roars right in the direction of the strangers, which seemed to wash over them as if they were throwing out literal soundwaves and made the hairs of the backs of the necks of all the humans stand on end.

"I don't know who you are!" Garchomp snarled. "But you better get out of our territory before you make me mad! You wouldn't like me when I get mad!"

"That goes for me too," Charizard snarled. "Get out of here now or I'll…" He stopped when he felt Gardevoir lay her hand on his arm while she simultaneously laid her other hand on Garchomp's.

"Tone it down, you two," she chuckled. "We're not doing that this time."

"We're not?" Garchomp blinked, all his snarling and ferocity immediately lost as he frowned in confusion. "Why not? They've got humans with them. This is what we always do when there are other humans involved."

"Not this time," Gardevoir smiled.

"Did you have to stop me before I finished my sentence?" Charizard muttered. "I had a really good threat prepared this time."

Gardevoir laughed. "Well, maybe next time, okay." She patted his arm and send psychic brainwaves through to their minds to help reinforce her point and calm the two of them down before they did something rash.

Swellow, who had landed in a tree nearby, stepped over to the tip and said, "Would someone like to explain to me what's going on here?"

"Yes, I would quite to know that myself," nodded the orange-haired girl.

"What the… she understood me?" Swellow gasped.

"Yeah, we've been over this," Sceptile nodded as he and Scyther moved over so that they were standing next to the other three Pokémon on the ground. "They can all understand what we're saying but they all speak human speech and apparently these guys are not Pokémon."

"Not Pokémon?" Charizard snorted. "You look like Pokémon to me, albeit ones that I sure as hell haven't seen before."

"Regardless, we are not," the yellow fox uttered. "As we were about to say before you decided to jump in and announce your presence… we are Digimon."

"Except for her," the white bunny pointed over to the cerulean woman. "She's a Twi'lek."

"Digi… mon?" Swellow frowned, rolling the word around his beak as he said it. "I've never heard of a Digimon before? Sounds… made up… to me."

"Made up?" the winged guy growled slightly. "Hey? You think we're making this up do you? Well, can a Pokémon do this?" Then, without warning, he glowed a bright white and shrank downwards and, to the astonishment of all six of the Pokémon, split into two… no, three! The light faded away to reveal a small purple creature and two more… humans!

"Oooookay," Charizard murmured. "I can wake up now. There is no way that what I just saw could have happened outside of a dream."

"You better believe it," the little purple creature laughed. "We're as solid and as real as you are, pally. And I tell you what, I can come over there and give you a kick in the shin if you want some verification on that."

"Impmon, that is not the best way of introducing ourselves," the cerulean woman stepped forwards towards the group of six strangers, showing absolutely no fear of the large and formidable looking dragons, bugs and lizards. She held a bright smile on her face as she walked up to Gardevoir and held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Aayla Secura. What is yours?"

With a smile, the Pokémon grasped Aayla's hand with her own and said, "Gardevoir. Did you say that you were a… Twi'lek?"

"Yes, that is what I am," nodded Aayla. "And these are my companions – all humans and Digimon. We did not mean to intrude on your territory. We are merely passing through."

"Well, I get the feeling that we'll be getting to know one another a little better soon enough," Gardevoir smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last. You have no idea _how_ much of a pleasure."

"At last?" Scyther blinked. "What do you mean 'at last?'"

"Do you not remember?" Gardevoir smirked. "Just a few hours ago I told you that the only thing I could really make out about what your future held was flashing images of various strange creatures which I had never actually seen before?"

"Yes I… oh," Scyther's eyes shot open, as did those of all the others and they surveyed the ten beings in front of them with a newfound interest.

"These are the guys that you saw in your visions?" Swellow asked.

"Indeed," Gardevoir nodded.

"Visions?" the yellow fox frowned. "You had visions that involved us?"

"More like fleeting glimpses than proper visions," Gardevoir replied. "But I did not know what to make of them at all."

"But then… that means, that they are the ones who can help us," Sceptile pointed out earnestly.

"Help you?" the white bunny chuckled. "We're here to do more than help just you. We're here to help out your whole world. Believe it all not, we all come from a completely different universe and we've crossed over here to make sure that nothing bad happens to ours or yours."

"What?" Garchomp spluttered. "What in the world does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like," piped up another voice and the attention of everyone was directed off the side, where they could see Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit hovering and watching everything that was happening. "I can assure the six of you that they are not lying. My brethren and I, as well as Giratina, are responsible for bringing them here."

"I don't believe it," Garchomp breathed as he stared at the three floating Legendaries.

"It can't be," Swellow was equally awestruck. "The Lake Guardians? Here in the flesh? And in _Johto?_"

"Should we kneel?" Charizard murmured. "I feel like we should be kneeling."

"There's no need to kneel to any of us," Uxie chuckled.

"Oh, go on, let them," Azelf pouted. "I thought it would have been funny. Nobody's knelt in front of us for ages."

"You know," the yellow fox folded her arms. "I am expecting a pretty good explanation as to what the three of you having been doing when we were fighting against these guys. And also, why you didn't tell us that one of them would practically drop on top of Rika when she went off to relieve herself in the bushes."

"I knew the situation would resolve itself peacefully and with no serious injury to either party," Uxie replied simply. "And I also knew that meeting with these six would help to speed things along for the rest of us. Because these six are very good friends of the two beings that we came here to find and will be coming out of those bushes in thirty-two seconds. Regardless, my fellow Pokémon, these beings do indeed come from a completely alternate universe at our request to help to save our world from impending disaster."

If the Digimon had been expecting the Pokémon to look confused or frightened at the revelation that their world was in trouble (which they had) they were to be disappointed. Instead, all the Pokémon's faces turned grim and they glanced at one another with dark expressions.

"Impending disaster, huh?" Scyther murmured.

"Just like Absol keeps sensing," nodded Garchomp.

"Indeed," Uxie nodded. "_Exactly _like Absol keeps sensing. But suffice to say it would be better to wait for full explanations on all aspects for when we are back at your main campsite with the rest of your team present rather than having to repeat ourselves later on."

"Back at the camp?" Swellow mumbled, glancing at the five human children who were standing next to their Digimon partners. "That… might be a problem."

"Felkan's not going to like this," Gardevoir sighed.

"Who's Felkan?" the second oldest girl asked, but before anyone could answer her there was a rustling from nearby and everyone turned round to look as Latias moved out of the trees.

"Hey guys, did you manage to…?" she paused when she noticed all the strangers and froze on the spot. "Obviously not," she added after a moment.

"Latias, how many times do I have to ask you not to zoom ahead of me," Latios reprimanded her as he flew out next to her. "I don't like it when you wander off on… your… own…" he trailed off when he too saw who else was in the clearing, his eyes roaming the newcomers suspiciously before they settled on the three Lake Guardians and he gasped.

"Azelf… Mesprit… Uxie! What are you three doing here?"

"Hi, you guys!" Mesprit cheered. "Been a long time hasn't it?"

"Aaw, we should come and visit your lakes more often," Latias grinned as he shot forwards to meet then and gathered all three of them into her short arms. "How've you guys been?"

"Pretty good considering the end of the world is coming, but who cares about that, right?" Azelf chuckled.

"Sorry, what? End of the world?" Sceptile cried in alarm.

"You will get your answers soon enough," Uxie said as he extricated himself. "But for now I will say this. Latias and Latios, I would like you to meet your future team-mates."

* * *

Hooray! Some meetings have now occurred, even though they did not get off to the best of starts considering the battle that they had. But Gardevoir was there to sort things out eventually and the rest of the meetings will be occurring in the next chapter. I hope that you enjoyed the fight scene between the two sides, as I tried to highlight the differences between the two different sides while doing so and nobody was seriously damaged anyway.

Until next time then. Ciao.

* * *

Next time…

As the two groups are brought together completely and introductions and explanations are made all round, the Pokémon finally learn of the threat that Absol has been sensing for so long. But not all of their members are very happy to see these newcomers to their world and their lives.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 8 : Many Meetings**


	8. Many Meetings

Heya there. Sorry that this chapter took so long compared to my other ones but I'd been doing so much writing that I decided to take it easy a little bit and then I got caught up in quite a few social stuff and the fact that we're celebrating the end of our second year of university. I still can't believe I'm still going with these stories since I started this saga a whole year before I even went to uni. In a few months it will be the third anniversary of the day that I first published the first chapter of "A Sticky Situation" and I've written quite a bit since then. Hehe. Anyway, read on with this chapter everybody and I hope you enjoy the interactions and conversations that ensue.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 8:- Many Meetings**

* * *

With the initial introductory problems out of the way since the fight between the two sides had been resolved, the six Pokémon who had already met with the Digimon were now leading them back through the forest and towards their campsite, Gardevoir leading the way as the rest of them fell in step behind her.

There was rather tense atmosphere as they moved along, hanging over all of them like a thick and dark cloud that was threatening to rain all over them and drench them with trepidation. All of them knew what was bound to happen the moment the other members of the team saw the people they were bringing with them, specifically their trainer. And none of them were looking forward to it in the least.

Even Swellow was walking along the ground beside the others, wanting to keep pace with them which was rather difficult from the air as he would keep overshooting and have to double back.

"What are we doing?" Scyther murmured as they all walked along. "Are we really sure that this is a good idea? We're breaking our own trainers orders just by doing this. He told us to keep _all_ humans away from us and now we're leading five of them into the heart of where we live."

"I agree," Garchomp nodded. "We _did_ swear to him that we would do anything to stop him from being found, as well as keeping ourselves away from humans as much as possible. This just feels too…" He let the sentence hang, searching for the right word to describe the sensation he was feeling and not completely being able to bring it out of his mind.

"I am aware of what it seems like," Gardevoir glanced back at the rest of the group. "But the thing is that this is simply too big to ignore. If what Uxie says is true, and I have no reason to suspect that it isn't, then the whole world is in serious danger. It certainly explains why Absol has been having a far bigger reaction to his senses than we've ever seen before. And if it involves Latios and Latias then do we not have a duty to find out what it is for their sake and see what we can do to help? All of us? They are our friends after all."

"She's got a point," Sceptile agreed. "Besides, don't you think this is the opportunity that we could all have been waiting for?"

"What do you mean?" Charizard snorted. "The world is in danger – that does not sound like an opportunity of any kind to me."

"But it could be," Sceptile added with a smirk. "We've all been waiting for something to come along that would convince our trainer to leave this place and head out into the world again. If the world is in trouble and Latios and Latias need to help save it… surely that must be good enough of an excuse as any."

"Hey yeah, you're right," Swellow perked up. "And… maybe if we play a role in saving the world then…well perhaps our trainer could regain some faith in humanity along the way."

"We can only hope," Gardevoir sighed. "As I said, he needs to learn through experience. Perhaps you are right and this could be just what he needs. Alternatively… if things go wrong…"

She too let her sentence hang. None of the others had to ask what she meant.

* * *

Not privy to the quite conversation that was going on between the six Pokémon; the Digimon, Tamers and Aayla were all following along behind at a slight distance.

"Are we totally sure that we can trust these guys?" Impmon said, slightly suspiciously. "I mean it might look like they mean well but that big plant lizard guy did still threaten Rika."

"But they said that they didn't mean it," Suzie pointed out. "And I think that they meant it. But I am a little confused… why would they want to keep humans away from them. I thought that humans and these Pokémon guys got on well in this universe."

"Yes, but even if they do then that rule doesn't necessarily apply to all of the members of this world," Henry reminded her. "There will always be clashes of some kind anywhere you go, so no doubt there are a lot of Pokémon that don't like humans, and a lot of humans who don't like Pokémon, even if the majority of them do like one another."

"But then what reason would these ones have for wanting to keep humans away?" Rika asked. "It can't be that big of a reason if they're leading us towards the place where they live so easily.

"I do not know," Aayla frowned. "But I sense a great amount of conflict going on among them at the moment. On the one hand, they are all slightly nervous – even the larger ones like those dragons. Though what might make them nervous I have no idea. On the other hand though, there is a certain amount of anticipation within them at the same time. I sense that they don't _really_ want to keep us away but that they felt that they had to. And they want our help in some fashion but they are nervous about what might happen if we try."

"That sounds confusing," Ai murmured.

"Perhaps," Aayla nodded. "But I'm sure that when we learn more things will make much more sense. You'll see."

"They better," Rika muttered, as she turned her head to look at the other half of their group. The red and blue dragon-like creatures who they had been introduced to – Latias and Latios, were hovering alongside the three lake guardians and talking quietly to them, while Terriermon, Lopmon and Renamon were all walking close enough to hear what they were saying.

"I don't understand, Uxie," Latios was frowning. "You haven't given me a straight answer yet? Who are these people and why are you so insistent that we have to work with them to do… whatever it is that you want us to do?"

"Do not fret so much, Latios," Uxie assured him. "I shall reveal all as soon as we reach the campsite of your friends and the whole group is together."

"But just tell me now are you seriously expecting us to go swanning off across this world with a bunch of complete strangers?" Latios insisted. "I do not like the sound of that at all. I don't want to do anything that might put Latias in danger, alright?"

"Latios, you worry too much," Latias grinned from next to him as she nudged her brother affectionately. "Where's your sense of adventure? Have you not gotten a good look at all these guys yet? I don't know who they are but they all looked super-cool. And you know I love making new friends."

"I get the feeling that friendship is but one thing that these guys will bring," Latios fretted. "And I care about you too much to see you hurt, Latias. I… I couldn't bear to see you injured."

"Well that's why I've got you, isn't it?" Latias giggled. "Come on. I don't know what Uxie wants us to do yet either but I'm already feeling excited. I can feel it bubbling in my gut and I feel like… like… like I want to fly out there to the world and show it what I've got."

"I think that might partially be my doing," Azelf chuckled. "Sorry – I just have that effect on people. But yeah, you should totally be feeling that sensation too Latios. You're going to need it."

"I doubt it," Latios frowned. "If I don't like what I hear and there's a chance that Latias could get hurt then we're not doing it. End of story."

Latias frowned and bopped her brother on the head. "Oh come on, Latios. You remember what Gardevoir said, don't you? That there was major trouble on the horizon and that it might involve us? Well, what if what Uxie wants us to do is something that will stop that bad thing from happening. You'd still say that we shouldn't do it even then?"

"Well… well I…" Latios floundered a little, biting his lip as he tried to come up with an answer. Latias smiled and moved over to nuzzle the side of his face with her own, a more practical gesture than a hug for the two of them considering their body structures. "Let's just wait and listen to what Uxie has to say first alright? Besides, don't you think at all that it might be fun? You don't have to be in protective-twin-brother mode all the time, you know."

"Considering I have _you_ for a twin sister," Latios chuckled, "She-who-pranks-everyone-she-can-and-gets-into-trouble-as-much-as-possible, I kinda _do_ have to be. Especially since I can barely keep you restrained as it is."

Terriermon chose this moment to interrupt:-

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," he waved his hands slightly, pointing to himself and his own sister and getting the attention of the Eon duo. "So, you're both twins just like me and Lopmon are?"

Latios and Latias looked down at him, Latios with a frown on his face and Latias with a grin. "Oh, the two of you are twins as well?" Latias grinned. "Oh, that's cute!"

"Yes, we are," nodded Lopmon. "And so are those two," she pointed to Ai and Mako.

"Well, now it really is a pleasure to meet you," Latias nodded. "What are your names?"

"I'm Lopmon," nodded the brown bunny. "And this is my brother Terriermon. And it's a pleasure to meet you too, Latios and Latias. I suppose I have to say sorry for dropping in on your lives like this. We don't want to bring either of you any unnecessary problems."

"Good to know," Latios nodded.

"Hold on! I'm not finished with my comparisons. Judging from what I've heard, am I right in guessing that among the two of you, the _girl_ is the one who plays tricks on people while the _boy_ is the one who tries to keep the other in line and fails?" Terriermon pressed.

"That about sums it up, yes," Latias giggled, giving the two bunny Digimon a wink with one large, yellow eye.

Terriermon blinked several times before murmuring, "Okay, this is a little weird. That's exactly the same with us… only I'm the trouble-maker an I'm a guy."

"Momentai," Latias snickered.

"HEY! DON'T USE MY… Wait a minute. I haven't said that word in front of you before."

"No, but we're Psychic types," Latios chuckled. "She read your mind and discovered that that word is your catchphrase."

"And I also discovered the fact that it annoys you," Latias grinned cheekily.

Terriermon stared at the red eon dragon for several moments before he grinned and jumped off Renamon's shoulder and stepped over to her, extending one ear. "Want to be friends?"

"Sure," Latias beamed, shaking the proffered ear with one small arm.

"Why do I have alarm bells going off in my head?" Lopmon sighed.

"I reckon I have a good idea," Latios grimaced.

Renamon chuckled. It seemed that they were already building bridges between the two groups, but Terriermon was right. From what she had been able to observe from the two dragons they were both exactly the same and polar opposites of the bunny twins. That could only be a good sign for the future… or alternatively a very bad one considering the fact that if Latias was anything like Terriermon… oh gosh, the mere thought…

If that was true… what force of nature had they unleashed on this world by bringing the two of them together?

"Head up, people?" Swellow called over his shoulder as he spread his wings and took to the air. "We're coming in to the campsite now."

"Oh, I sense this is not going to go well," Mesprit murmured.

"I _know_ that it could go better," Uxie agreed.

"Heya guys!" came a voice and a small blue fox creature suddenly bounded out of the trees ahead of them with a rather goofy grin on its little face. "Where've you been? Felkan was getting…" he stopped when he spotted the group that were behind the six Pokémon and seemed to freeze on the spot, eyes opening wide as saucers. "Oooohhhh, that's not good," he murmured.

"Oh, you're so cute," Suzie cried as she hurried over to the newcomer. "What's your name."

"Er… Glaceon," the creature answered uncertainly, backing away from Suzie a little bit.

"Aaw, you are the cutest little girl I've ever seen in my life," Suzie smiled. "I could just scoop you and hug you all day long."

Glaceon's eye twitched again and his paws seemed to be attempting to curl into fists, and it didn't help that a large number of the Pokémon around him were now sniggering. "Well…" he said through gritted teeth. "It's nice of you to say so but… _I'm not a girl!"_ he groused. "Explain it to her Gardevoir."

"I do not need to," Gardevoir chuckled. "She understood that herself."

"Wha-? She did?"

"Questions later please," Garchomp instructed as he nudged Glaceon back the way he had come with his foot. "Let's just get this over with shall we?"

"Make or break moment," Scyther nodded as they stepped forward again.

"Okay, now _I'm_ starting to get nervous," Terriermon murmured, looking up at the two dragons. "Why are they making such a big deal out of going to their home anyway?"

Latios grimaced and even Latias looked a little uncomfortable. "You'll see," the former nodded as they continued moving forwards.

* * *

Eventually they came to a clearing, and as the Pokémon filed aside, it allowed the Digimon to get a good look at the rest of the occupants. A lion-like creature with black fur and bright yellow eyes, a large black canine with curved horns and a spaded tail, a humanoid jackal with a mask like face and spikes on his chest and paws, a large cream-coloured and beautiful sea-serpent with her coils wrapped gently around a cat-like creature with white fur… and a single human with mid-length dark brown hair kneeling beside the serpent and apparently tending to the cat-like creature.

"Where've you guys been?" the human asked, without looking over. He was too busy trying to make sure the cat-like creature was sleeping peacefully.

The Pokémon looked at one another uneasily, but then Garchomp took it upon himself to clear his throat loudly, causing the human to turn around and look to see what was the matter.

It only took him a mere second to process all of the strange creatures that were suddenly there, but the thing his eyes settled on most were the five Tamers. Within a split second he had surged to his feet, a look of outrage on his face and his fists clenched so tightly that it looked like he was going to slam them into something at the slightest twitch.

"What are they doing here!" he yelled, startling the rest of the Pokémon around the area and causing each of them to jump to their feet too. Luxray and Houndoom were immediately both up and standing before the human with teeth bared, Milotic moved in front of him a little protectively and Absol snapped awake with a gasp, looking around him wildly for any sign of danger and his eyes snapping open when he spotted all of the newcomers.

_Felkan, please,_ Gardevoir said immediately. _Allow us to explain…_

"What is the meaning of this?" Felkan interrupted immediately, his face twisted into a snarl that was almost feral. "Humans! You led humans right to us? What force possessed you to do something like this? This is unacceptable."

"Master…" Lucario started, but he was interrupted too.

"We've been separated from society now for five whole years by my last count. Five years where you guys kept the humans away like I asked you to and now you bring no less than five of them right here? I asked you to make sure that no humans got within a mile of our location and now… of all times considering what's happening to Absol… you decide to bring some here?"

"What do you mean?" Henry asked. "You're a human, aren't you? Why would you…"

"I was not talking to you!" Felkan rounded on him with a furious glare in his eyes, and his anger was so startling that Henry actually took several steps back in shock and Renamon and Terriermon moved in front of him protectively automatically.

Felkan turned to Garchomp and growled, "Get them out of here quickly. We have had nothing to do with their kind for half a decade and we're not about to start now. And then come back and everybody get ready to move. If they tell people that they found us here then the law could be crawling through this place within hours. They'd find us and then no matter how much training you guys have done they will doggedly pursue us no matter what until… well, do I have to say it. You know what could happen if the humans spotted us so…"

During his growling instructions, Gardevoir had stepped over to him on her dainty, pointed legs and placed her hand on his shoulder. As he felt her touch, Felkan stopped talking and looked across at her, a portion of the anger fading from his face as his eyes met with hers again.

_Please, Felkan,_ she murmured with her mind, lifting up her other hand to grasp his own firmly before reaching down with her other hand to grasp the other and pull them both up and hold them together in her own. _Please just stop and listen for a moment._

Felkan moved one of his hands out of her grip so he could place it on the back of her hand instead, but when he looked back over to the newcomers, the glare on his face intensified again. "There had better be a good explanation for this guys," he muttered.

"There is, Felkan, believe me," Gardevoir nodded. "I don't know exactly what's going on but whatever it is… it's big. Very big. These people have information of whatever it is that's been bothering Absol for the past few months."

"You do?" Absol cried from where he was lying in the middle of Milotic's coils, instantly bolting upright and bounding out of Milotic's grip to come up by Felkan's side, in between him and Gardevoir, his red eyes filled with desperation. "You know what I've been sensing? Oh please… if you have any information on it, you have to tell us! Please, I beg you!"

"Absol…" Felkan looked down at his Pokémon, but Absol looked up at him with eyes practically wild and pleading with his trainer.

"No, please. Please, Felkan. The last couple of months have been hell for me. Every waking hour I've been able to sense it – coming closer and closer all the time. It weighs on my mind like some great oppression – it feels like it's trying to box my mind in and crush it under its sheer weight. It's the most horrendous thing that I've ever sensed by a-hundred-fold and every time I think about its like my entire body is being slowly condensed. I can't breathe… I can't think of anything else! I've been considering just breaking off my own horn just to get it to stop. If they know anything… anything at all… that might help… please!"

Felkan looked back up again, an intense look of distaste on his face as he looked back at the five Tamers. For the first time, he took a proper look at all the other members of the group. His eyes wondered slowly over all of the Digimon in mild bemusement and came to rest on Aayla for a second, regarding her with slight suspicion seeing as she looked the most human out of all of the others.

_Felkan,_ a new voice suddenly appeared in his head, and Felkan blinked and momentarily gasped when he finally spotted Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit nearby. He knew who the three of them were, but unlike Latios and Latias he had never met those three Legendaries before. Latios and Latias were the _only_ Legendaries he had ever encountered to suddenly find three more in front of him was quite something.

Naturally it was Uxie who was doing the speaking. _I am aware of your deep-seating mistrust of other humans and what it is that drives it. And while we are not here to change your mind, I know that you will want to hear what we have to say. Your Absol has been getting the worst of what it is he is sensing. Right now, all Absol in the world are currently feeling similar to him for this is something which spans the entire world, but yours is getting the brunt of it due to the close proximity that your friends Latios and Latias have to the event._

"I…" Felkan murmured, his eyes flicking back to the five humans. Ai and Mako looked like they were about to burst into tears, Henry and Suzie both looked hurt and Rika looked angry and confused, which were not good combinations. Felkan flexed his fingers, unsure of what he should be doing. Houndoom and Luxray were both looking at him questioningly, still in leaping position but no longer snarling, waiting on his instruction.

"Sceptile and I did try and drive them away as usual," Scyther added. "We started battling against them, but when we learned what they were and why they were here… we all agreed that we had to hear this."

"That's right," Sceptile nodded. "I may not be an Absol or a Psychic type but I don't need to be to know that this is something big… far bigger than us."

_I felt it would be best to bring them here despite your instructions to keep all humans away,_ Gardevoir agreed. _I am sorry if you feel that we have let you down, Felkan… but you must hear this. We must all hear this – especially Latios and Latias._

Felkan glanced back at the Eon duo, who were also looking at him quite earnestly. The pleading look in Absol's eyes, Uxie's words and the reassuring touch of Gardevoir's hand and mind were enough to make him sigh and say, "Fine. We'll hear what they have to say. But as soon as they're done then we're all out of here, alright? We have to find somewhere new to hide now that we've been found."

_A good decision,_ Uxie nodded, floating forwards slightly. _But you may want to re-evaluate the eventual outcome when you're done. And now, I shall do you a favour as well, by altering your mind so that you can understand Pokémon without the need for translation as I have done with these five._

"Oh, so _that's_ why they could understand us," Charizard nodded. "That makes more sense."

"Wait…" Felkan started. "You can't just…"

_If I gave you time to think it over then you would say 'yes,'_ Uxie smirked and more red light suddenly washed out of the crystal on his forehead and swept over Felkan. He flinched backwards instinctively, his mind having been slightly hardwired against threats considering the dangerous wild Pokémon of this region. But Gardevoir still had a grip on his hands and held him steady, her eyes shining at the prospect of what Uxie was supposedly doing.

She was not the only one either – all of the Pokémon were now looking eagerly at their trainer now that they had gotten over the initial shock of the idea. They could hardly be blamed – they had been with their trainer for well over five years and while there had been no communication problems with Gardevoir acting as the translator the idea of them being to talk directly to him was just… too awesome.

The light vanished and Felkan blinked, not feeling any different to how he had been before in the slightest.

Quickly Glaceon decided to test what had just happened and he said, "I like bananas."

"No you don't," Felkan said automatically. "You always said that they… hey, wait!" He stared at the little fox Pokémon with wide eyes. "I just heard you say that with my ears."

"Naturally," Uxie nodded, speaking with his mouth rather than his mind. "After all, I did just say that you would be able to understand us now. I am skilled and how the brain works and how to alter it."

"You know, one of these days – we're going to be able to give these people some kind of cool gift with what we can do too," Azelf grumbled and he folded his arms.

"This is… amazing," Felkan breathed. "Gardevoir, Lucario – talk to me. With your voices."

"It has always been an honour to serve you, Master," Lucario nodded and placed his paw just under his chest spike and bowed his head.

"Can I have a hug?" Gardevoir asked.

"The honour is all mine, Lucario," Felkan had a near-savage grin on his face now. "And yes… yes, you can, Gardevoir." He quickly pulled his Pokémon into an embrace and wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her like that for about five seconds before separating from her and looking back at Uxie. "Thank you. This is a brilliant gift… and it's a pleasure to meet you and your brethren."

"Indeed," Uxie nodded. "And now, I'm afraid that we need to get down to business. There are serious things that we must discuss."

"Right," Felkan nodded as the distaste appeared on his face again immediately and he looked back at the newcomers from the other dimensions. "Business."

"Felkan, please try not to make enemies where none yet exist," Gardevoir murmured.

"I know," Felkan nodded. "But I say let's just get this over with so that we can get away from them as soon as possible."

"What is that jerk's problem?" Rika murmured. "Why does he look so bitter and angry every time he looks at us?"

"I don't know what his problem is but I don't think he's a jerk," Henry murmured back. "He obviously cares a great deal for all these Pokémon he has with him. It's just us that he doesn't like… and I have no idea why."

"For now I say we just bear with him and get this done," Aayla muttered down to them. "There's a lot to discuss and if Uxie and the others want to discuss it with this lot then I say that we just move on and introduce ourselves."

With that, she stepped forwards and nodded to the group of Pokémon and their one human companion. "Good afternoon to all of you. I realise that this might be a little strange and quite strenuous for whatever reason, but you must all know that none of us intend you any harm, physical or otherwise. I am Aayla Secura, a Twi'lek from the planet Ryloth, and… well, I guess you could say 'I come in peace.'"

"The planet what-now?" Luxray blinked.

"So you're some sort of extra-terrestrial Pokémon like Deoxys is?" Latias asked.

"No," Aayla shook her head. "I am afraid that I do not know this… Deoxys, but while it is true that I am not of this world, I am not of this dimension either. And I am not a Pokémon. I am just a Twi'lek. That is what my species is called."

"An alien?" Felkan raised a brow. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Aayla nodded, flexing her head-tails slightly independently to show off that fact. "But I am also a member of the Jedi Order – a group of people dedicated to preserving peace wherever we me go. But I shall not delve into too many details about that just yet for I shall now introduce you to my friends who are also not from this dimension and not Pokémon. This is Renamon, and her Tamer Rika Nonaka."

"I am humbled to make all of your acquaintances," Renamon nodded. "I sense that you are all powerful warriors. I can safely say it is no lie that I am honoured to be in your presence."

"What's up?" Rika nodded. "Nice to see all you guys… I think," she added with a glance at Felkan, who just scowled back at her.

Aayla coughed pointedly and nodded to the next pair. "The small white bunny there is Terriermon and his Tamer is Henry Wong here."

"Hello," Henry nodded, keeping it as simple as possible.

"Heya," Terriermon did the exact opposite. "Seriously, I think that some of you guys really need to momentai."

"Not helping, Terriermon," Henry muttered.

"What's momentai?" Glaceon frowned.

"It means 'take it easy.'" Latias interpreted. "And it annoys him when anyone else uses the word."

"Oh really?" Glaceon smirked.

"Moving on," Aayla added. "The brown bunny is Terriermon's twin sister Lopmon and her Tamer is Henry's younger sister Suzie."

"A pleasure," Lopmon nodded.

"Sorry I thought you were a girl earlier," Suzie smiled sheepishly at Glaceon, who groaned and tried to bury his face in the floor as Houndoom and Luxray both snickered at his misfortune.

"And the final group is Impmon and his two Tamers, who are also twins – Ai and Mako Terada," Aayla finished.

"What's up?" Impmon commented, well aware of Lopmon watching him closely to make sure that he didn't say something that would most likely upset or annoy most of the people in the glade. And considering the size of Charizard, Garchomp and Milotic, Impmon thought that might be a good idea.

"Um… hi," Mako waved nervously. Ai said nothing, but also waved one small hand before dropping it down quickly.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all of you as well," Gardevoir nodded, immediately sending out a mental probe to prevent Felkan from making a noise of protest at her statement.

"Is there some reason that all of your names end in 'mon?'" Houndoom asked with a slightly snarky look.

"Well it's kinda a common feature of our species," Renamon replied. "You see, we are not Pokémon. We are Digimon and while we have not seen that many Pokémon besides all of you, I can say that there is quite a bit of difference between our two species. One of them being that fact that all of our names end in 'mon' and yours apparently don't."

"Oh well thanks for clearing that up," Houndoom rolled his eyes. "That completely answers all of my questions."

"Houndoom, there is no reason to be sarcastic," Lucario chided him. "If what they say is true and they all come from an alternate reality then there are bound to be a large number of questions that need answering?"

"Do you actually believe them, Lucario?" Glaceon asked. "It all sounds a bit… weird to me."

"I see no reason to think that they are lying," Lucario stated. "I shall keep an open mind until I can make a firmer decision."

"Quite frankly, I'm not sure what to think," Milotic murmured. "Glaceon's right though – this is extremely strange. But, then again, I have never seen anything like them before or heard anything about them as I have done with the Legendary Pokémon."

"I think that it is now our turn to introduce ourselves," pointed out Lucario. "If they really are from an alternate reality then it's likely that they don't know what kinds of Pokémon we are just as we don't know much about them."

"Why don't you do the talking then, Lucario?" Swellow suggested. "You always were the most… eloquent of us."

"Being eloquent has little to do with introductions but very well," nodded Lucario. "Greetings, strangers. I am Lucario and everyone that you see around you is a member of our team. I believe that you have already met with Gardevoir and some of the others."

"Well, yeah, but we don't have a clue what their names all are," Terriermon pointed out.

"Very well, then I shall tell you," Lucario nodded. "The tall green lizard is Sceptile, the mantis is Scyther and the bird is Swellow. We sometimes call them the three S's."

"Much to our annoyance," Swellow ruffled his feathers. "But yeah, I suppose – hi."

"Sorry again for making knocking you out of a tree," Sceptile chuckled as he leaned against a tree and stared at Renamon. "But you were trying to knock me out first."

"It is forgotten," Renamon nodded. "A mere misunderstanding."

"Very gracious of you," Sceptile smirked.

"Your blade was most impressive," Scyther commented to Impmon. "Perhaps you would like to spar sometimes. I don't get to practice against many real opponents."

"If you like," Impmon chuckled. "But if you want a decent sword-fight, I would recommend Blue here to you," he pointed at Aayla. "She's got some mean skills with her own swords."

"You have swords?" Scyther frowned at Aayla. "Where?"

Aayla chuckled and said, "Right here," levitating her hilts from her waist and igniting them with the push of the buttons, the green and blue blades spurting out of the tips as Aayla twirled them skilfully and held them to her sides for the Pokémon's inspection.

Each of them seemed enthralled by the sight of the blades and drew closer to get a better look. Garchomp reached out to touch one but Aayla quickly drew it back and said, "Ah-ah, better not. These things can cut through solid rock just placing it on top of them."

"I never thought I would be envious of someone else's blades," Scyther murmured, staring at them with fascination. "But I must admit… those things look pretty badass."

"Why thank you," Aayla chuckled, sheathing them once again. "I'll give you a closer look later on if you like."

"I wouldn't count on it," Felkan murmured, but only Gardevoir and Absol heard him.

Lucario went on and pointed to the two large dragons. "Moving on, the blue shark-like Pokémon is Garchomp and his orange companion is Charizard. Those two are in regular competition with one another to be the physically strongest members of our team."

"Yeah and one day we'll get to actually go all out and find out the answer," Charizard cracked his knuckles.

"Don't do that," Suzie chided him.

"Huh?" Charizard blinked.

"My Mum says that cracking your knuckles is bad for you so you shouldn't do it," Suzie stated matter-of-factly.

Charizard chuckled. "You got guts kid. I'll give you that. There's not many people of your stature that would dare to tell off a Charizard for any reason."

"I have to admit that he's right," Garchomp nodded. "And I suppose I should say nice to meet you as well. I heard that some of you were quite powerful yourselves. I'm always on the lookout for a new opponent to test myself against."

"You're on," Terriermon grinned. "You and me later, big guy!"

"Terriermon," Henry groaned.

"Momentai," Terriermon snickered. "He won't know what hit him."

"Blimey. I think they've _all_ got guts," Garchomp laughed.

"These three you will be less familiar with," Lucario gestured to the next group. "The canine is Houndoom, the large feline is Luxray and the small one who is not a girl is Glaceon."

"Yeah, I think they know I'm not a girl _now_," Glaceon muttered. He perked up instantly and went, "But, hello there. Nice to meet you. We don't get a whole lot of company out here and I really like how strong you look," he nodded to Renamon. "You do us foxes proud."

"Why thank you," Renamon chuckled. "That is what I strive for."

"And before you think of trying anything, she's taken," Terriermon winked, bounding up onto Renamon's shoulder and wrapping an ear around the back of her head.

"Say what?" Luxray blinked in astonishment. "Taken? As in… mated? The two of you?"

"Yes," nodded Renamon. "For over two years now. It still surprises me sometimes as well actually."

"I think it still surprises _everyone_ from time to time even now," Impmon snorted. "Sometimes I see you guys and wonder if everything I experienced since you two told us you were mated was real."

"Well I hope it was. I'd hate to have to defeat Ogudomon again," Lopmon chuckled.

"Okay, that is just too weird," Luxray shook his head. "How much larger are you than he is?"

"About five feet but who's counting," Renamon smirked.

"I think I need to lie down," Luxray murmured. "This is too much for me to take in."

"Oh, lying down already?" Houndoom scoffed. "You really are lax. Anyway, I wish I could say that it was a pleasure to meet all of you… but I am not exactly prone to lying."

"Houndoom!" Gardevoir chided him. "At least be civil please."

"What?" Houndoom shrugged a little nonchalantly. "I didn't say that it _wasn't_ a pleasure to meet them as well. I just think that I'll reserve my judgement on whether this is a pleasure or not by seeing on where this leads rather than trying to base it on first impressions."

"That sounds surprisingly wise actually," Lopmon noted. "Cautious but wise nonetheless."

"You'll have to excuse him," Luxray murmured. "He means well but quite often you'll find that his choice of words is absolutely appalling."

"I simply state my mind," Houndoom pointed out. "Is that so wrong?"

"Not when you're trying to give pleasantries," Milotic leaned over the top of him and bopped him on the head between his horns with a tail-scale. She then looked up and said, "Hello, I'm Milotic. Unlike this dark lump of canine I _do_ think that it as a pleasure to meet you.

"I like you," Ai suddenly said immediately. "You look really cool and… and pretty… like a snake combined with a dolphin or something."

"What's a dolphin?" Milotic frowned in confusion.

"You don't have dolphins in this world?" Ai gasped. "Aw, that sucks. You guys don't know what you're missing."

"Anyway, nice to meet you too, Milotic," Aayla nodded. "And since every other Pokémon has now been introduced and going by what I heard before your name must be Absol, right?" she nodded to the white felid standing between Gardevoir and Felkan.

"Yeah," Absol nodded, shifting slightly and looking extremely wary of the group even though he had begged them to stay. He seemed to share this straight with the human he was standing next to and seemed to be trying to get as low to the ground as possible while still sitting up. He was starting to shiver again now as his senses began to pick up more activity now that he was becoming less distracted.

"What's wrong?" Aayla asked with concern when she saw Absol shivering. "Are you ill?"

"Absol have the ability to detect incoming disasters," Uxie explained immediately. "And, as I'm sure you can imagine, this Absol has been picking up some very strong readings recently and is doing so right now."

"Ouch," Impmon winced. "Man, do I feel sorry for you right now. You must have been sensing it for what… six months now?"

"Yes," Absol nodded frantically. "It's driving me mad with terror! But… do you really know what it could be?"

"Of course they do," Latias smiled. "Uxie's with them. Uxie knows everything and if he's one of their companions then he's bound to know."

"Then you've got to tell me," Absol pleaded. "If I know what it is then it will be possible for me to shove the sensation down to the bottom of my mind but until then I can't because all I can focus on is what I'm detecting with my horn. Please… help me."

"We will," nodded Henry. "Don't worry. But first… what was your name again?" he looked up and locked eyes with Felkan again. Felkan just glared at him for approximately ten seconds, his eyes completely unblinking and seeming to be trying to bore directly through Henry's own eyes and into his brain somehow. Henry had not seen such intense… distaste in anybody before. This was a guy who had been harbouring resentment for far, _far_ too long.

"Felkan," he said eventually. "And that's all you need to know about me."

"Wow, someone's moody," murmured Rika.

Ignoring that remark, Uxie started up with, "And since you have already met with Latios and Latias that makes the introductions complete. We'll allow you to discuss the differences between Pokémon and Digimon at a later stage but for now I shall simply say that all of you Pokémon and to you Felkan that they are telling the truth. They are indeed from a completely different dimension. The three of us went there with Giratina specifically to bring them here."

"You went to another universe?" Latios blinked.

"Oh, what was it like?" Latias cried.

"You can ask them later on. They live there," Mesprit snorted as she pointed at the newcomers.

"Indeed," Uxie nodded.

"And how do we know that _you're_ telling the truth yourself?" Scyther pointed out.

"Oh come on, this is _Uxie_ we're talking about here," Latias objected. "He might not be a complete funsponge but he never lies about something like this."

"Indeed again," Uxie nodded. "I am deadly serious. And now, I shall explain why we brought them here to see Latios and Latias and exactly what it is that is causing you, Absol, such distress. Normally I would simply be able to plant the information in your minds but since two of you are Dark-types and I cannot use Miracle Eye, I shall have to use the long-winded approach. Simply stated – the universe that we all know, our Pokémon World, and the universe that these Digimon come from, the Digital World, are colliding with one another and will soon destroy one another unless something is done to prevent it."

"WHAT!" came the collective roar from around the glade. Everyone, even Gardevoir, was completely taken off guard by this and everyone, even Felkan, felt the need to cry out in shock. But none of them yelled louder than Absol, who immediately dropped into a quivering crouch as the senses in his horn flared upwards once again, his eyes wide in absolute horror as he instantly realised what Uxie said was completely and one-hundred percent true.

"Yes," Uxie nodded. "Unless something is done, both universes and all of its occupants will be completely destroyed. Listen closely to learn more."

* * *

And Uxie outlined as succinctly but comprehensibly as possible what Aayla, the Digimon and their Tamers already knew. As he spoke, the eyes of each of the Pokémon got progressively wider and wider. Unlike the Digimon they had every reason to trust Uxie's word – he was one of their legendaries after all and if Latias said that he didn't lie then he didn't lie.

Uxie spoke of the initial fault that was now causing all this and how it was so steeped in darkness that even he didn't know what had ultimately caused this catastrophe. He spoke of how the universes had slowly been converging and rubbing up against one another over the last half year to produce the friction that would inevitably lead to the breaking of the walls and the two universes cancelling each other out. He spoke of how Giratina and the Royal Knights were madly trying to stop it but that even with their help they only had so much time left.

When he had done that, Absol sank completely to the ground and covered his head with his paws. "Oh Arceus," he moaned. "It makes sense. It makes so much sense now. Everything I've been feeling, the progressive worsening… the disaster that's coming – it's the end of our very universe. The greatest of all disasters, looming closer and swallowing everything in its path."

"And you say that it came from there dimension?" Felkan growled. "Well then what did you bring them here for? They're the ones who caused this aren't they?"

"I did not say that," Uxie shook his head, Mesprit immediately putting out a feeling of calm over the Digimon as several of them had flared up at the accusation put in front of them. "If it originated from our universe as a result of Palkia going that mad then would that be _your_ fault? Of course not. Please try and control your distaste for other humans before you go flinging out accusations. After all, was it not flinging out accusations that landed you here in the first place?"

Apparently this was an incredibly soft spot because Felkan actually winced and stepped backwards, looking away and refusing to meet anybody's eyes. Most of the Pokémon around the glade glared at Uxie angrily, and the rest of the group immediately began to get edgy, as well as more curious as to what this Felkan guy's story actually was.

"I apologise for the barb," Uxie stated. "But I felt that it would be an accurate way of pointing out why you shouldn't do such a thing."

Felkan grunted but didn't say anything else. Gardevoir gripped his hand tighter with her own.

"But back to the matter at hand," Uxie added. "Yes, Absol. The world is coming to an end, as is the world that it is colliding with. There are a number of potential factors that could determine how much time we have left but the world is definitely drawing to an end."

"Well, that's disappointing," Houndoom murmured.

"You seriously mean that we're all heading uncontrollably to oblivion?" Garchomp asked. "The entire universe and all of us and everybody else in it will just… stop? Cease to exist? That's it? No more?"

"Essentially yes."

"Oh Arceus," Milotic murmured, her large eyes filled with a deep sense of despair that all the other Pokémon were slowly beginning to feel. "That can't be. But… it does make a lot of sense even though we still don't know everything."

"I just can't believe it?" Swellow swallowed. "We're all going to die?"

"Worse than that. _Everything_ is going to die," Sceptile sighed, a rather hollow look now in his yellow eyes.

"Oh stop! Please stop!" Mesprit moaned. "You're making me want to crawl into a hole and die! Uxie, tell them about the fact that there is something that can be done to save it or I'm never going to break myself out of this funk they're putting me in."

"Say what?" Luxray's head snapped up. "There's a way to save our universe."

"Yes. Only one, but it will save both universes if it works," Uxie nodded. "And that is where Latios and Latias come in."

"Us?" Latios blinked. "Save the world? What can we do to save two entirely different realities? Yes, we're Legendaries but… we're not that strong compared to some of the others."

"You can do it," Uxie confirmed. "In fact, you are the only ones who can. Arceus created the two of you specifically for this very purpose. Every Legendary represents something or has a job to do and this is yours. Arceus knew that the world would one day collide with another and so he created the two of you, because the two of you have a power that no other Pokémon, not even the other Legendaries have."

"We do?" Latias blinked. "Really? What power?"

"I am afraid that I cannot tell you that," Uxie shook his head. "And there is a reason for that… but I cannot tell you that either. You will have to believe that you can do it when the time comes."

"Well, that's reassuring," Latios murmured. "And what if we can't?"

"You can," Uxie confirmed. "There are many futures ahead and in a vast majority of them you definitely succeed. True, there are some where you fail and both universes are obliterated completely but as long as you don't lose faith in yourselves you should be more than fine."

Latios and Latias looked at one another and then out at the others, noticing that just about everyone was now staring at them with hope in their eyes, taking the two of them aback. They had never been looked at like that before and now both of them were feeling extraordinarily uncomfortable.

"Well… let's say you're right and we can do it," Latias murmured. "What would we have to do?"

"Simple," Uxie nodded. "You must join forces with these Digimon and their friends and travel around the world. As you go, you must find and gather all of our brethren of Legendary Pokémon and get them to go to Spear Pillar on Mount Coronet in Sinnoh. Once there, we can summon Arceus. In the Digital World, the team-mates of these people are doing something similar by trying to awaken the Digimon God, Fanglongmon. Only Arceus and Fanglongmon combining their powers together will save us all and they will need the help of the two of you to do that."

"How?" Latios gasped. "Will it put Latias in danger?"

"I cannot say how," Uxie replied sadly. "But if you don't do it then Latias will die anyway, as will you and everybody else that you know."

"But why can't you guys go and fetch all the other Legendaries," Latios protested. "A mission like that sounds potentially dangerous for everyone involved and I mean everyone. But you know where all the others live whereas we don't. It would be a lot quicker if you did it wouldn't it?"

"It could be," Uxie nodded. "But then we would fail and the universe's will fall. If you and these Digimon are not the ones who go on this quest then everything will be destroyed. You two, and _only you two_, have the power from our world to ensure that we survive."

Latios still looked like he was going to have a heart-attack, but Latias' eyes just hardened and she pounded her hands together with a cry of. "Well then, we'll do it!"

"What? Latias, think about what you're saying for a moment," Latios turned to his sister.

"Brother, what is there to think about?" Latias asked. "Look I know that you care about me a lot and you don't want to put me in harm's way but you know that this is not a practical joke as much as I do. Uxie's never lied before and I doubt he would _ever_ joke about something as big as this. One of your biggest problems has always been to overthink things… a lot. But there's nothing to think about this time. We have only two choices and I know that I would rather pick the one where we have a chance of survival rather than none at all, don't you think?"

Latios remained frozen for a moment before he sagged and chuckled slightly. "Alright. I suppose you're right. I just…"

"…want me to be safe. Yeah, I know," Latias nuzzled him again. "And I love you for that. I really do."

"Thank you, sister," Latios said, before looking up and smiling tightly. "Alright then. Let's go save the world."

"Suddenly I feel very inadequate as a twin brother," Terriermon murmured as he stared at the two dragon siblings.

"Well, you know how you could fix that, couldn't you?" Lopmon looked up at him, folding her arms and tapping her fingers against one upper arm. Terriermon chuckled and bounded off Renamon's shoulder before bouncing over to Lopmon and enveloping her in a bunny hug which Lopmon gladly returned.

"I do love you, you know," Terriermon murmured. "I hope you never forget that."

"Oh, I won't," Lopmon pulled him closer. "I definitely won't."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I think the mushiness is getting to me," Impmon waved a hand in front of his face.

"It's natural," Aayla said with a smile.

"It's making me feel giddy," Mesprit giggled.

Tender moment over, the dragon duo turned to the Digimon, who all looked up at them in turn. "So," Latias grinned. "I guess that we'll be seeing you guys around us for quite a while then, won't we?"

"Looks like it," Renamon nodded. "Uxie gave us the same speech. I wouldn't worry so much though. We've been on adventures before and while this may not be our world we certainly intend to go all-out on this one as we do with all the others."

"Yeah," Terriermon nodded. "And you know what – I think that we are going to get along with you guys quite easily. If only because of the weird opposite parallel that there seems to be between us at the moment."

Latias giggled. "I like you Terriermon. You've got my kind of attitude."

"I could say the same," Terriermon grinned.

"And you Lopmon," Latios voiced. "Can I count on your support in making sure that my sister and your brother stay out of trouble? I can barely keep Latias from doing silly things by herself but I think both would be too problematic."

"Well I can't stop Terriermon from doing what he wants when he sets his mind to it either," Lopmon chuckled. "But yes, definitely. You can count on me. Now, I'm about ready to go looking for those twenty-five Legendaries we've been hearing about."

"Yeah, me too," Latias nodded. "It's been too long since we've seen all of them anyway – I always said we should visit them."

"And nothing's going to stand in our way," Terriermon grinned savagely. "Bring it on, collapsing universes! You can try and commit suicide all you want but we won't let you."

"You said it," Latios agreed.

"Woo!" Azelf cried, double-backflipping and punching the air. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Check out the serious willpower peeling off you guys! Keep up that level of determination and you'll never go wrong."

"You got it, Azelf," Lopmon nodded.

"But still," Latios murmured. "Where do we start? And how long do we have?"

"Not long I'm afraid," Uxie sighed. "It's nearly impossible to predict how long you have left at this time, but I know that the maximum length of time we can guy you is three months."

"Three months!" Latios cried in alarm. "That's all?"

"Yes," nodded Uxie. "I shall use my knowledge to help extend the time period to as close as that as I can manage. Since you now know what you have to do and who you have to do it with, we will now be taking our leave. I am sure that you will get along splendidly with the Digimon, the Tamers and Aayla here and I bid you all the best of fortune in your task. Look after each other well, and trust me when I say that if you do find yourselves in trouble, the friends you have by your side are very powerful. Do your best. That is all we can ask for."

"And we can hope that the people in the other universe succeed in waking up their own God," Mesprit agreed.

"Speaking of other universes, our ride is here," Uxie looked upwards. Everyone else automatically did the same and saw nothing but clear, blue sky… for about three seconds. Then there was a flash as an enormous wormhole appeared in mid-air, hovering at a height nearly level with the summit of Mount Silver itself. The other side of it was black, but everyone could make out the glowing red eyes and black silhouette of the giant centipede-like dragon beyond.

"Is… is that Giratina?" Glaceon gasped.

"Oh wow. Now _that's_ a dragon that I'd like to test myself against," Garchomp chuckled.

"Goodbye to you all and thank you all for agreeing to help save our worlds," Uxie nodded. "May the Force be with you."

"May the what be with us?" Charizard blinked.

"And also with you, Uxie," Aayla called up, ignoring Charizard's confusion.

Uxie smiled and shot upwards towards the portal. Mesprit and Azelf turned to the rest of the group for a moment before the former said, "You may not see us when you're on your journey but I can assure you that we will be watching over you. Keep your spirits up as much as you can even when things bog you down. Positive emotions will get you through this." And then Mesprit waved a final goodbye and followed Uxie upwards, leaving Azelf on his own.

"Yeah, and one final thing from me," he nodded. "Make sure you show this world and anything that tries to mess with you the strength of your souls and your wills. You guys have some of the strongest willpower I have ever sensed before. Make sure you use it. All of you," he glanced significantly at the other Pokémon around the glade before he spiralled upwards as well.

"Bye guys!" Suzie cried. "See you soon."

"We promise we'll do our best not to let you down!" Henry called.

"Father has napped for long enough!" Latias grinned. "It's about time someone gave him a wake-up call anyway."

The three Lake Guardians flipped over once to wave as they all swept through the portal backwards. The black silhouette of Giratina whooshed out of sight as they approached and then the portal closed itself off. The four Legendary Pokémon that had brought the heroes to this world were now gone, their roles done for now.

It seemed that things were now totally up to them.

Latios sighed. "I wish Uxie had stayed a little longer," he murmured. "There were so many things that we could still have done with answers for. Like where all the other Legendary Pokémon actually are."

"What?" Rika yelped. "You mean you don't know?"

"Well, not really," Latias shrugged. "Some of them like to wander around as they please like we do and some of them have been hidden away for a large number of years. I mean I could probably guess where a few of them are but most of them never really stay in the same place."

"Well, that's just great," Rika rolled her eyes. "How are we supposed to find twenty-five specific Pokémon who could be just about anywhere in three months tops?"

"Don't think like that just yet, Rika," Aayla put a hand on her shoulder. "Azelf and Mesprit are right. We _will_ need to think positive and push through on willpower to get this done as quickly as possible and that's certainly what I intend to do."

"Does this mean that the adventure has started?" Mako asked.

"Indeed it does, Teradalet," nodded Impmon. "Indeed it does. And now there are two more members to our little posse," he grinned towards Latios and Latias. "What does that make us now? The Terrible Twelve? The Devious Dozen?"

"Terrible and devious might be right if we've got Terriermon and you in it," Henry chuckled. "And perhaps Latias too."

"Oh yeah," Latias nodded. "Got that right. Hey Absol, how are you feeling now?"

All attention was turned back to the felid Pokémon, who was now wobbling to his feet a little uncertainly, still shaking a little but visibly strengthening with each passing second until he stopped altogether.

"I'm feeling… a lot better," Absol murmured with wide eyes. "By Arceus, I feel… fantastic! Much better than I have done since all of this began!" He looked up with a grin of delight and a sparkle in his eyes which had been missing for months on end. "I mean… I can still sense the incoming disaster – it's still very much there. But now it's been forced to the bottom of my mind and… sat on, if you follow me. I can focus on other things again. Oh, I feel like I could go skipping!"

"Please do. It would be funny," Houndoom chuckled dryly.

"That's brilliant, Absol," Gardevoir smiled. "I guess it's because you now not only know what it is but also because you know that there is a way that it can be stopped. Your mind must have taken that information on board and lessened the sensation that its causing within you greatly."

"Yeah," Absol nodded, his face practically split in two by the enormous grin. "Thank you all so much for helping to get rid of that horrible sensation. Oh, sweet and merciful Cresselia, I can finally sleep in peace again."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that your better, Absol," Felkan smiled as he knelt down and laid a hand on his Pokémon's head to ruffle his white fur. "I was getting really worried about you."

"We all were," Milotic nodded from overhead.

"But the important thing is that you're better now," Lucario added. "Perhaps we can finally be a complete team again with you back on track, Absol."

"I certainly hope so," Absol nodded.

"Alright then, this meeting is officially over," Felkan added, looking up and glaring at the five Tamers briefly before he stood up again and nodded to Latios and Latias. "Well, you two… it looks like you've got drafted into going and saving the world. I guess I should wish you good luck, so I will. But make sure you keep an eye on your companions, alright? Uxie might think that they're needed to save this world as well but still… keep an eye on them all the same."

"Watch it, buster," Rika glared at him. "We're not the bad guys, alright."

Felkan snorted. "Yeah, sure. You say that now, but in the end you'll probably end up showing your true colours when things don't go the way you want them to. I've seen it all before. Anyway, why are you still here. Don't you have a world to save? Why don't you start doing your job and get moving while we try and find a new place to settle."

Renamon's hackles were raised at this near-adult's attitude, Impmon' hands were itching to form their fireballs and even Aayla had a frown on his face as he looked at Felkan with an expression of pity and concern more than anything else, as well as bemusement, as if she was trying to get a read on him but couldn't for some reason.

But some of the Pokémon were staring at Felkan slightly incredulously now as well.

"What?" Latias blinked, a slightly hurt look flashing across her face. "Felkan… aren't you… going to come with us?"

"Huh?" Felkan blinked. "Come… come with you? Of course not. You know I can't go back into the outside world where… my kind… live," he added with a growl. "And you know why. Sorry, but even this is not enough to make me go back there. Especially if I have to travel with _them_ to do it," he glared at the Tamers again.

"Okay, now you're beginning to annoy me, buddy," Impmon's fists clenched as he stepped in front of Ai and Mako. "What the hell is your problem anyway? What's with all the eyeballing of our Tamers whenever you look their way and the bad attitude? You're worse that I was when I didn't like humans."

"Maybe you should have stayed not liking humans then," Felkan snorted.

"Right now there's one human that I can definitely tell you I don't like," Impmon glared back.

"Well that's fine with me because I wasn't looking for your approval," Felkan replied immediately.

"Stop! Please just stop this," Gardevoir said as she stepped in front of Felkan and placed a hand on his chest. "This is an unnecessary argument. You Digimon and your friends should not make snap judgements about our trainer and Felkan… I think you're being a bit harsh. They're not from around here. They don't know or understand."

Impmon still continued to glare at Felkan but he lowered his fists and subsided with a mutter while Felkan just looked away again. Milotic unravelled her body behind them and rose into the air, lifting her face upwards and calling out with a low, keening note as her body began to generate a light blue aura that washed over the group. Instantly everybody felt their tensions lessening slightly as their muscles relaxed and their moods improved mere seconds after the confrontation had ended.

"Thank you Milotic," nodded Gardevoir when the Water-type stopped her slow song. "I think that was very much needed."

"You're welcome," Milotic smiled. "It's what I do."

"Back to the matter at hand," Latias said as she hovered closer to Felkan. "Are you really not going to come along, Felkan? I'm sure that we could really use your help you know – you and the rest of the team. This is the end of the world we're talking about here and … well, I think that we could use all the help we can get."

"I understand that Latias, and I'm sorry," Felkan sighed. "Really I am. But you know just as much as we do why we can't go. That would mean going back to where the other humans are and you know that we cannot risk exposing ourselves like that. Not after what happened. If this was a little closer to home then I would help you in an instant… but we're talking about travelling all over the world here. We can't do it. We can't get involved near where the other humans are."

"But why not?" Latias begged. "All your Pokémon are really strong now after five years of constant training."

"Latias is right," Latios nodded. "I may not be able to predict the future but I would feel a lot more secure if you came with us Felkan. To help protect us and help us fulfil this goal that Uxie's put before us."

"I already said I was sorry but we just can't. I will not associate my team with other humans again," Felkan said, a flash of stubborn determination flitting across his face.

Aayla's expression of pity was growing with every word he spoke and now the rest of her group didn't know whether to be angry or just confused, so they kept alternating between the two. They got the feeling that this Felkan was… not really a bad guy, as he did seem genuinely sorry, but refusing to help even when two worlds was at stake was just… wrong in _all_ their views.

"Master," Lucario suddenly said, crouching on one knee and bowing his head. "I am sorry… but I have to say it up front. I disagree with your decision on this one."

"What?" Felkan blinked, staring at his Pokémon incredulously. "You… disagree?"

"Yes," Lucario nodded, looking up with his fierce red eyes and locking them onto his trainers. "I know that we have all suffered at the hands of other humans during our time – some more than others," he added with a glance at Luxray and Absol. "But nevertheless I feel that this is too big of a situation to ignore. We are among the first in this entire universe to learn of this threat to the world and what it entails and… I feel that it is our duty to take action. We must help."

"Lucario, are you listening to yourself?" Felkan cried. "Don't you remember what happened five years ago?"

"I have a near eidetic memory," Lucario responded. "I remember everything quite clearly. Nevertheless, as a Guardian of the Aura, I cannot willingly sit by and watch as the world draws to an end and do nothing myself."

Felkan looked stunned as he stared at Lucario, looking like he was searching for the right words to express himself here, but before he could he was interrupted by another voice. Garchomp.

"I agree with Lucario," he nodded. "This is just too much. We've been sitting here for five whole years and hiding in fear for other humans but now the world needs help and I say that we should do what we can to give it to it. We've trained our tails off during all that time – I think we can handle quite a bit by this stage. Including other humans if it comes to it."

Before Felkan could respond, other Pokémon began chipping in.

"Besides, this is Latios and Latias that we're talking about here," Glaceon put in. "Are we really just going to go and hide while _they_ might be risking their lives. They're our friends, aren't they? We can't leave them."

"Can you imagine how much we could help if the twelve of us did join?" Sceptile added. "If this doesn't work then we're all going to be killed as well. Hiding won't save us from that, will it? I think that we should do our damnedest to keep that from happening."

"Felkan, you know I love you with my very soul," Gardevoir sighed. "But… the fact remains that you have been living in exile for too long. You're allowed your mistrust of humans to fester for all that time and… well, I believe that its clouding your judgement. If you were thinking about this straight you would see that… well, you're being quite selfish."

"Not you too, Gardevoir," Felkan choked. "I… I thought you said that you would always stand by my side."

"And I will," Gardevoir nodded. "No matter what your decision may be. I just feel that you are making the wrong decision here."

"No! We can't go with them! I won't allow it!" Felkan protested loudly. "Absol, tell them!"

Absol hesitated. "I… I don't want to work with humans either Felkan but… I don't know… what I've been feeling for so long now… I don't… think I'll be able to ignore it either. I… I don't know what we should do but… maybe we _should_ go and help."

There was a wild look in Felkan's eyes now, as if everyone who had spoken was betraying him. He glanced at Houndoom, Luxray, Charizard… all of the other team. But all of them were looking indecisive now – every single one of them.

"No!" Felkan suddenly roared. "We are not going and that is final! Everyone make sure that they're ready to leave and find a new place to settle as soon as these guys are out of here. Swellow, get some rest – you'll be taking point." And with that, he turned and stormed off through the trees, until he was lost from sight within a few moments.

The Pokémon all looked at one another for a moment before Gardevoir, her eyes wet with unshed tears, sighed and said, "I'll go after him. The rest of you stay here until I'm done. I have a feeling I know what might get through to him." And she stepped after him on her dainty legs and disappeared through the trees as well.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Digimon and Pokémon regarded each other for a moment. Then Terriermon cleared his throat and said, "Oookay. I'm aware that this is a sensitive issue but… what _is_ his problem? Why doesn't he like humans?"

"It _is_ a sensitive issue," Luxray growled slightly. "And he has his reasons. Many of them actually."

"I sense a great amount of sorrow in him," Aayla murmured, her voice making her sound like she was filled with sorrow herself. "I sense his mind is riddled with scars… old scars… scars that run deep. And you keep talking about things that have happened in the past. Gardevoir is right. He's been carrying the burden of his sorrows for too long."

"He has not set eyes on humans before you for over five years," Scyther stated. "We've been keeping them away from him as per his instructions."

"But why?" Lopmon asked. "What could cause a person to feel like this against their own race. I mean, I've seen other Digimon trying to destroy all of existence but I've never given up faith in them."

Absol sighed and sat down on his haunches, staring at the floor with a haunted look in his eyes. "It's my fault," he murmured. "Everything that's happened to all of our team and to Felkan happened because of me."

"Oh, for the last time, Absol," Swellow squawked. "It wasn't _your_ fault. _You_ can't be blamed for the humans taking everything the wrong way."

"If I had not joined this team then who knows where Felkan would be now!" Absol snapped angrily. "He could have even been the Champion of a region by this point. But he's not… he's here living in exile at Mount Silver and it's all because he took me in."

"I'm just getting more and more confused," Suzie murmured. "What happened? Why is he like this?"

The Pokémon glanced at one another again before Milotic coiled herself up and said, "You ready for a long story? Because you just asked for one."

* * *

And there we go. With the initial introductions out the way, there is only one more hurdle to cross before the quest can really get underway and that is the stubborn trainer. I hope that you liked the interactions between all of the different characters throughout this chapter, as it really highlighted for me just how many of them there are. I have attempted to give each of them a decent role to play in the upcoming story and I hope that I manage to pull it off. But now, it looks like we've got a mystery to solve here, Scoob. You've been given a few clues. Soon we must find out the answers.

* * *

Next time…

As Gardevoir attempts to sway Felkan to coming along and allowing the Pokémon to all go on this quest, his other eleven Pokémon answer the questions of their newest companions as to why Felkan has become so reserved and distrusts humans so much. Can Gardevoir help him to see that he is being selfish or will he remain obstinate?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 9 : Felkan's Origins**


	9. Felkan's Origins

So sorry for the extreme delay to this chapter everybody, but I'm afraid I am the bearer of grim news. I have gone home for the summer. For those of you who don't know why this is a problem –members of my family do not know I write this story and I would no doubt get into serious trouble if they did. Which means I have to be more selective and careful with my writing which means that these chapters will be written slower, which means, I am afraid, that there will be much less frequent updates. However, I believe that I will still be able to do a fair bit over the summer and I fully intend to do so. And so, here I present you with the next chapter, which will hopefully answer many of the questions that the last chapter gave to you.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 9:- Felkan's Origins**

* * *

Gardevoir moved swiftly and silently through the trees, her long and incredibly thin legs not actually needing to move considering the ends of her 'feet,' if you could call them that, were not actually touching the ground but stopping an inch or so before hitting the grass, meaning that she was actually hovering through the forest instead of walking. Though you would have to look close to notice it. Nevertheless, her legs moved in a striding motion because, to be frank, it gave her more of a sense of purpose than just floating.

She knew where she would find Felkan and not just because she could sense his presence, being a Psychic-type and all. When Felkan was upset he usually went to the same place – the cave where they took shelter during the times of harsher weather, which was quite frequent close to Mount Silver. She saw the rise that extended out of the ground through the trees and then the cavernous mouth of the cave itself, like the throat of some enormous creature in the side of the rock wall.

Felkan was sitting on a boulder in the entrance, staring at his own feet with a rather sullen expression on his face. Gardevoir knew that he felt slightly betrayed by his own team, even though they had no intention of betraying him for any reason. His deep-seated mistrust of other humans was blinding him to the realisation he needed to come to.

And Gardevoir knew all about why Felkan was acting this way. She had been with him longer than anybody else and it pained her to see him like this. But she knew that she couldn't blame him. Not really.

"Felkan," she said, marvelling in the fact that she could now talk to him with her mouth as well as her mind. "Are you alright?"

"We're not going with them, Gardevoir," Felkan replied immediately, but without any real conviction in his tone of voice. "We just can't."

"Felkan, nobody understands more than I do as to why you are reluctant to do this," Gardevoir assured him, sitting down next to him and gently taking his arm in her hands. "But don't you think, even a little, that you're being a bit quick to make your decision?"

"They're humans," Felkan growled slightly. "That's all there is to it. Where other humans get involved, things will just get messy for me. They always have. If we got involved with them then you mark my words – it would end up the same way."

"We're already involved with them, Felkan," Gardevoir sighed. "Uxie said that Latios and Latias have to work alongside them to save the world. And those two are among our dearest… and only… friends."

"Perhaps. But we don't need to get involved with them any longer and we won't. Let them go and save the world – I'm not stupid enough to try and stop them from doing something like that if the Pokémon of Knowledge told them to. But he never said that _we_ were necessary to join them, so we're not. Therefore we don't need to play any further part in this quest."

"I think we do, Felkan," Gardevoir murmured. "I think that this time you are making a mistake."

"And what makes you think that?" Felkan looked up at her at last with a frown. "You know that I'm just trying to act in your best interest and the interests of the others. A return to society will spell trouble for them all."

"We all know that," Gardevoir nodded. "But you're forgetting something. Uxie gave you the ability to understand our voices. As far as I am aware, you are the _only_ person to hail from this universe that he has given that ability to. The only others are those humans back there from the other universe and their own companions. Do you really think that Uxie would grant you the ability to talk to us just randomly, or for one small conversation when he knew full well that I could communicate to you myself and tell you what was going on?"

Felkan frowned further. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I think we, including you, have some part to play in all of this," Gardevoir gestured. "This quest that Latios and Latias have to go on. Uxie did not say it outright, but he would not have granted you this ability unless he expected you to do more than join in the conversation about the colliding universes. Of that, I am sure."

Felkan looked uncertain. It was true that a gift such as this was a big honour, especially when bestowed by a Legendary like Uxie. Could Gardevoir be right?

"But putting Uxie aside," Gardevoir went on. "This is not like you. Not like the Felkan that you used to be."

"The Felkan I used to be is dead," Felkan muttered bitterly.

"I do not believe his is," Gardevoir shook her head. "Changed perhaps… but he is still there. If he weren't then you would not have cared so much for us all these five years and your reasons for not going with the others would be purely selfish rather than trying to look after us too. And let me ask you this – would the Felkan you used to be, and still are, really walk out on two Pokémon friends like Latios and Latias who are sure to need all the help they can get on a quest like this?"

Felkan hesitated again. It was true that Latios and Latias were as dear to him as any of his own Pokémon. They had been his only friends outside his team of twelve for five years and that had created a bond just as strong as if they _had_ been under his ownership. In fact, Latias had once joked that they might as well have been on more than one occasion.

Gardevoir did have a point now that he thought about it. Could he really just… _let them_ go off into potential danger without trying to help? That was the last thing he wanted to do, but his sheer reluctance to get out of the company of the five Tamers had made him not think of that.

He felt one of Gardevoir's hands move away from his arm and looked across to see her placing it on her own flat chest.

"After all," Gardevoir murmured softly. "You didn't walk out on _me_ when _I_ was in danger, did you? I know you remember the time we first met. You saved my life and you nearly got yourself killed in the process. And that was when you were only _six, _younger even than those two small children back there with their Digimon friends."

Felkan saw her take her hand away, to reveal the thin red line down the middle of her chest that was all that remained of the horn that Gardevoir were supposed to have – a constant reminder of that day that the two of them had first met.

Gardevoir continued. "Long years have passed since then – you're now almost twenty. But that compassionate side of you is still there now. You're just locking it up because of your stubbornness against working with other humans. Remember what you did when we first met and allow that compassionate side of you out to think about _this_ situation as well."

Felkan bit his lip. Despite the fact that over thirteen years had passed, he could still remember the day he met Gardevoir quite vividly. After all, it was kinda difficult not to considering what had happened.

* * *

Felkan had never fit in with other humans even as a child. When he was younger, he had always been slightly… eccentric was a good way of putting it. He was very energetic and he liked to mess around as much as possible, which could be said for most young children at his age at the time, but it was more the _way_ that Felkan acted that estranged him from the other kids. He acted bolder and more bizarrely than the other children, but this was probably due to some psychological need for attention.

He had grown up in Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region. His father had died when he was very young – too young to remember anything about him. Apparently his death had been due to some sort of illness, though his mother had always been rather vague on the details, largely because she was almost never there. She worked hard travelling around various parts of Hoenn and she quickly decided that she did not want Felkan tagging along with her and making things more difficult, so she left him behind with a neighbour as she travelled and returned once every two months at least to stay for a couple of days before heading out again.

Not that she hadn't loved him. She had loved him very much as any mother should, but she was so driven by her career that she just didn't really have any time for him and that meant she was never around. And as to the neighbour he was left with – _he_ didn't like Felkan that much. Or if he did, he didn't show it. He had never really shown much of anything, to be honest. Felkan had been largely ignored by his caretaker and mostly left to his own devices.

In hindsight, this lack of interest and absence of the people who were supposed to be looking after him might have been what caused Felkan's eccentricity. He tended to go way over the top on certain things and do ridiculous and exuberant things just to get people to look at him so he could gain some form of attention. All children need attention – it validates that people acknowledge them at all within their minds.

But it did not have quite the effect that Felkan's subconscious mind was craving. He _got_ the attention he was looking for but it just seemed to push him away from the other kids. According to them he was 'weird,' 'mental,' 'strange' and occasionally 'creepy.' Name-calling was one of the things that Felkan experienced the most from kids his own age and it hurt his feelings and made him seek a little more solitude. Nevertheless he had always craved to have at least one person who he could call a friend in his life and for that reason he would keep on trying to talk to the other kids.

But even when he realised what his problem was and toned the eccentricity down, they always seemed to look on what he had done in the past rather than what he was doing now, so he was still the 'weirdo' even when he had been trying for a decent conversation.

Felkan was miserable. And his caretaker hadn't really cared that much and he never had the heart to tell his mother and spoil her infrequent visits, which were the only real highlights of his life at that point so he never told her the problem either. And while a couple of the teachers of the primary schools did try and help it only seemed to result in more names like 'snitch' and 'grass.'

And so, Felkan had been left alone. Nobody wanted to talk to him or play with him. Nobody seemed to care about his feelings and the one person who really did was almost never there.

And then… everything changed one day at age six.

* * *

It was a day when he was supposed to be in school, but he had skipped out on the lessons and slipped into the woods for a walk. He had no desire to be subject to the jeers of the other children today so he just went for a meander around the forest near Littleroot, not really paying attention to where he was going and just trying to pass the time until he could go home and his caretaker would not guess that he had been skiving.

But then, roughly around mid-day, he had heard cries of terror coming from up ahead and his head immediately shot upwards. Before he knew what he was doing, he was running towards the noise. His brain had been telling him to run the other way, but it was almost as if he could _feel_ the distress of whatever was making the noise just as much as he could hear it. It was like a tingling presence filled with fear in his mind, which motored him forwards.

And that was when he met Gardevoir. She had been a Ralts back then – shorter even than Felkan at age six and with green hair so long that it covered her entire upper-face, including her eyes, and a pair of red semi-circular horns on her head, on sticking out the front and the other the back. Felkan had rounded a corner to find himself next to a river with a raised bank on the other side. Ralts was running straight towards him and, right on her heels was a slavering and furious-looking Mightyena, its jaws getting closer to Ralts with each passing second.

Felkan had no idea why the Mightyena was attacking the Ralts but he could fear Ralts' fear as if it were his own. Still, he remained frozen to the spot at the terrible sight, right up until the point when the Mightyena's vicious teeth seized Ralts by the horn on the back of her head.

Ralts let out a squeal which rent the forest. Being such a young Psychic-type whose only offensive attack was Confusion and who had yet to learn how to Teleport, she had absolutely no defence against a Dark-type like Mightyena. Her scream had cut right through Felkan's heart and, as the Mightyena swung Ralts in the air, he went into motion, picking up a nearby rock and throwing it.

The rock caught the Mightyena squarely in the eye, eliciting a yelp and a furious snarl from it as its maddened eyes locked onto Felkan, the relatively limp Ralts still hanging from its jaws. Felkan had picked up a small branch and was running at Mightyena with it, not knowing exactly what he was going to do but desperate to help anyway. With a vicious swing, Mightyena had hurled Ralts to one side so he could focus all of his efforts on this attacker.

Ralts had been flung across the river, the horn on the back of her head half torn off, and she had collided with the raised bank with incredible force, head-first. This caused the _front_ horn on her head to snap off completely with the sheer force and angle of impact against the bank and go spinning away and Ralts had been overcome with such pain that she fell unconscious, dropping into the river and immediately sinking.

Felkan had quickly altered his course right as the Mightyena leapt for him and jumped into the river as its jaws closed right behind where his feet had been. Felkan had very little experience with swimming and he had tumbled in the current and immediately been dragged away, but in the confusion he had still managed to spot the unconscious Ralts and had made for her as quickly as he could. He had managed to grab her and… eventually pull both of them back up to the surface of the river.

The current was fast and both Felkan and the Pokémon in his arms kept getting dunked back underneath, but at least the Mightyena had lost track of them. Felkan had seen it trying to pursue the pair of them down the river a couple of times when he was above the surface but eventually it had given up or they had been whisked too far down the river for it to catch up.

Felkan had no idea how long they had been taken down the river. All he had been able to make of the swirling journey was the tumbling over and over as he held onto Ralts for both his dear life and hers, trying to breath whenever he could. There had been another point where the both of them had collided rather viciously with a rock and Ralts' already split back horn had been further splintered until it too had come off. And then, after much spinning and gasping for breath, Felkan's own head had been cracked against and rock and he knew no more.

* * *

Felkan didn't know how much time had elapsed before he woke up, but when he did it was to find that he was now lying sprawled on the river bank. Ralts was now awake and was lying next to him and shivering, drenched to the skin and freezing cold as Felkan was. It was not until later that Felkan learned what had happened. Ralts had finally woken up about half a minute after Felkan had been knocked out and had been able to use her limited psychic powers to guide them both to a rock and then call out for help as she clung on and held Felkan close to her to prevent him from being washed away.

Eventually, something had answered, and a Corphish had appeared. The small lobster Pokémon had been able to carry the two back to the bank and they had both lain there for some time before Felkan regained consciousness.

The moment he was awake and had remembered what had happened and had managed to focus through the pounding of his head, he had looked up at the now hornless Ralts and immediately asked, "Are you alright?"

Ralts had stared at him for a moment before she flung herself into his arms and started sobbing against his chest, letting all the fear of the attack and nearly drowning, as well as the fact that she could no longer sense the emotions of others around her clearly as she had been able to do when she had her horns, all come gushing out in a wave of tears as she held Felkan close.

Felkan had never felt more awkward in his life at that point and he had been slow to respond, and the two of them had lain there together for some time shivering and with Ralts sobbing quietly and with both of them shivering due to the chill from coming out of the water.

Eventually though, Felkan had had to get up and excuse himself. He told Ralts that he was glad that she was okay even though her two horns had not survived the attack and subsequent trip down the river. But since she was a Pokémon he assumed that she would want to go back into the wild now and he still had to get back.

He was therefore quite surprised when Ralts followed him through the trees. It seemed that the Mightyena attack and the near-death experience had had quite an effect on her. She was even younger than Felkan – only a year or so of age by that point and she was terrified. She didn't want to be alone. And the loss of her horns was also having an effect on her – the horns acted as emotion sensors so if she still had them she would have been able to detect the anger of the Mightyena from considerably further away and have a better chance of getting away.

Now, she could no longer do that. She had been taken by surprise the first time as she had been asleep when the Mightyena drew closer. But now she was scared that she would not be so lucky come round two and she wanted to stick close to her saviour. So, she followed Felkan all the way home.

Felkan had been unsure what to do with Ralts when she followed him right up to the doorstep of his caretaker's house. She was a wild Pokémon and he was certainly not a trainer. He'd have to wait at least another four years before he could get a license to be one. But, though he couldn't see her eyes thanks to her green hair he could tell that she was petrified and he didn't like the thought of leaving her to fend for herself when she so desperately wanted help.

So, he let her into the house, took her upstairs and helped to dry her off properly with a towel. Everything had been alien to Ralts and she had jumped at the slightest new thing, but she had felt considerably safer here with Felkan than she had out in the woods.

When Felkan's caretaker had come home he had objected at the presence of Ralts and tried to get her to leave but Ralts quite clearly did not want to go and Felkan had had one of the longest conversations with his caretaker ever to try and convince him to let Ralts stay – he didn't want to just turn her away now. He said they should at least wait for her to stop feeling scared before they made her go.

Eventually his caretaker had relented and Ralts had spent the night wrapped in a blanket at the foot of Felkan's bed.

They later found out from the news channel that the Mightyena that had been chasing Ralts had been rampaging around recently because someone had actually shot it in the leg and it was attacking everything in a blind rage in case they had something to do with it. It had been tranqed and the bullet removed… but Ralts still didn't leave.

And things had changed from there. At first Felkan considered Ralts to be more like a temporary pet than anything else but as more and more time passed and Ralts regained her confidence he began to notice the more human-like traits in her and started thinking of her as an equal rather than an animal. But unlike the other humans, Ralts did not spurn him. She did not think weird or strange and she liked nothing better than to spend time with him.

* * *

A year passed and Ralts still had not left to go back into the wild. By that time, the two of them were inseparable. And what was better, Felkan had finally found the one thing that he had been craving most of all – a friend. A real friend. Ralts was everything that he had been wishing for – she played games with him, she laughed with him rather than at him, she tried to comfort him when he was upset and he did the same to her.

This was what a true friendship should have been like.

But despite his friendship with Ralts, Felkan had still been hoping for some friendship from the other human children. He had hoped that now he had a Pokémon with him they might think he was quite cool and want to hang around with him. By this point it seemed like the other children's opinions of him were not going to change. The boys said that Ralts was a girly Pokémon and boys should have something cool like a Bagon or a Zangoose. The girls said that Ralts was disfigured due to her lack of horns and that meant she wasn't a worthwhile Pokémon to bother with.

Both Felkan and Ralts had been upset by these cutting remarks. Felkan had tried to point out that male Ralts had the potential to become Gallades, which were extremely badass Pokémon and that Ralts' lack of horns was not her fault, but the other children seemed determined to alienate him no matter what.

In the end, Felkan had stopped bothering. He had Ralts as a friend, and one friend was all he needed. As he grew older, Ralts stayed with him, and the bond between the two of them seemed to grow stronger every day. About two years after they first met and Ralts was able to talk to Felkan freely with her mind, having grown close enough to bond her mind with his from anywhere. The two of them stayed away from the other humans for the most part and just had fun together like any other two children should have done.

Ralts sometimes took him back into the forest and introduced him to some of the other Pokémon that were living around the area like the Lotads and the Seedots and the large local flock of Taillow. Felkan grew up with Pokémon around him far more than other people and Ralts grew up beside him. Though they were not technically trainer and Pokémon they might as well have been for they were forming a bond closer than anything Felkan had ever dreamed possible.

Who could say what it was that forged the bond between them so early in life and so strongly. There were many factors besides the fact that both had saved the life of the other on the day they had met. Ralts' lack of horns meant that she did not feel the emotions of everybody around her nearly as easily, meaning that her focus became far more on Felkan than a Ralts with horns could have done and Felkan had found everything he wanted with Ralts as his constant companion.

By age nine and Ralts was sleeping next to Felkan in the bed – neither of them in the least bit embarrassed by this, for there was no reason to be. The two of them were the best of friends – they trusted one another completely. They loved each other, just as much as any trainer and his Pokémon did even by that stage.

A few weeks after Felkan's ninth birthday and Ralts finally evolved into Kirlia. Both of them had been silently hoping that when Ralts evolved that her horns would grow back and they tried not to feel too disappointed when they did not. It seemed that Ralts, or rather Kirlia, was destined to remain without them. But Kirlia soon got over it. Felkan assured her that it didn't matter whether she had horns or not – she would always be the same Pokémon to him, his best friend and eternal comrade. And Kirlia had known, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was not lying.

And so, four years passed and the two of them grew so close that they couldn't stand being away from the other for more than half a day. Sometimes it felt like they were the only ones that each other had in the world since Kirlia had been separated from her own family at a young age and Felkan's caretaker paid no more attention to Kirlia than he did to Felkan himself and Felkan's mother's visits were becoming more and more sparse.

It felt like it was just the two of them against the world. And, in a sense, that was exactly what they were.

But that was all about to change very soon, for eventually the time came and Felkan had his tenth birthday. Finally, he would be allowed to set out into the world and become a Pokémon trainer. Ever since Kirlia had come into his life, Felkan had been eagerly awaiting this day. It seemed that he got on with Pokémon better than people anyway so it seemed like one of the only plausible futures for him anyway.

Plus, he also wanted to show the world what he had. He wanted people to see that he was not some whiny weirdo loser and that Kirlia was not just a 'girly' Pokémon.

* * *

"And we did, didn't we?" Gardevoir chuckled – she had been following Felkan's thought processes with her mind. "We went out and showed the world what we were capable of together. But my point still stands. You were just a six year old. You knew that you stood no chance against a Mightyena but you charged in to save me, a completely strange Pokémon at that point, and you saved my life."

"Yeah, I remember," Felkan smiled weakly. "And I don't regret it for an instant. I can't imagine growing up without you by my side, Gardevoir."

"Nor I you," Gardevoir smiled. "But don't you see my point. Have you really changed so much and become so bitter against the humans that you have gone from trying to rescue a Pokémon you didn't know to refusing to help two of your closest friends on a dangerous mission that they _have_ to do if the world is going to survive?"

Felkan could feel himself trying to say something but he couldn't do it. He had no idea what he was about to say next, but Gardevoir did have a valid point. He was being incredibly selfish and he knew it. Was he really so far gone that Latios and Latias were going to have to go without him?

He didn't want to be like that. He wasn't a bad guy. He loved the two of them just as much as his own team and he didn't want to think about either of them getting hurt any more than them.

But it was not just his childhood that had estranged him from other humans. The things that happened next played an even bigger role.

* * *

Nearby, the rest of his Pokémon had just finished explaining to the newcomers about how Felkan had met Gardevoir as well and how before her he had grown up without any companions. Ai and Mako were feeling quite traumatised as a result. They might have argued a lot once but they had always had one another when growing up. The thought of someone having no one at all… it just chilled them to the bone.

"Gee," Rika murmured. "I guess I can relate to the guy in a way after all then. I didn't really have any friends either until Renamon came along, and even then I just thought of her as a tool to get stronger until Henry and the others opened my eyes."

"Maybe we did judge the guy a little too harshly," Henry agreed. "It can't have been easy for him to be mocked by other children constantly, especially when it came to Ralts and the one good thing in his life at that point."

"It's really sad," Suzie nodded.

"Yes, but I sense that the story doesn't end there," Aayla added. "There's more to his reluctance to go out there than simply childhood isolation isn't there?"

"Unfortunately yes," sighed Milotic. "Let us continue and tell us. You see, when a human child sets out on their quest to become a Pokémon trainer, they are allowed to select one of three Pokémon depending on which region they live in to use as their official starter, who they can take with them and help to protect them on their journey and build up their team."

"But didn't he already have Kirlia with him?" Terriermon frowned. "Didn't she count as his starter?"

"Not officially," Sceptile shook his head. "The rules of the league state that nobody can call themselves a trainer until they receive their official starter. That meant Kirlia was his companion but not _his_ Pokémon. So, Felkan went down to the nearest Pokémon lab and he got to pick between a Treecko, a Torchic and a Mudkip." He chuckled and added, "He picked the Treecko. And here I am now, still with him after nine years."

"So that made you his official first Pokémon?" Lopmon asked.

"Yes," nodded Sceptile. "I owe Felkan a lot. A lot of potential trainers had come in to pick while I had been an option. But as a Treecko, I had always been rather small and… well, a little on the runty side so time and again I had been passed up by other trainers in favour of the stronger looking Torchics and Mudkips that were on offer. When Felkan saw me… I guess he must have identified with me because I was growing more and more lonely and sad. I was beginning to think that nobody would pick me, but Felkan picked me the moment he learned of what was going on."

"That's very decent of him," Renamon observed.

"Yes, it was," nodded Sceptile. "Of course, about five seconds after he received his first empty Pokéball he presented it to Kirlia and she allowed herself to be absorbed into it so that she too could become an official Pokémon but I didn't care. It gave me two friends instantly and I could not have been more grateful."

"Pokéball?" Impmon frowned. "What's that?"

Lucario spoke up and explained with. "It's a small spherical device used by Pokémon trainers to contain their own Pokémon. Pokémon can be converted into an energy form and stored inside it until the trainer calls them out for whatever reason. The exact science behind it is confusing but trainers can use them to catch wild Pokémon and add them to their team."

"Excuse me? Catch?" Aayla asked immediately. "As in against their will?"

"Often," nodded Lucario. "But the Pokémon do usually come around, realise they've been caught and do their best to help their new trainer with whatever they want them to do."

Aayla frowned and her face took on a slightly dark look. Several of the others blinked when they saw her relatively stony expression and Suzie quickly murmured, "Aayla, what's wrong?"

Aayla didn't reply for several moments, but eventually said, "Nothing. It… It's not a big deal at the moment. Let's continue with the story for the moment shall we?"

The Digimon all looked at one another. They had a feeling they knew what was troubling Aayla as she was no stranger to the concept of being taken against your will and made to serve someone else. But she was right in that they had different things to worry about at the moment, so they turned to Sceptile as he continued with the story.

"With me and Kirlia in tow, Felkan set out on his adventure to try and become an elite Pokémon trainer just as everybody else who sets out on that journey does."

"So he went alone?" Suzie asked. "No parent or anything."

"No," Sceptile shook his head. "It's customary for a trainer to learn how to look after himself with the aid of only his team. Regardless, we went around and trained to get stronger just as everybody else did. Apparently Felkan had been anticipating becoming a trainer with extra enthusiasm since Kirlia was hanging around so the both of them had gone to the library several times to read up on strategies, training tips, type advantages and stuff like that, so Felkan was pretty well prepared already." He chuckled and added, "But it seemed that Kirlia was better at remembering the things they read than he was.

"Anyway, we sought to defeat the eight strong Pokémon trainers known as Gym Leaders that would enable us to take part in the League at the end of the year. League rules state that a trainer can have six Pokémon on hand with them at a time and so with two already on him our team began to grow."

"I was the next to be found," Swellow nodded. "I was a Taillow at the time and I had strayed away from my flock and ended up being mobbed by a group of angry Wingull who were trying to protect their eggs from all outsiders. My wing was broken in the attack and I was left lying in the sand of the beach. A lot of trainers saw me lying there but several of them just walked on by. Felkan didn't. He saw me and caught me immediately so he could take me back to a Pokémon Centre to be healed. He delayed his journey for a week so that my wing could set and I was more than happy to join forces with such a kind human after that."

"I was Felkan's fourth team member," Scyther continued. "I had been causing a few problems for the locals of Mauville City because I had established my territory along the city's borders and I considered most any human who entered to be a threat. Apparently there were talks about darting me and forcibly moving me but Felkan took it upon himself to come and find me. By that point, Sceptile had reached his second stage of evolution called Grovyle and they both tried bargaining with me. But all I could think of was challenging a worthy looking opponent so I attacked. Grovyle fought me blade to blade until we both came to a stand-still and we were both too tired to go another swing. After that, I volunteered to join Felkan's team myself. He had trained Grovyle well, and if I had to be part of a team then I wanted to be a part of that one."

"I was next," Milotic crooned. "There was a day when they were camped out near Mount Chimney and they saw me swimming along in the river. I was a drab little Feebas at the time, and I was upset because I had just been abandoned by my former trainer – a spoilt little girl who had caught me simply to try and get me to evolve into a beautiful Milotic so I could help her win Pokémon contests. But I never connected with her and no matter how much she tried to make me more beautiful I never did manage to evolve for her and she angrily released me. When I told Felkan this he felt sorry for me and offered me a place on his own team. He said he didn't care if I evolved or not but he understood abandonment and wanted to help." Milotic chuckled. "I was so happy and… well, I evolved on the spot. I guess I needed to feel just as beautiful on the inside as on the out and Felkan made me feel that. The look on his face was priceless."

"That it was," Sceptile snorted.

"That gave him five Pokémon," Swellow added. "According to the league rules he was allowed to have one more on hand. And he sure as heck found one, right Absol?"

"Yeah," Absol nodded with a sigh. "I was the sixth Pokémon that Felkan caught in Hoenn."

"You don't sound too happy about that," Renamon observed. "Don't you like being his Pokémon?"

"No! I mean, yes! Yes, I… I truly do like being Felkan's Pokémon and I owe everything to him. But… well… I can't help but feel that Felkan would have been better off without me in his life."

"Why?" Lopmon frowned.

Absol sighed and said nothing for several moments. But then, eventually he carried on with, "When Felkan first found me, I was under attack. By other humans."

"What?" Suzie, Henry and Rika all gasped.

"Yeah," nodded Absol. "If a human wants to catch a Pokémon in the wild he will often have to battle it first but this was different. There were three of them and they were attacking me with branches and chasing after me and beating me over the head and the legs with them. It hurt so much and I couldn't run properly due to a leg injury or I would have been able to get away from them. They were intending to kill me."

"Why?" Suzie breathed. "Why would they do that? What did you do to make them angry?"

"Nothing," Absol growled bitterly. "I was just there."

"Huh?" Suzie blinked.

"Allow me to explain," Lucario spoke up. "As you are now aware, Absol have the ability to predict incoming disasters. Absol have always been relatively solitary creatures by nature, but in ancient times, when they sensed something big, they would run to the nearest human civilisation and try to warn them of the incoming threat. But most Pokémon cannot speak to humans and because of this, most humans started to believe that the Absol were _causing_ the disasters in the first place."

"Oh, that's horrible," Henry gasped.

"Yeah, it is," nodded Absol darkly. "And that belief that we're causing the problems extends through today. Absol were driven away from human settlements on sight and even many Pokémon started to believe that we were responsible for the problems that plagued the areas we showed up in. We became more and more secluded as a species until we were hardly ever seen. But on this day I had stumbled on a thin road halfway up a mountain and fallen a considerable way, injuring my leg in the process… and against my better judgement I went looking for someone to help. But when those three youths spotted me, they immediately went for me. And I have no doubt that if Felkan had not shown up and intervened, they _would_ have killed me. All because of a complete misunderstanding like that."

"Then why did Felkan save you?" Rika asked. "Wouldn't he think the same thing about your species?"

"Felkan didn't care," Absol smiled. "All he saw was a Pokémon being abused and he came to my resuce. Grovyle, Swellow and Scyther drove the youths away and Felkan and Kirlia helped me and took me in. If they hadn't taken care of me I probably wouldn't have made it. And I wanted to show him my gratitude so I allowed him to capture me and I became the sixth member of the Hoenn team." He sighed. "Now I'm not sure that was such a good decision."

"It caused uproar," Sceptile grunted. "As soon as people found out that Felkan had caught an Absol it was all over the Pokémon World news. People started to alienate us more than ever and stay away from us, treating each of us with suspicion and even hatred like never before, all because of their human prejudices. They never really trusted us again and everyone gave Felkan a wide berth when they saw him. It was as if they were convinced that Absol had tricked us all into caring for it and that we were planning to unleash some sort of evil on any city we visited."

"It's all my fault," Absol sighed.

"No it is not!" Milotic glowered at him. "It's the fault of the humans that their stupid prejudices and beliefs. You see, to our knowledge, no human had ever caught an Absol before that day and that was probably because they drove them away or killed them on sight. But Felkan did not do that and we were all treated harshly because of it."

"That's… really awful," Aayla murmured. "I'm sorry Absol. That must have been… very difficult for you."

"No more so than Felkan," Absol sighed. "It drove the wedge between himself and other humans even deeper when they saw how they treated me and everyone else around me, but he still fought and trained hard and we trained with him. We were all still determined to show the world what we had and we beat the eight Gym Leaders and, two years after he first set out, we took on the Hoenn League."

"We lost," Sceptile sighed. "He fought our hardest but there were some pretty experienced trainers there. And we did make it quite a way through. We managed to get to the quarter-finals before we were eliminated, but we did have some close shaves along the way. But when we left we were still not the winners and people were still treating us with suspicion."

"I'm sorry," Renamon stated, speaking for the whole group as she did so.

"It was a long time ago now," Scyther waved a blade airily. "We've all put it behind us. But now that we had lost, what could we do? We would have to wait a whole year for another chance at a tournament."

"But Felkan decided that we would wait even longer," Swellow ruffled his feathers. "He decided that we needed some more team-mates and some more variety in our team. Of the six of us – three of us were weak to Electric types, two to Rock, two to Fire, three to Bug and three to Ice. We needed some help. And so, we went over to the Sinnoh region to try our luck there and add more team-mates."

"But I thought you said that trainers could only have six with them at a time," Terriermon pointed out with a frown.

"Which is true," nodded Luxray. "But any additional Pokémon they catch are sent to the lab and care of whichever Professor they started with until called back into the team to replace someone else. And that's what Felkan did – switching us around so that we all got a chance to battle and train with him. The only Pokémon on his team constantly were Gardevoir and Absol, because the former couldn't stand being away from him for more than three hours and Felkan didn't want Absol anywhere where others could harm him when he wasn't looking."

"How noble of him," Lopmon said with a commending nod.

"Yeah. I am grateful to him for that," Absol nodded. "I don't think I could have stood it being among complete strangers when he wasn't there to look out for me. Anyway, we went to Sinnoh and he began to catch other members of the team and train us all to become stronger."

"I was the first he took in there," Luxray nodded. "I was just a Luxio and I was in the possession of… a rather abusive… bastard!" he snarled. "He was upset that I had failed to do him any good against the Rock-type Gym Leader Roark, completely overlooking the fact that all my Electric attacks have no effect on the Ground-type Pokémon that half of them also were and he was beating me for it nonetheless. He was obviously very inexperienced if he didn't know that but he didn't care. Felkan found me and intervened and my old trainer just scoffed that I was weak and then released me on the spot and stormed away."

He looked up fiercely and said, "So you see, I'm quite aware of what humans are capable of as well."

"W…hey," Impmon glared at him. "Don't go pinning what some guy did to you in the past on other people alright, big guy."

Luxray snorted but looked away, deciding not to argue the point.

"I was next," Glaceon smiled. "I was just a little Eevee with no clue what I wanted to evolve into when I grew older. Compared to some of the others in this group I don't really have such a big story to tell except that I was being pursued at the time by three human kids who all wanted me to evolve into something different. I ran into Felkan when I was running from them and when he said that he let his Pokémon evolve whenever they felt like it I was just… sign me up, really." He scowled and added, "Though in hindsight I should probably have become a Jolteon. I doubt that get mistaken for girls quite as often."

"But then we'd have another Electric type with us," Luxray snickered. "And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"Oh shut up," Glaceon rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Houndoom cleared his throat. "I was next in line for being caught if you can call it that. Believe it or not I used to work for a criminal, who had pulled off a heist at the department store of Veilstone City but the police had been alerted before he could escape. And guess who he left behind to distract the police force while he made his getaway with the loot. Oh, that's right. It was me. I was injured by the police Pokémon and barely got away but then Felkan found me and, like the other injured Pokémon before him, he took me in." He chuckled sinisterly and said, "I led him back to my Master's hideout and we busted him together, stole my Pokéball and took him to police station. The authorities allowed me to continue travelling with Felkan."

"Then it was me," Garchomp nodded. "I was… a problem case. I think I am the only Pokémon that Felkan caught without being given, joining willingly or being found injured. As a Gabite, he found me in Wayward Cave and caught me after I fought with Scyther, who kept using False Swipe on me to weaken me before he captured me. At first I refused to listen to anything that Felkan told me to do and was extremely uncooperative both in battle and out, despite the attempts of the other Pokémon to get me to listen to reason."

"Then what changed your mind?" Lopmon asked.

"The Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia," Garchomp chuckled.

"Who?" Rika asked.

"Right, right, not from this world," Garchomp waved a fin. "Well, each region's most powerful trainer is known as its Champion and whoever wins at the tournaments gets to face off against the Elite Four, and if they defeat them then they get to face the Champion. If they beat the Champion then they become the new Champion of the region. Anyway, Cynthia was Champion of Sinnoh at the time and she could still be now for all we know, but we randomly came across her as we were travelling through Sinnoh and we actually ended up travelling with her for a few days. She was one of the few humans we ever came across who didn't seem to spurn Absol's presence."

"She sounds nice," Mako murmured.

"She was," nodded Garchomp. "She gave us all a lot of training tips while we were with her, but most importantly for me, her strongest and most powerful Pokémon was a Garchomp – the Pokémon that I would one day become and am now. Cynthia's Garchomp looked down on me. She said that I was not a team player and should stop being so arrogant in believing that I was right all the time. I wanted to prove to her that I could be strong and when I learned that if we won and defeated the tournament and the Elite Four we would be facing off against Cynthia and her Garchomp in the official match that would decide who was the strongest I knew that if that happened I would get the opportunity to fight her myself."

"So you started listening to Felkan when you realised that then?" Renamon raised a brow and chuckled.

"Exactly," nodded Garchomp. "I decided that I should listen to Cynthia's Garchomp and joined forces with Felkan. At first it was just about getting stronger but then I began to realise just how special the friendship that he had with the other Pokémon and they had for each other was and I decided that maybe I had been a bit arrogant and I wanted that too. And here I stand before you a proper member of this team."

"Well, I say good for you, Garchomp," Aayla smiled. "And assuming my math is correct that only leaves two of you unaccounted for, right?"

"Yes," Lucario nodded. "I was the Pokémon to be caught after Garchomp, but I joined Felkan's team of my own volition. As a future Aura Guardian, I was in search of someone who had a heart that would synchronise with mine and could help bring out the best of my powers and abilities to partner with as I grew stronger. At the time, I felt that Felkan was just the human that I was looking for as I could sense just how deeply he cared for his other Pokémon and how closely he was working with them. So I asked and it did not take long for him to welcome me into his fold."

"And last but not least, there was me," Charizard chuckled. "Technically my kind is also a starter Pokémon choice, but from the Kanto region rather than Hoenn or Sinnoh. Regardless, I found myself in Sinnoh after I stowed away on a ship to get off the island I had been born on and I encountered Felkan and the others while searching for adventure. And I certainly found it after I fought against Garchomp here when he was still a Gabite and… lost," he coughed. "Anyway, I wasn't about to have that so I followed the group and demanded Gabite to a rematch and… I… lost again. So Felkan offered to take me in so that I could get stronger with Gabite and that we could be comrades rather than rivals."

"Although the rivalry never really did abate between them even to this day," Milotic chuckled.

"Amen to that," Garchomp snickered.

"And so, the team was complete then," Terriermon grinned.

"Yeah it was," nodded Houndoom. "We still steered clear of humans as much as we could. The only humans we had any contact with were Professor Birch, who looked after us when we were not with Felkan, Professor Oak, who had taken a liking to us when we met him once, and Cynthia, who would stop by from time to time and see how we were getting on. After all, half of us joined the team as a result of mistreatment by other humans did we not?"

The Tamers shifted uncomfortably. Henry was beginning to think that perhaps their dislike and misgivings at working with them might have been a but more well-founded than he assumed. But before he could say so the team continued talking.

"We got much stronger," added Glaceon. "I finally decided to evolve into an Ice type when I saw that Felkan already had one of every other type that I could become and we all fought hard and strong and eventually we also beat the eight Gym Leaders in Sinnoh. We all swept our way through them and under Felkan's guidance we became a much better team."

"We all grew into our more powerful shapes and sizes," Charizard smirked. "Except for Scyther, who wanted to stay the same because his evolved form loses the ability to fly."

"Damn straight," Scyther nodded.

"We swept through the eight Gyms in less than a year between us," Garchomp pounded his chest. "But we didn't challenge the tournament that year either. We stayed away and fought to become harder and better and then eventually the time came where we challenged the Sinnoh tournament. If we won, we would be able to take on the Elite Four and then possibly Cynthia herself if we won that."

"Don't tell me," Suzie grinned. "You won."

"They can't tell you that," Latias giggled. "You just told them not to."

"You bet your ass we won," Sceptile grinned. "We drove our way through that tournament and arose as the clear winners. If felt like such a great achievement after four years of fighting and training to become stronger."

"We were euphoric," smirked Luxray. "We had finally showed the world that we were not some ragtag group of Pokémon and their strange trainer. We were strong."

"They loved us," Glaceon beamed. "When we won at the tournament, it was like everybody had suddenly decided to forget what they had thought about us and even the fact that we ran around with Absol."

"Felkan was clever," Absol smiled. "I remember that day – the final battle of the tournament. It was a tough match for us, as the trainer we were battling had a lot of experience, but Felkan made sure to save me for last even though there had been a couple of situations where I would have made a better type match-up than the team member he chose instead. Things were neck and neck and Felkan made sure that the final showdown, the one that really stood out in people's mind, was between me and the opponent's Metagross, which are renowned for being one of the most durable Pokémon there are. And… well… I won."

"Absol was hailed as a hero," Swellow agreed. "As were the rest of us."

"And then?" Suzie asked. "Did you go up against those Elite Four guys?"

A pall of silence suddenly fell over the glade as each of the expressions of the Pokémon went much darker all of a sudden. Suzie almost flinched at the noiselessness, wondering if she had said something wrong.

"Er… did you win?" she murmured quietly.

"No," Garchomp said stonily. "But we did not lose either. We never got the opportunity to face the Elite Four and test ourselves against them. It seemed like things were about to try and throw fate in the face of all our hard training. In quite a big way."

* * *

Felkan still sat with Gardevoir, mulling over his own journey just as the Pokémon were retelling it to the others. He could remember vividly how it had felt to win the Sinnoh tournament. He might as well have been Champion right there – that was how ecstatic he felt. A small, lonely boy from Littleroot town had grown so much that he had been able to triumph with the aid of his team where so many others had failed. All those who had laughed at him when he was younger had smiles on the other side of their faces now and, for the first time he could remember, the humans had been cheering for him.

He and his Pokémon had been the heroes of the year. Where before he had been met with either jeers or frosty silence and avoidance thanks to the fact he owned poor Absol, now people were coming up to him and asking him for autographs, to have their pictures taken with him and a member of his team, training advice and things like that. He'd even had a proposal of marriage once – that had been scary.

Never could Felkan recall a time where he had been happier. He had sought all his life to be liked by other humans, though that desire had admittedly ebbed when he grew closer to his Pokémon, but now that it had come true at last… he could hardly describe the sensation of joy. He barely cared if he defeated the Elite Four any more – he felt like he had achieved everything that he had set out to do already.

It had been wonderful.

There was to be about two months gap after the tournament ended and then Felkan would be allowed to take on the Elite Four of Sinnoh at last. He thoroughly enjoyed his time after the tournament, although at times the adoration of the public could be unnerving and annoying. He still sometimes sought solitude with his team, but now that was a rare occasion. Here he was, a fourteen year old boy, about to take on the Elite Four at last. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

As it turned out – everything.

It had been a simple enough day at first. He and the six Pokémon he had on him at the time had been spending some time near Hearthome City in Sinnoh for a bit of rest and relaxation before the time came where they would face the biggest test of their lives. Things had been going relatively well for most of their stay and they had heard that Cynthia was going to be dropping by and visiting pretty soon so they had been in high spirits.

But then, one morning, Absol had suddenly shot upwards, screaming his head off and yelling in complete panic dashing around the room and wrecking everything in sight as he madly tried to escape from something. When the others had managed to get him calm enough to speak properly, Absol had said,

"I sense something! Something big! I big, _big_ disaster and its coming this way!"

Naturally alarm had coursed through Felkan immediately and he and his Pokémon had rushed out of their hotel. Felkan had been yelling at the top of his lungs for people to get clear of the city and to get out of here, and while some people had paid attention to him, most of them stared at him as if he had gone completely mad and still others kept demanding to know why they had to leave first.

Felkan spent a good five minutes trying to get people to move before it happened. To this day, Felkan still didn't know exactly what had caused it but Mount Coronet, which was directly beside Hearthome City, had suddenly juddered violently shaken in its very foundations as if an enormous explosion of energy had gone off within or on the summit and it felt like the entire continent of Sinnoh jumped with it. Everyone had been thrown to the ground by the incredible force and then, out of nowhere the ground around Hearthome City had buckled and writhed as an immense earthquake suddenly tore through the city.

Buildings fell, the ground leapt upwards, people and Pokémon were flung about like ragdolls and a huge rent appeared in the ground, streaming from the base of Mount Coronet and into the city. Felkan and his Pokémon had quickly gathered together and taken shelter, Absol cringing the whole time, and could only watch in horror as Armageddon seemed to occur all around them.

The sheer violence of the earthquake had been colossal and it had taken a full two minutes for it to die down completely. After it had done so, half of the city had been completely obliterated. Thousands of people were dead, many more were injured, most of the buildings on the western side had been reduced to rubble and everyone still alive had the wind knocked out of them and were cowering, completely traumatised.

Felkan probably should have reacted faster, but what happened next caught him completely off guard.

"I knew it!" somebody in the crowd had cried, pointing wildly directly in his direction. "I knew it! I knew that he couldn't be trusted! It was him! He brought this on us! He allowed a disaster-causing Absol into his group and now look what's happened! It's their fault!"

Felkan had been utterly flabbergasted at this man's accusations against himself and Absol – they had been trying to get people _out_ of there a few minutes ago. But what really froze his blood was that other people had suddenly started to agree with him. The survivors were pushing themselves up from the ground with expressions of grief and loathing on their faces as they glared at him and the rest of his team.

"It's the Absol!"

"He's behind this!"

"I knew that we couldn't trust something like that thing!"

And the cries of rage went on and on. Felkan and his Pokémon had backed away, the trainer roaring, "Are you all mad? Absol was _trying_ to _save_ all of you and so were the rest of us! We didn't cause this! Why are you blaming Absol!"

"Those abominations cause disasters!" the original accuser had spat. "And that one's obviously been biding his time so he could strike right at the heart of a human city and he took his chance today!"

There was a roar from the mob and they had charged forwards with cries of "Get him!" "Stop him!" and even "Kill it!" Before Felkan could react, Absol had panicked and dashed away, darting through the gap in the crowd and barrelling through the wrecked streets of Hearthome pursued by the angry mob.

"Absol!" Felkan had cried, but Absol was lost to sight almost instantly and there was a huge crowd of humans on his trail. Felkan had been about to pursue, but Gardevoir had quickly taken his arm and pointed out that perhaps the authorities could put a stop to this. Felkan saw the logic in this and quickly sent Lucario to keep a tab on Absol and make sure he was safe before he allowed Gardevoir to take him to the police station.

The station itself had been a wreck and over half the police force had been lost in the earthquake, but Felkan had immediately dashed over to the most senior looking officer he could find and had explained the situation, pleading with him to do something and make the surviving villagers stop and leave Absol alone.

And the officer's reply had been what had really done it. Felkan had been so completely shocked that the humans, who had been singing both his and Absol's praises just yesterday, could turn against them so quickly even after a major disaster like this that he felt like he was back at square one already and his faith in humanity had been all but snapped. But the reply of the officer had _really_ severed it.

"I'm sorry, son, but you must see the truth. Absol are known for causing disasters – it's in their nature. It's the only explanation of this freak earthquake as far as I can see. Now we will go out there and stop that mob, but as soon as we do, we will be taking that beast in so we can put it down."

Felkan had been shocked to the core. It might be true that the humans were in a state of panic and looking for someone to blame but all of them, even the authorities, pinning all the blame on his Absol without _any_ proof whatsoever and seeking to have Absol killed for something that he had not done made his blood freeze in his veins. It took him several seconds before he had recovered enough to cry, "No! Never! I won't let you hurt Absol! He's my friend and he did nothing wrong!"

"If you resist us then I'm afraid we're going to have to take you into custody to," the officer said immediately, reaching for his handcuffs. "Come quietly and we'll confiscate your Pokémon and find that Absol."

Whatever Felkan had been expecting next it had not been that. Taking this disaster out on Absol was bad enough but on him and the rest of his team _as well._ It was too much – just too much. Just yesterday Felkan had seen this very police officer among a crowd of others trying to keep the public _away_ from Felkan and his team and now, in their panic after the disaster, they were looking for someone to blame and they immediately pinned everything on him and his team – the ones who had been hailed as national celebrities not an hour ago.

Fortunately Gardevoir had had her senses about her and had grabbed Felkan and Teleported him away as the police officer reached for him. They appeared a few streets away in an alleyway and Felkan had slumped against the wall in complete shock. He couldn't believe it. He had been alienated from other humans for so long and now that he had finally fallen into their graces, they were all effectively betraying him like this?

Once his shock had cleared up it was immediately replaced by unassailable anger. The fools! The idiots! All his life he had been given the cold shoulder by most of humanity but he never would have believed that they were capable of something like this. Felkan was outright disgusted and he knew then that there was no going back. He knew what he had to do. He had to gather his Pokémon together and get out of the area as quickly as they could, for the other humans would not stop until they were hunted down.

They had betrayed him.

They had all betrayed him.

Maybe there was a chance that all of this would blow over when they finally saw sense but Felkan somehow doubted they would. The memories of his childhood came back to him – humans were extremely reluctant to let go of their old prejudices, as had been shown when they still mocked him after Ralts had come into his life. With something like _this_ on their minds, Felkan doubted they would _ever_ let it go.

They had to leave. Now.

* * *

Everything moved quickly from there. It was almost like a blur pushing Felkan in the right direction. Gardevoir had stretched out with her mind to get in contact with Lucario and the two of them had quickly hurried to his position. What they found was a surprise. Absol and Lucario were crouched in hiding in an alleyway themselves, but they had company. It was Cynthia, and she too was keeping to the shadows and out of sight of the people in the main roads.

As soon as Felkan and Gardevoir had arrived, Cynthia had smiled sadly at him. It seemed that Lucario had updated her on the situation.

"Don't worry, Felkan. I believe you," she had said. "I know Absol as well and I know that he would not do something like this. But… I don't think everyone else is going to be thinking clearly for a while about this I'm afraid."

"I know," Felkan had nodded with a scowl. "But what am I supposed to do now."

"Well," Cynthia had sighed. "I'm breaking league rules by doing this but… here," she suddenly pressed six more Pokéballs into his hands. "It's the rest of your team. I contacted Professor Birch and had them sent over even though you had six anyway. I'm afraid you all have to run, or its likely they'll try and use the six you leave behind to get you to come out. Get out of here and get as far away as you can. I will try and bring the others to their senses but in the meantime you have to go into hiding until this all blows over."

Felkan had been quite surprised that Cynthia was risking so much to help him, but then again they were good friends – Cynthia was perhaps his best friend among the humans at this point and the only real one he'd ever had.

"Thank you," he had murmured, recalling Absol and Lucario to their Pokéballs and placing all twelve in his bag. He had been about to leave but Cynthia had bent down and given him a quick hug before he did so.

"Stay safe," she had murmured. "I'll do what I can for you but… well…"

Felkan sighed. He doubted even the word of the Champion was going to mean very much in a situation like this. But he simply nodded and said, "Thank you," before he took Gardevoir's hand and she teleported him away. Away from the city, away from Cynthia… and away from the human race.

* * *

Five years later and Felkan opened his eyes. Anger boiled in his veins just as he did every time he thought about how the humans had wronged him and his team in their simple-minded search to put the blame on somebody. They had watched in the shadows for a while and tried to pay attention to the news but it had not blown over just as Felkan had thought. A world-wide manhunt was put out for him and his team, rewards were given for information about him and Felkan had not seen a word about Cynthia trying to speak up for him.

That had been the final straw which prompted him to come here to Mount Silver.

And now they were talking about going back out there to where the other humans lived. If he was seen and recognised he would probably still be arrested on the spot. And if _Absol_ was seen… it didn't bare thinking about. And that was why he had refused to help the Tamers.

"Felkan," Gardevoir sighed. "It's dangerous, I know. But putting aside what the humans have done to you and us in the past, there are more important things at stake now. Latios and Latias need us. They need friends now more than ever and right now, we need the Felkan who rescued a poor little Ralts from a Mightyena. The Felkan who picked the runt Treecko, the Felkan who rescued the wounded Taillow, who took in the upset Feebas, the abused Luxio and the angry Houndoom. The Felkan who ignored all the beliefs of the other humans to help a distressed Absol. We need that Felkan now."

"And if we are found, Gardevoir?" Felkan asked. "What then?"

"We escape," Gardevoir murmured simply. "But I implore you… do not let your years of festering hatred get in the way of something so much bigger than our own situation. The world needs Latios and Latias and they need us. That means the world needs us to. If it collapses then not only we will die, but millions of innocent Pokémon will too, as well as the human race, including the humans we _know_ are not so bad like Cynthia. Can you really ignore all of that?"

"I'm trying to protect all of you," Felkan muttered half-heartedly.

"Yes," nodded Gardevoir. "But right now there are millions of others that need our protection more. We can handle ourselves. Please. Let us go with them."

Felkan looked deep into Gardevoir's imploring, red and deep eyes for several rending seconds… and then he decided.

* * *

By the time the other Pokémon had finished telling what had happened to Absol and the rest of them, even Rika had a hand to her mouth. "Oh God," she murmured. "That's horrible. That's… that's inhumane."

"On the contrary," Houndoom snorted. "It's _very_ humane. It's what the humans do, after all. They look for scapegoats wherever they can, and we were on the receiving end of it when we had all done nothing wrong."

"Wow. Now I feel bad for yelling at the guy," Impmon murmured. "That… makes my former dislike of humans thanks to a few arguments and fights between two kids seem… way more petty than ever."

"You can see where he's coming from then?" Renamon asked him.

"Yeah… I do," Impmon nodded. "Don't take this the wrong way, Teradalets, but if something like _that_ had happened to me… I'm pretty sure I'd never had trusted humans again myself."

Aayla found her heart going out to the young human. "He is a victim of circumstance. You all are. Especially you, Absol. I may not be a human myself, but I believe I am close enough to speak for all the humans in this glade when we say how truly sorry we are for what happened to you."

"Yeah," Suzie nodded.

"Definitely," Henry agreed.

"Felkan's had it _way_ worse than us," Rika nodded. "Some people try to pin the blame on the stuff that happens in our world on the Digimon but nobody really believes them there."

"It may be in contradiction to our own views," Lopmon muttered. "But I believe that Felkan's dislike of humans is actually completely justified now. It's not blind jumping to conclusions like Zhuqiaomon's was but he actually has his reasons – reasons which I believe would be enough to turn most anyone against their own kind. It's horrible to say so, but it's true."

"And you guys have been living here ever since?" asked Terriermon quietly.

"Yeah, they have," nodded Latios. "It wasn't long after their exile that we met them for the first time. Latias here was trying to play a joke on Garchomp, but she got more than she bargained for when Lucario spotted her even when invisible. When we got the situation straightened out and we were all introduced, both of us felt sorry for him and decided to stick around as much as we could – give him as much company as possible, if you follow me."

"We like to think that he was grateful for our presence," Latias sighed. "But the poor guy is still often in a quiet brooding mood so its difficult to tell."

"Oh I was always grateful to have you around, Latias," said a voice and everyone's heads swung around to see Felkan stepping out of the trees, with Gardevoir by his side. "And don't you ever forget that."

Latias smiled faintly and then coughed and said, "Good to know. So… are you guys going to set off and try and look for a new home now?"

"Oh we're going to set off alright," Felkan chuckled. "But not to find a new place to live. I think that… you guys might be right. I've had some time to think and I've decided that… well, I can't just sit back while you two walk into danger. I've stuck by the rest of my team through thick and thin no matter what and while you might not technically be my Pokémon, you're definitely close enough."

"So you'll help?" Latios perked up slightly. "You'll come with us?"

"Yeah," Felkan nodded. "We'll come. Even if it means I have to work with them," he shot a cold but noticeably less anger-filled look at the Tamers.

"Oh, thank you!" Latias zipped forwards and engulfed Felkan in her stubby arms. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! We'd love to have you come along Felkan."

"It's alright, Latias," Felkan smiled slightly. "Gardevoir was right. I was being selfish and I was allowing my past to cloud my perception of what really mattered."

Henry cleared his throat and said, "For what it's worth, Felkan… we're all dreadfully sorry for what you've had to go through. And I know it might sound a little hollow but, you _can_ trust us. We understand what sort of hardship you must have gone through after what the humans of this world did to you."

Felkan gave them a long hard stare for several moments before he said, "I still don't trust you. Any of you humans. But," he coughed. "In my experience, not _all_ humans are worthy of distrust. And since you are not from this universe I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now. But I'm still keeping an eye on all of you nonetheless and I expect that my Pokémon will be doing the same, right?"

There was noticeable nodding from around the glade.

"Nevertheless, I will deign to work with you," Felkan finished. "For Latios and Latias, for my team and for my world."

"And that is all we ask," Aayla stated diplomatically. "You don't have to like us if you don't want to. However… I believe… I hope… that as you travel with us you will indeed see that we are not your enemies. The Tamers will show you of all the good that humankind is capable of doing instead of the bad. I can assure you of that."

Felkan looked hard at them again for a moment, but he eventually just said, "I'm afraid I will have to believe that one when I see it and to see it I guess we will have to wait. But fair enough. We'll see if you are correct in time. Now," he turned to Latias and Latios and grinned. "Let's go be heroes."

"Yay!" Latias cried and glomped him again.

* * *

Well, there you go. In a nutshell that is my OC explained. He has most certainly not had an easy life in any sense of the word and I do hope that you can understand why he has been behaving the way he has since he was introduced. He tried to help and he and his team were blamed on a massive scale. I think anybody would have a few major trust issues after something like that.

I hope that this chapter has filled you with more anticipation for what is to come now. Because now I have a very large fellowship of characters about to set out into the world to find twenty-five more. Should be fun. Hehe.

See you whenever I can.

* * *

Next time…

The first chapter of the side-story. Back in the Human World, the other Tamers and their Digimon use the device that Aayla gave to them to talk to four very powerful Digimon. They need to find out how they can wake up Fanglongmon and fast, the efforts of their friends in the other universe will be for nothing.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 10 : Sovereign Communication**


	10. Sovereign Communication

Er… hi.

First off I would like to say that I am so, so, so, so, so sorry for the delay to this particular chapter. The last week was as _hectic_ as _hell_. It seemed that every time I sat down to write I was called away again after only about three-hundred words or so to do something else which would take several hours. Between trying to organise my summer job, driving lessons, a bunch of other tasks around the house, a visit to my grandparents and a two-day trip down to London to visit some other relations I got almost no time at all for this in one go. But, here I am at last with the next chapter and I hope to God that the next one does not take me as long.

Well, read on then.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 10:- Sovereign Communication**

* * *

The fact that the Digimon who had crossed over to the Pokémon universe now had a set of fifteen extra companions with them, turning the group of ten people into no less than twenty-five, which happened to be the number of legendary Pokémon that they had to work together to find, was almost certainly going to be a big boost to their efforts to track down the beings they needed to find in order to save both universes.

But, as has been pointed out, no matter how hard they try, it would all inevitably come to nothing if the Digimon and Tamers who had chosen to remain behind did not accomplish their own goal. They too had a God to wake up. And, unlike those who had crossed over, they had absolutely no idea where they were supposed to begin.

The parents had already departed from the glade where they had met with Giratina. The Wong, Terada and Nonaka families were noticeably still extremely upset at the fact that there was, once again, a dimensional wall separating them from their children. They had every faith that thee Digimon would take good care of their kids, just as they always had, and they took confidence in the fact that this time it was a voluntary action and they already had a foolproof way of getting back should they need it. But still… they knew that this was going to be the beginning of another long period of time where they didn't know if their children were alright or even if they were still alive.

It was still set to be agony for them, even if not as much agony as last time.

Yamaki and his lot had also departed. They said that with this news of the universes collapsing they were going to have to monitor the energy levels from the Digital World much more closely. Even if that didn't do much to help in stopping the situation, it would allow them to estimate how much time they had left before the destruction began.

That left the five remaining Tamers and their partners behind in the glade, wandering what they were supposed to do next. Takato, Ryo, Jeri, Kazu and Kenta were once again without the rest of their group of friends and once again they had a very big situation on their hands.

You might think that having saved the Digital World twice already they might be getting used to this kind of thing by now.

If you did, you would be wrong.

"Jeez Louise," groaned Kazu as he sat upon a nearby tussock of grass. "Just when you think we're getting back into the swing of normality. I was waiting for something like this to happen for months after we got the others back. I would wake up one morning and think, 'yep, something's definitely going to happen today' only it didn't. And then, just as I was beginning to settle down a year later, this happens. How many more times can the Digital World be threatened."

"It's unfortunate to say it," Ryo murmured. "But when the Digital World is concerned there will probably always be a new threat. That's the problem with having such powerful creatures. Power can corrupt and turn anyone evil."

"Most of the Digimon are good guys," pointed out Jeri.

"Yes," Ryo nodded. "And unfortunately the few bad ones that there are out there are the ones that seek the power, which is why they are mostly always stronger than the regular good guys."

"Yeah, but this time we're not even facing an evil Digimon," Guilmon piped up. "We're facing another universe coming in and trying to take over our space, right?"

"Not deliberately," Takato stated. "But yeah, pretty much."

"Wonderful," MarineAngemon sighed.

"Yeah, and the only way that we can stop it is to wake up the Digimon God, who spends most of his time in a sleep so deep that I highly doubt hitting him with a sledgehammer is going to help, let alone just poking him with a stick," Kenta griped.

"I wouldn't poke Fanglongmon with a stick," Guardromon shuddered. "And I certainly wouldn't hit him over the head with a hammer. If there is one Digimon you do not want to annoy, it would be him."

"Agreed," nodded Ryo. "But I was under the impression that nobody could wake up Fanglongmon without completing some kind of great prophecy first. We know all about how he needs to put himself into a slumber in order to keep his evil side from gaining control and that he only ever wakes up to restore the damage that he was unable to prevent when the problem is over. But this time we don't even have that long. We need to find a way of waking him up right now."

"Perhaps we could go back to the Heavens," Jeri suggested. "Find out what the next great Prophecy is and try to complete it?"

"That wouldn't work, Jeri," Elecmon shook his head. "Or we would be very fortunate if it could? The events of a prophecy play out in their own time regardless of what is done to try and speed it up. And whatever the great Prophecy is now, it might not even be in our power to bring about. Usually only a few specific individuals are involved in the events of the prophecy and it might not be us. In short, it would be a very wild stab in the dark to go for that approach."

"But this is such a big event," Jeri protested. "Surely there must be a great prophecy about the collision of two worlds."

"Perhaps," Elecmon murmured. "But something tells me that whatever the great prophecy is, we will have to take matters into our own hands to wake up Fanglongmon."

"And how are we meant to do that?" Kazu asked. "If there was an easy way of waking up the Dragon God guy then we would probably have found out what it was a long time ago and done it to make things easier on ourselves. Take Fanglongmon into the Dark Ocean and GranDracmon would have been history with the snap of a finger."

"I doubt that," Ryo said bitterly. "GranDracmon was very powerful, supreme ruler of the Dark Ocean and invulnerable while he was in it. Even Fanglongmon might have had a problem getting rid of him despite the fact he himself is much more powerful."

"But Kazu is right," Takato nodded. "There were many times in the past where we could have done with Fanglongmon waking up and giving us a hand and nobody ever did tell us how to do it. I also thought that it was impossible to do it without the whole prophecy thing. I wonder how long the D-Reaper would have lasted with an angry Digimon God on its case. And Fanglongmon would probably have known exactly how to defeat Ogudomon."

"So what are we meant to do now?" Guilmon asked.

"I dunno, boy," Takato sighed.

"Fanglongmon's knowledge and ability to defeat our previous foes is one of the reasons he deliberately puts himself to sleep," Ryo pointed out. "Facing those villains without the aid of heavenly power is critical to us all, because if we relied on Fanglongmon to come sweeping in and save the day every time then we'd never move forward. We'd never personally advance. We'd never be able to defend ourselves. We'd get lazy. We need to solve our own problems. That's part of what free will is all about."

"True," Jeri nodded. "But this time we _need_ the heavenly power if we're going to save the day, but we have to be the ones to find a way to get him out of bed."

"Fanglongmon doesn't have a bed," Guardromon blinked.

"Figuratively speaking," Jeri chuckled.

"Well then, shall we get to it?" asked Elecmon. "We don't know how to wake up Fanglongmon, but we do know the best way to start looking for how. We need to talk to the Sovereigns again. They were created by Fanglongmon to be the guardians of the Digital World while he slept so if anyone outside of the Heavens knows how to wake him up it would probably be them."

"They never mentioned it before," Takato muttered. "But I reckon you're right."

"Does this mean we have to go on _another_ long hike through the Digital World so we can explain this mission to them like the last several hundred times that we've done this?" Kazu asked.

"We've only been to the Sovereigns level twice, Kazu," Jeri rolled her eyes.

"I've been three times," Ryo added. "But that doesn't matter. At any rate, a hike through the Digital World isn't necessary anymore is it?" He grinned as he twirled the small handheld communicator that had been given to him by Aayla moments before she left. "We've got this thing now. We can just speed dial them."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that thing. We've never actually used it before so I guess it slipped my mind," Kazu shrugged. He stared at the small disc in Ryo's hand and then added, "Er… how does it work?"

Ryo frowned, and then realised that he didn't actually know. Aayla had given them a demonstration on how her own miniature communicator, which she happened to have on her person when she moved across the universal barrier, worked once before but since it was the only one of its kind in this existence she had been fairly limited in what she could show. She had been able to display a couple of holograms with it but she'd been unable to use it for calling anyone else.

Apparently Fanglongmon had created this communications device by modelling it on the one Aayla already possessed so it should work in the same way, but Ryo still didn't really know how it worked.

"Um…" he frowned, staring at it. "I'm… not quite sure." He lifted it up to eye level and peered at it.

"Maybe you should bash it against a rock," Calumon suggested innocently from where he was still standing nearby. "That's what Impmon does when things don't work the way he wants them to."

"Yes and that was how he ended up wrecking Rika's last ipod," pointed out Takato. "And if I recall… she wasn't very pleased about that."

"Oh yeah," Calumon grinned. "Lopmon had to hide him for a week."

"Good times," Guilmon nodded.

"There aren't many buttons on this thing," Ryo murmured as he continued to examine the little disc. One of these buttons must do something that we want it to do."

"Then we'll just have to push them until we get the right one I suppose," Kenta shrugged. "What harm could it do? S'not like it has a self-destruct mechanism built into it. Right?"

"You never can tell," smirked Kazu. "From what Aayla described of her universe it sounded awfully lot like one of those sci-fi movies where everything _does_ seem to have a self-destruct button."

Kenta eyed the device suspiciously and backed away slightly. Jeri sighed. "Kazu, let's stay focused here," she rolled her eyes. "Go ahead, Ryo. Let's see what this thing can do."

"Yes, ma'am," Ryo chuckled and hit the first of the buttons he could find. Absolutely anything failed to happen whatsoever so he merely turned it around and pushed another button. When this ended up having a similar effect of zilch he proceeded to try yet another one.

"It hasn't blown up yet," Takato snickered. "I guess that's a plus."

"That's _always _a plus," Elecmon muttered dryly.

As Ryo's thumb pushed down on the third button a little harder and suddenly something happened. A small jet of pale blue light seemed to erupt outwards from the top of the disc and expand outwards in front of the group, bathing the trees in its faint colour and flickering occasionally, but not presenting any particular holographic image like the ones that Aayla had shown them from her personal device.

Ryo frowned and stared into the light which was shining out of the top like it was some kind of bizarre torch. He glanced across at the others, who were also frowning in kind before he merely shrugged and cleared his throat loudly.

There was a loud and easily recognisable sound that seemed to come out thin air in front of them, so suddenly that Kazu and Kenta both jumped almost out of their skin. And from the noise in question, the person making it had also been similarly startled by Ryo's cough.

The noise went, "MA-CAAAAAA!"

"Oh great," Takato muttered. "Him."

A figure seemed to emerge out thin air in front of them as it stepped into the light. If it weren't for the fact that the figure seemed to be composed of the same light albeit in darker colours and flickering slightly as an image, you might have thought he was real. He certainly seemed three-dimensional, which was kinda what a holographic projection was meant to look like. The hologram was life-size, meaning that the figure stood slightly shorter than all the Tamers, and he was scowling at them with blatant annoyance.

It was Makuramon, the monkey Deva, one of the twelve lieutenants of the Sovereigns who had since become eleven when Lopmon had left their numbers to become the Digimon of a Tamer. Originally the Tamers had fought against the Devas, who had believed them to be a threat to their Digital World, as had their master Zhuqiaomon but after the incident with the D-Reaper the Tamers had since made peace with and befriended that majority of the eleven Devas, despite the fact that at least one of their number had killed each of the Devas at some point.

Makuramon though, was one of the few Devas that they had notably _not_ become friends with. He had an arrogant streak – one that had kept him from believing that he had been wrong about the Tamers even when Zhuqiaomon himself had relented and stubbornly refusing to befriend them even when most of his colleagues had.

"Hello there, Makuramon," Ryo nodded curtly. "How are you?"

"How am I?" Makuramon growled lowly. "Apart from the fact some kids suddenly decided to show up out of thin air behind me like this I'm fine and dandy. What the heck is going on here anyway? And why are you all blue and wavy?"

The holographic Makuramon waved a hand that passed right through Ryo's shoulder. Ryo fought the urge to wince and Makuramon looked very perturbed. Obviously on the other end of the line he had just put his hand through a holographic Ryo.

"What in the Digital World?" he breathed. "What kind of strange magic is this that you Tamers had trying to use now?"

"This is not magic, Makuramon," Jeri stepped forward. "It's just a hologram. You know, from the thingie that Fanglongmon gave to our friend Aayla?"

Makuramon faltered. "Ah yes. The blue skinned humanoid that I heard tell about," he nodded with a grimace. None of the Devas besides Lopmon had never actually met Aayla face to face. Aayla had travelled to the Digital World a couple of times to meet Lilamon and Impmon's other friends as well as some other allies of the Tamers, but the Devas had never been a group she had got around to visiting yet. "You know I must admit I was astounded when I heard that there were more universes out there with beings like you humans in it. It's practically impossible to get rid of you. You're probably swarming across the cosmos, aren't you?"

"Aayla's a Twi'lek," Takato threw in.

"Whatever," Makuramon shrugged. "Must be hard for you though, knowing that out there in other worlds there are beings that are far more advanced than you humans are. Oh wait, that's right. You already knew that because we Digimon exist."

This earned Makuramon a round of glares from everyone present, and Guilmon took a swipe at him, only for his claw to pass straight through Makuramon's body. The monkey Deva smirked at them slightly, perhaps feeling a little triumphant at that particular little jab.

"Still," he added. "I don't know why someone like this Aayla would deign to return to live in the same world as all of you humans. Though I suppose in reality this Aayla's no better than you, is she? She's just a bag of skin and bones like you are."

"Take that back!" Takato growled. "Aayla's ten times the person you'll ever be!"

"Yeah, and at least she doesn't throw out casual insults wherever she can like you do," Keri nodded vehemently.

"And she could kick your ass," Guilmon added.

"Yeah right," Makuramon snorted. "Like any non-Digimon humanoid would be a match for me."

Ryo raised a brow and calmly said, "Aayla can go toe to toe with Cyberdramon here if she wants to. What does that tell you?"

Cyberdramon snarled and stepped past Ryo, thrusting his face close to Makuramon's and causing the monkey hologram to start backwards in alarm. But then it remembered the Cyberdramon was not actually there and stood up straight and rather arrogantly. "Then your Digimon must have really lost his edge recently. Though I guess I can't blame him. After all, I hear that what you Tamed Digimon mostly do is sit around a scarfing this bread substance of yours. No wonder you're getting…"

"That's enough, Makuramon!" roared another voice from nowhere, making all the Tamers jump. Makuramon turned around and then screeched and leapt aside and out of the holographic image as an enormous mallet came crashing down on the spot where he had been standing. The mallet suddenly warped and shifted into the shape of Caturamon the Dog Deva, who glared briefly in the direction that Makuramon had taken before sitting on his haunches and turning to the Tamers.

"Sorry about that, Tamers," he nodded respectfully to them. "I believe that was one of the last things that you wanted to endure when you decided to finally use this thing."

"Tell me about it," Kazu wrinkled his nose. "Is that monkey _ever_ going to stop ribbing on us like that?"

"Yeah, what's his deal?" Kenta frowned. "MarineAngemon healed him when he was badly injured in the Dark Ocean a year ago. Shouldn't he be feeling grateful for that instead of still trying to needle at us?"

"I would not take it so personally if I were you," Caturamon rolled his eyes. "I suspect that he _is_ grateful for the aid that you gave to all of us in the Dark Ocean, but his pride is so large that he won't admit it. Plus, he needles everyone including the rest of us Devas. The only ones who are exempt from his lip are the Sovereigns themselves, and probably the Great Angels and Fanglongmon if he ever got the opportunity to talk to them."

"How do you guys put up with being near him all the time?" Takato shuddered.

"We've all learned how to tune him out," Caturamon sighed. "And it took us a while to learn how to do that. Though you're fortunate that I was coming to relieve Makuramon of his guard duty or else you might have had to endure a couple of hours of his barbed taunts. But, as I said, I think he has softened towards you Tamers, albeit not to the extent that most of the rest of us have. Perhaps, in time, he too will learn to swallow his pride… though I must admit I doubt that will happen for a while."

"Fair enough," Ryo nodded. "And what did you mean guard duty? Where are our holograms coming out of?"

"A large platform directly in the middle of the Sovereigns level of the Digital World which Lord Fanglongmon set up before he even gave your friend the communicator. Which means that I am currently standing at the usual meeting place of the Sovereigns. As well as having one Deva guard the entrance to a castle at all times there is also always one Deva guarding this platform in case you Tamers call in."

"Well, at least we didn't get Indramon on the other end of the line then," Guilmon chuckled. "He would probably be even worse than Makuramon."

"Very probably," Elecmon nodded.

"Indramon is as stubborn as a mule," admitted Caturamon. "But I think that he too is getting better. As to Vikaralamon, who I believe was the third Deva who was still having problems with you lot when you last visited us… I believe it is safe to say that he changed his mind about you when he saw you fighting in the Dark Ocean. I must admit that I was very impressed myself. You all formed a very cohesive team with one another and your fighting prowess was astounding… even without the Prophecy Trio and their own partners with you at the time."

"Why thank you," Jeri smiled. "We certainly gave it our all on that day but thank you very much for the praise."

Caturamon chuckled a little, and then frowned. "But now that I bring up the Prophecy Trio I notice that they are not actually here. And neither is your friend Impmon or this Aayla creature we have all been hearing about. Where are they? And for that matter, why are you calling? I believe that this is most certainly not a social call."

"If it were, we would have hung up on seeing Makuramon's face," Kazu snickered.

"In all serious though, you are right," Ryo said grimly. "This really isn't a social call. And I'm afraid to say that the other members of our group are… unavailable at the moment."

"They didn't get sucked into another universe _again_, did they?" Caturamon chuckled blandly.

"Actually, yes. They did," Guilmon nodded extravagantly.

Caturamon blinked. "Excuse me?" he exclaimed. "They… They're really gone in another universe _again_? How is that possible?"

"It _is_ an odd circumstance," Ryo grimaced. "But this time they went into this other universe voluntarily instead of being whisked away by somebody like Parallelmon. There's something big going on at the moment that involves that other universe _and_ the Digital World, and we're here to both warn the Sovereigns and ask them for help. We know what we need to go in order to stop the rising problem… we just don't know how we go about doing it."

"I see," Caturamon became the epitome of seriousness. "And I take it that you wish to speak to the Sovereigns as soon as possible."

"Yeah, that would be good," Takato nodded. "Can we?"

"Well," Caturamon sniffed. "I can arrange for Lord Ebonwumon and Lord Baihumon to come and speak to you right now, but I'm afraid that Lord Azulongmon and Lord Zhuqiaomon are out of contact at the moment. At least from me."

"Oh, really?" Jeri blinked. "What are they doing? Where have they gone?"

"Well, I don't know where they are right at this instant, but I do know that the two of them are flying around the Digital World searching for something," the Dog Deva reported. "You see, I don't know what this new problem that you're about to inform us of is but the thing is that we already have a slight problem of our own on our hands, paws and claws. Or none of the above in Sandiramon's case."

The Tamers and Digimon all glanced at one another for a moment before Takato turned back and asked, "What kind of problem?"

"Well that's the thing," Caturamon muttered. "We don't really know the full extent of what's going on at the moment, but whatever it is there have been some… odd goings on recently. And nothing pleasant. It started about a month ago now. Mihiramon was the first to notice it – he was doing his rounds of the Digital World and was flying over the Prairie Level when he saw a village up ahead. On his last visit, the village had been a thriving and vibrant place, filled with happy Digimon who lived in harmony with one another and with relatively few arguments, all awaiting the next time the Temple of the Angels would show up in their vicinity so they could go and worship there."

"And what was it like this time?" Kenta asked nervously.

"A wreck," Caturamon grimaced. "Every single building in the place had been ripped open and in some cases brought down completely and torn to shreds. About ten of the buildings were on fire. And there was no sign of the locals anywhere. Not a one. Mihiramon searched the surrounding Prairie for any sign of them but he couldn't see anything. Even the local Biyomon had no clue what was going on and apparently several of their number had gone missing recently at about the same time as the attack on the village."

"That's… that sounds horrible," Jeri breathed with wide eyes. "What could have done something like that? Do you think it killed _everyone_ in the village?"

"We think so," Caturamon nodded. "And it didn't stop there either. Many of us did further rounds in the area to try and discover what had happened and then we came across another village at practically the opposite end of the Prairie Level with exactly the same problem. There was no sign of _any_ of the Digimon that had once been living there and their homes had been completely destroyed. And judging by the damage to the buildings we deduced that whoever was responsible for the attack on the first village was definitely also the one behind the destruction of this one."

"So you've got some kind of mysterious mass murderer on the loose somewhere?" Kazu looked like he was going to be physically ill.

"More like a voracious, carnivorous murderer," Caturamon nodded. "And we still have no idea who could have been behind either of those attacks and I'm afraid it didn't stop there. As by the Sovereigns command we doubled our rota and continued our patrols of the Digital World and over the course of the last three weeks we've discovered no less than _five_ more villages where this has happened. And not just on the Prairie Level either. One of them was, but two of them were on the Forest Level, one of them was on the Desert Level and the other one was on an isolated island in the middle of the Ocean Level. All seemingly at random, but definitely one single attacker."

"And so Azulongmon and Zhuqiaomon are out searching for this assailant are they?"

"Yes," Caturamon nodded. "And they have almost no clue to go on. There haven't been any survivors in any of the attacks. In one of the Forest Level attacks, we did find one Geckomon that was still alive when we got there, buried under the rubble of a house. All he said was, 'Those eyes. Those soulless red eyes,' before he burst into data right in front of us."

Nobody felt like joking now. Kazu and Kenta had both gone pale. Jeri's hand was over her mouth, Guilmon's tail was lashing from side to side, Calumon had pressed his hands over his ears and Cyberdramon's snarling was becoming a permanent background noise. Where Digimon was concerned there was almost always going to be the possibility of evil like this but, to be honest, this was the first time that the Tamers had heard about something like this happening in the present.

The D-Reaper didn't count because that wasn't a Digimon. Zhuqiaomon and the Devas had been misguided rather than true evil. Ogudomon didn't count either because all his rampaging had taken place in the human world and he had failed to kill anyone. The Demon Lords and their rampages had all taken place in the past. And GranDracmon had been mostly trapped in the Dark Ocean, making attacks on the Digital World impractical for most of the time he had been there.

"That's terrible," Takato breathed, looking sick. "Do you have any idea who might be behind this?"

"Not one," Caturamon shook his head. "All we know is that… whatever this Digimon is… its vicious, impulsive and mindlessly destructive. Perhaps more so than your friend Cyberdramon here," he cast a look at the cybernetic dragon, whose snarling increased his volume. "I probably shouldn't mention it but…there were a couple of mutters, mostly from Indramon, that Cyberdramon _was_ the culprit."

Predictably, Cyberdramon did not take that very well. He let out a roar of anger and bared his teeth, Ryo flinging his arm out to try and keep him calm. "Oh, I assure you Caturamon, it was not Cyberdramon. He would never have had the time to do something like that without me noticing. And none of us have crossed into the Digital World for over a month now. HYPNOS would have told us if someone had crossed the barrier unannounced – they're never off duty."

"Don't worry, the rest of us did shout him down," Caturamon nodded. "We know that your partner may be a berserker, but we did not believe he would pick on the weak. It was my understanding that he wants worthy and powerful opponents even when you had more difficulty in controlling him."

"That is true," nodded Ryo. "But since we destroyed the D-Reaper he has been easier to handle. And even more so ever since he and Aayla started having practice swordfights with one another."

"Now that I _would_ like to see," Caturamon almost snorted.

"Is there anything that we can do to help look for this vicious killer?" Jeri asked.

"But Jeri," Takato interrupted. "We've got something else that we need to do first – we've got to help the others to save both the universes. And that's even bigger than a mass murderer Digimon."

Jeri sighed. "I know," she said. "But it just feels wrong not to do _something_."

"And if the problem still isn't over by the time we've done our other job then we'll throw everything we've got into it," Elecmon said firmly. "Takato is right though. We need to focus on our current mission because if we don't sort that one out fast then _everything_ will be destroyed."

Caturamon's eyes widened. "Sounds serious then."

"It is," Guardromon stated. "Very much so."

"Well, Ebonwumon and Baihumon should probably be able to tell us what we need to know to get started anyway," Ryo took charge of the situation. "You reckon you could bring them to us so we can talk, Caturamon? It's _very _important."

"I can imagine," Caturamon grimaced. "Very well. I shall send word out to them. It will not take long for them to get here." And with that, he hologram turned around and bounded into the trees until it reached the end of the projection range and vanished completely.

The Tamers were left in the glade, pondering what they had just learned about the attacks on the Digital World. And then Guilmon's head shot up and he said, "Hey, I just had a thought."

"What thought?" Takato turned to his partner.

"Uxie said that the walls of our universe were breaking down," the dinosaur reminded them. "And that meant that things might get carried through one of the holes and into the other universe by accident. Do you think that whatever's doing the attacks might be some kind of Pokémon?"

There was an icy silence.

"I… really hope not," Ryo murmured a moment later. "But I'm afraid that that is a possibility."

"Something tells me that it isn't, though," Takato muttered. "I mean, a Pokémon might just be lost and confused and leave some kind of trail behind it or something, right? But these attacks that Caturamon described just happened in completely random spots, with no trace of anything in between… like it was co-ordinated."

"You think that there might be some malevolent force out there that's deliberately picking out villages to attack and then tearing it to shreds?" Kenta asked.

"I don't know," Takato shrugged. "Maybe. I just don't think it sounds like a Pokémon attack. Not that I know that much about Pokémon. I could be completely wrong, of course."

"Strange as it sounds to say it, but I hope that it is a Digimon," Elecmon fanned out his tails. "The thought of it being a Pokémon…makes me worry about what the others have gotten themselves into by going to the other universe with Giratina and the others."

There were rounds of nods from around the projection. Nobody wanted to think of the others going into a world filled with monsters like the one behind these attacks. The residents of the Digital World were powerful but they were mostly friendly so that was less worrying. But obviously whoever was assaulting these villages had not got the memo that they were supposed to be nice guys.

* * *

Nobody said anything else after that until eventually, something happened. Out of the blue… quite literally… and absolute enormous hologram appeared, making everyone jump at the suddenness with which the giant shape loomed out of thin air. It was a tiger and a _big_ one, complete with a helmet that covered its face from above its nose to its ears with holes for its four enormous eyes, giant plated armour on its front limbs and a spiked ring around its tail. There was no mistaking this particular figure and the Tamers had seen him in action before. Despite the impressive level of power that they could reach, none of them wanted to go up against this Digimon in a fighting match.

"Tamers," Baihumon nodded to them. His hologram was just as life-size as Caturamon's had been, and that meant that it was so large that the trees around the clearing passed right through its hindquarters because it was too large to fit into the space on its own. "It is good to see you again."

"And you, Baihumon," Jeri smiled. "How are you? The last time we saw you was just after the battle with GranDracmon."

"I am well," Baihumon chuckled. "I must admit that that particular battle took it out of all of us. We had to rest for quite some time after that but it is difficult to keep a Sovereign down. And here I am now."

"Yeah," Takato nodded. "We heard about the thing that's going on in the Digital World right now with the mysterious attacker."

Baihumon's jaw clenched. "Indeed," he growled. "It is not a pleasant subject. I have been to a couple of the attack sites personally and have seen the wreckage for myself."

"Do you have any clues as to what might have caused it?" Guilmon asked.

"Not many," conceded Baihumon. "But whatever it was was certainly violent. This was not the calm, ordered and sinister attack of someone clever and self-restrained like Lucemon or Lilithmon had been from the days of old. This kind of destruction was definitely the work of something animalistic and mindlessly aggressive, more like Belphemon."

"You don't think Belphemon could have come back for a round three, do you?" Takato asked.

"No, this was not his doing." Baihumon shook his colossal head. "I was just using it as a comparison. If Belphemon had been behind this then the villages would have been levelled and reduced to powder dust. It was mostly still standing each time, and from the attack marks and tears in the walls, we have determined that the culprit was definitely nowhere near as large as something like Belphemon and it also has three large claws on each of its appendages based on the rips in the sides of the building."

"And it has red eyes," shuddered Kenta.

"That too," Baihumon agreed. "But that's really all we know. We did find a couple of unfamiliar footprints in the attack sites that suggest that whatever it is it's no larger than the average mid-sized Champion level Digimon. But whatever it is, it's fast, it's efficient and it's still out there."

"Is there ever any _good_ news that comes out of the Digital World?" Kazu complained loudly. "It would be nice if, just the one time, we could hear about the rise of some great new Digimon who fights for good. Yamaki's having enough trouble keeping the government off our backs and _your_ backs as it is."

"There is tension in the human world?" Baihumon frowned.

"A little," nodded Takato. "Some of the… actually a lot of the… senior members of the government do still think that the Digimon and the Digital World pose a serious threat to us and they think that we Tamers are just troublemaking kids seeking thrills more than anything. Yamaki has a very high position so up until now he's been able to keep things from getting out of hand but still…it can get a little worrying sometimes."

"Hmm," Baihumon snorted. "Perhaps we Sovereigns should speak to your human leaders directly. Perhaps we can work something out."

"It might just come to that," Ryo shrugged. "But, for the moment we're off the hook so we'll just have to see."

"Alrighty there, everybody," said a vibrant Irish accent suddenly. "What're we nattering on about at the moment?"

"Good to see you too, Ebonwumon," chuckled Ryo as the two giant heads of the humungous tortoise Sovereign stepped into view. An enormous shell with a massive forest on the top followed on after them with two huge front legs… and then Ebonwumon came to a stop half in and half out of the holographic field. He was too big to fit in completely and the holographic trees on his back seemed to be almost fusing with the real trees of the park.

The effect of there being half an Ebonwumon was slightly disconcerting, but it was still an improvement over the last time some form of the giant Sovereign had appeared here. He was so large that there was nowhere in the entire city that he could stand without flattening something, or several somethings, and his last visit had crushed well over fifty trees in Shinjuku Park. And considering trees _grew_ on Ebonwumon's back, this was quite sad for him.

"Ah, Tamers. Et certainly 'as been a lang time," the left head said cheerfully. "How're ye faring?"

"Not too bad considering everything," Jeri shrugged. "We could be better of course but… well… we ourselves are just fine."

"Way to put quoite a morbed spin on things," Ebonwumon chuckled. "Seems to me like summat pretty beg is troubling ye, young Missie. Et's not the whole thing with the murdrer es et, because Oi could understand whoi dat would get somebody down in the dumps."

"And where're the rest o' yur little friends," his other head uttered in a crisp Scottish accent. The right hand head spoke a lot less than the Irish left one but it usually had something relevant to say when it did.

"Yes, oi was just wondrin' the same thing," the left head nodded.

"As was I," Baihumon agreed. "The last time we set eyes on your brethren the former prophecy trio was when they returned to our own dimension with that Aayla in tow. Why are they not standing here with you?"

"Because of what we've come to speak to you about," Takato said severely. "I'm afraid to say… that we're about to heap yet another problem on top of the fact you've got a murdering creature on the loose somewhere."

"Oh, we're used to multiple situations, Mister Concern O'Worry," Ebonwumon chuckled. "Oi remember dat one year when the Demon Lords were en power and there was also Parallelmon knocking abowt the place and then there was dat whole business with Apocalymon. Dat was one tough toime, I can assure ye."

"Aye, t'were a real struggle at times," the second head agreed.

"Well, what we have to tell you is probably going to make things very tough indeed," Ryo sighed. "And we're going to need to act very quickly because there isn't a whole lot of time."

"Let's get oor game faces on then," Ebonwumon nodded seriously. "Noo, what's the situation?"

"Well," Ryo sighed, once again being elected the spokesperson of the group. "You see, there have been some… interesting developments around us recently as well. But first, tell us, have you noticed anything… besides the murdering Digimon going on in your world?"

Ebonwumon and Baihumon both glanced at once another. "Not especially, no," Baihumon shook his head. "For the most part we Sovereigns do not leave our level of the Digital World. We make it a point not to interfere too much with lives of the locals unless something really serious is happening, but we do use the Devas as scouts and they haven't really seen anything besides that either."

"Hold on won second there," Ebonwumon added. "What was dat thing that Majiramon was telling us abowt a couple of weeks ago? Did he no say dat he was flyin' over the Mecha Level when he saw something dat looked like an enoormus rip en the sky? But when he went over for a further look et vanished or summat like that?"

"Well, there is that," Baihumon conceded. "But he did admit that it could have been some sort of strange mirage."

"I don't think it was," Ryo stated quickly. "I think it was a rip in the wall of the dimension."

"A wut?" Ebonwumon's second head blinked.

"Let me explain," Ryo said quickly. "This morning we Tamers and our friends and families received a few visitors. Visitors that were neither of our world, nor yours. They weren't even from Aayla's universe. They called themselves Pokémon. And they had some very troubling news for us."

And so Ryo quickly outlined everything that Uxie and the others had explained to them that morning and what had happened after that. He told of how the universes were rubbing against each other and had been for the past half a year and how the Royal Knights and Giratina himself were desperately trying to slow down the progress of the collision but were unable to stop it completely.

He told them of how they didn't know what was causing the event but that they did know what was needed to finish it. He told them of how the Super Seven, Impmon and his own Tamers had decided to go with the visitors and back to their own world to find a way of waking up their God, Arceus, in order to try and stop the collision of the worlds but how that alone would not be enough to do it.

The Sovereigns were silent as they listened intently to what Ryo had to say, and Ryo eventually reached the point where he said, "And so you see we're in kinda a serious situation here. We need to find out how to wake up Fanglongmon and we need to do it within the next couple of months. If we don't figure out how to do it, then both the universes will be destroyed completely. And from what Uxie said, only the combined efforts of Arceus and Fanglongmon will be enough to stop this so even you Sovereigns are powerless against this particular situation. In short, we need to know if there's a way of waking up Fanglongmon now and if there is then we need to do it."

When Ryo finished speaking there was a long silence. A silence that became increasingly excruciating with every passing second that it went on. It must have been a lot of information to digest, even for the mighty beings like the Sovereigns, but the Tamers could quite clearly see the grave expressions on the faces of all three heads. And it was quite difficult to make out much expression on either of them so it _must_ have gotten to them.

"Well…" Baihumon announced after over a minute of no talking whatsoever. "It seems you were right. That… is pretty bad news."

"Somehow, Oi think Oi would be feeling better roight now if you had just said that Apocalymon had decoided to come back from the land of the dead again," Ebonwumon agreed. "Oi have to admit dat this is a furst. Even for us."

"Aye," the second head nodded. "Usually wen we get sum kind o' bad news its in de form of an enemy dat we can fight. But no' thes. Ah don't think Ah've ever felt like sich a… mudlin."

"Mudlin?" Jeri blinked. "What's a mudlin?"

"A useless person," the head that said it in the first place clarified.

"Ah," Jeri nodded. "Right. But no, you're not a mudlin. This is just… quite a serious and unusual situation."

"And unprecedented," Baihumon agreed. "I have a feeling that this Uxie was right. If our universe is indeed colliding with theirs… then there's really nothing that we Sovereigns could do ourselves to fix something like that. And you say that your companions must gather these… Legendaries… in order to wake up the other God from their world?"

"Yeah, that's right," nodded Takato. "We don't really know too much about the details so they were probably told more about it when they reached the other universe. But Uxie said that we had a couple of months minimum between now and the destruction of our worlds to waken the Gods, so… we kinda need to hurry."

"Indeed we do," Baihumon agreed. "Lord Fanglongmon has not needed to be wakened for a very long time now."

"So do you possess the ability to do it?" Kazu asked. "Because, you know, that would really speed things up and make all our lives easier. But something tells me that you're about to say no, aren't you?"

"Ye see roight throo us, Mister Sarcastic McBitter," Ebonwumon's head swivelled across himself to stare at Kazu. "Oi'm afraid that we don't have the power to awaken 'is Lordship from his naptime."

"If we did we probably would have done et before against foes like the True Enemy," the other head nodded. "But we cannae, so we didnae."

"But there must be a way to awaken him right?" Ryo stepped forwards slightly. "There has to be some method that we can use to wake him up? Surely not the _only_ way of waking him up is fulfil some great prophecy, is there?"

"Something tells me that if there is another great prophecy as this moment, which there probably us, it would involve waking up Lord Fanglongmon as part of its course instead of its result this time," Baihumon murmured. "That does seem to be how these prophecies work. And in answer to your question, young Tamer… yes, there is a way to wake up Lord Fanglongmon."

Grins suddenly appeared on the faces of all the Tamers and the Digimon present, but as Baihumon did not continue and Ebonwumon did not add anything more to the conversation for several moment the grins slowly faded. Kenta sighed and said, "There's a catch isn't there."

"No, there's no catch, laddie," Ebonwumon shook both heads. "Et's just goin' to be verra difficult to pull off so… well, alreet. Oi suppose that there _es_ a catch."

"And a purty big whopper of won," the other head agreed.

"There have been times in the history of the Digital World where waking up Lord Fanglongmon could have been most helpful," the Sovereigns nodded. "But usually during those times of crisis we're too busy trying to contain the disaster to go about trying to do it. This time though we might be lucky. Apart from this murdering Digimon on the loose there aren't really any particular problems with the Digital World at the moment, so we may have some more time. Regardless, the method of awakening Fanglongmon promises to be… very tough indeed."

"Well, let's hear it," Takato sighed. "Sooner we know what we have to do the better."

"Alright," nodded Baihumon. "Well, first, I shall have to talk a little about the past for it to make sense. It was during the time where the Digital World was on the rise. The True Enemy had vanished for the first time and the Digimon were constantly growing and evolving and expanding. That was when Lord Fanglongmon and Lord Anubimon rose up and began to build the Digital World we know today. Anubimon built his own realm where the data of deleted Digimon would be sent for judgement on whether they should be reborn. And Fanglongmon constructed the Heavens, created we Sovereigns and the Great Angels and set the Digital World in motion."

"This was before the toime where he went to sleep fur the first toime," Ebonwumon noted. "Et's quoite a whoile ago now, but oi still remember et as clear as anything. Anyway, as ye know, part o' the reason Lord Fanglongmon puts hisself into torpor es because of his evil soide. During the toime of plenty, he could feel the evil soide beginnin' to creep up on him and troi to take him over. So he knew he had to do something, but before he put himself to sleep, he gave won particular Digimon the ability to wake him up should the Digital World ever need et."

"So there's a Digimon out there who can awaken Fanglongmon for us," Ryo asked brightly. "All we have to do is find him?"

"Who is he?" Jeri asked.

"Ah, ah, ah," Ebonwumon's other head shook itself. "We're nae finished with the story, lad and lass. We'e still gort a wee bit of the explainin' tae do."

"He's right," nodded Baihumon. "Regardless, there _is_ a Digimon with the ability to wake Fanglongmon up. His name is Imperialdramon Paladin Mode."

"Wait, what?" Takato gasped, wheezing slightly and his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. Kazu and Kenta were not that far behind. "Are you serious? There's an Imperialdramon Paladin Mode out there somewhere and… we haven't met him yet?"

"No way," Kazu breathed. "Imperialdramon Paladin Mode… this is like some of my dreams are coming true."

"I know. Imperialdramon Paladin Mode was one of the coolest Digimon there ever was," Kenta agreed, his head bobbing up and down so fast that it was in danger of coming off. "And now we have to go and find him? This will be… so… coooooool!"

"Sometimes, I wish that TV show had never been created," Ryo chuckled slightly.

"Hold your horses, Tamers," Baihumon interrupted. "Yes, Imperialdramon Paladin Mode is the only one who can awaken Fanglongmon. He was Fanglongmon's closest friend and confidant in the days where Fanglongmon kept himself awake and built the Digital World we know today, and the leader of his forces in the Heavens. And before Fanglongmon put himself to sleep, he gave Imperialdramon the ability to wake him up should the Digital World ever need it.

"But, after a few years had passed, Imperialdramon took on an extremely powerful evil Digimon known as UltimateKhaosmon. He was able to triumph and destroy him, but he was grievously wounded himself in the process."

"Oh wow," Kazu gasped. "That _must_ have been a strong Digimon to even put a dent in Imperialdramon Paladin Mode."

"Et was," Ebonwumon nodded. "Imperialdramon was so badly injured that he needed some toime to heal his wounds. But he did no' wish to leave the Digital World completely withowt some koind of protection on 'is part and so he created the groop known as the Royal Knoights. They are a group o' powerful Knoight Digimon who watch the boondaries of the Digital World. Their leader was a Digimon almost as powerful as Imperialdramon hisself knoon as Alphamon. And then Imperialdramon left to heal his wounds and… well…"

"He hasnae been seen since," his other head took over. "Naebody kens where Imperialdramon is now, but wherever et es, he hasnae emerged in any of the crises of the Digital World since then."

"Wonderful," Ryo muttered.

Takato and Guilmon were both staring at one another by this point, wondering the same thing. Their biomerged form of Gallantmon was a Royal Knight Digimon. But that was strange… how could that be right if Imperialdramon had created all of the Royal Knights. Had Takato inexplicably created another one or something? What was going on here?

Questions were running rife through both of their heads but before they had the opportunity to ask them, Jeri had voiced a different one. "So, how are we supposed to find Imperialdramon now? If nobody else has found him…"

"Well, I'm afraid that I don't have an answer to that question," Baihumon admitted. "I would not have the first clue where to begin looking for the missing Imperialdramon Paladin Mode. The D-Reaper destroyed a huge portion of the rest of the Digital World when it attacked a few years ago, and still he did not show up. I just don't know."

"But there's no reason to be givin' up hope roight noo," Ebonwumon added cheerfully. "Because if there's anyone who might know where to foind Imperialdramon, et would be the group of warriors that he founded – the Royal Knoights."

"If they dinnae ken where he is then Ah'd be mighty surprised," his other head said in agreement.

"Indeed," Baihumon nodded. "Therefore it seems that for the moment what we must do is clear. We must speak to the Royal Knights and ask them of what they know."

"Really?" Kazu gaped. "Oh, that's going to be soooo cool. We're going to be able to go up and talk to them… and they even have that Omnimon that Henry and Rika met in their ranks! You hear that Kenta! We're going to get to meet an Omnimon!"

Kenta looked like he was going to pass out. Takato was not much better, but he then frowned and said, "Hold on… I thought that Omnimon _was_ the leader of the Royal Knights. But you said that this Alphamon guy is?"

"Indeed," Baihumon nodded. "But when Apocalymon rose up, it was the Royal Knights who were able to confront him while we Sovereigns continued to fight the Demon Lords. Several of their numbers went missing during that fight and Alphamon was one of them. He too has not been seen since then, but Omnimon took over in his stead. Omnimon should still know what to do. They all should."

"Those who still remain as part of the Royal Knoight group anyway," Ebonwumon nodded for clarification.

"Well then, I guess our road is clear," Ryo turned to the others. "We're going to have to have a little chat with the Royal Knights."

"Imagine that, Kenta," Kazu turned to his long-time friend. "We're going to be going to see an Omnimon so that we can find an Imperialdramon Paladin Mode. How amazing is that?"

Kenta looked back at Kazu mutely before he keeled over in a complete dead faint and landed with a thud on the floor. MarineAngemon peeped in alarm and hovered down to try and revive his Tamer but the others merely rolled their eyes slightly before turning back to the holographic Sovereigns.

"I take it that you wish to undertake this mission personally," Baihumon noted from the looks of determination that were appearing on the faces before him.

"You got it," nodded Takato. "We're going to find those Royal Knights and ask them what we need to know. It's only fitting. You Sovereigns can work on tracking down this murderer that you have on the loose while we work on the other problem, just like our friends are doing in the other universe."

"Ah'm nae sure 'murderer' is the right wurd for this errant Digimon," Ebonwumon's Scottish head murmured. "'Is attacks are too much like a rampage for it."

"'Murdrur still soonds loike an apt description to me, regardless of how moindless the killing spree was," his other head disagreed.

Baihumon looked a little troubled. "I do feel like we should do what we can to help in this situation, Tamers. After all, this situation does affect all of us Digimon and that therefore makes this just as much our responsibility as ours."

"Well, yeah," nodded Ryo. "But nevertheless I think Takato is right. There _are_ two problems at the moment so I think it might be better for us to work on the two different issues. Besides, this is our mission. The Pokémon who warned us about the incoming disaster did come directly to us. You cannot expect us to just sit back while everything goes on around us and our friends could be risking their lives in the other universe. It's not right."

Baihumon stared down at the tiny beings in front of him, at least in comparison to his vast feline bulk, and then he sighed through his enormous nostrils and said, "You know, there was a time when I once considered you humans inconsequential. I did not hate you as Zhuqiaomon did, but I did not believe that you were worth much note. I long realised just how wrong I was on that score. When it comes to sheer resolve, often you can even surpass among the most determined of Digimon."

"Er… well… thank you," Jeri smiled up at him.

Baihumon nodded graciously. "Very well then," he said. "You can be the ones to go and speak with the Royal Knights. To be honest, we do not really have much to do with them anyway, especially since our role is to protect the Digital World from internal threats while they protect its borders."

"Aye," Ebonwumon nodded. "Et's been a whoile since Oi got to have a conversation with 'em. Oi do remember that Magnamon was usually good for a laugh."

"Excuse me, did you say Magnamon?" Kazu gaped. "Oh my God, not a Magnamon too! Aaawwessoomme!"

"Yes, well anyway," Ryo coughed. "I guess it's decided then?"

"It is," Baihumon nodded. "We'll continue monitoring the Digital World for any signs of this threat from the murderer. But we shall also divide our forces further and seek to find our own way of slowing down the universal collisions before it becomes too late."

"Sounds like we've got a new mission," Guardromon observed. The robot was looking slightly put out but the fact that Kazu was hyperventilating about all these other Digimon that weren't his own partner, but he didn't say anything about it. Jeri seemed to notice though, and resolved to ask him about it later.

"Wait…" Kenta suddenly sat up from where he'd fainted. "I just had a thought. Didn't Uxie say that the Royal Knights were trapped in the Digital Barrier and unable to leave it? If that's true… how are we going to be able to talk to them?"

"Hey, that's a point," Jeri nodded. "With Impmon gone to the other universe, none of us have the ability to enter the Digital Barrier and just stay there. How are we supposed to have an entire conversation with these Royal Knights when we can't even get to where they are?"

"I would not worry about that so much," Baihumon chuckled. "As it happens, there is one place in the Digital World where it will be possible to speak with the Royal Knights and do so without actually entering the Digital Barrier itself. They have created a citadel in the Digital World where those who wish to ask them something, make a request of them or even just to stand in their presence may do so… providing they prove themselves worthy."

"Prove themselves... oh, I don't like the sound of that," Jeri murmured.

"They _are_ Knights," Elecmon pointed out. "Royal ones. My guess is that they wouldn't want just anyone turning up at their citadel now would they? They would want only those who are strong of purpose and true of heart to step across their threshold to speak with them. That's certainly what I would want if I was in their place."

"And it's what they want too," Baihumon confirmed. "It's not an easy place to get to and there will be a couple of trials along the way, but I have every confidence that you Tamers will manage it."

"What kind of trials?" Guardromon asked edgily.

"Well, fur won thing, et's set dead in the centre of the most inhospitable level of the entire Digital World," Ebonwumon chuckled wryly.

"The Desert Level?" blinked Takato.

"No," Ryo said, his words sounding a little icy which was in keeping with what he said next – "The Tundra Level."

"Tundra Level?" Takato blinked again. "I don't think we've ever been there."

"You might not have but Cyberdramon and I went there when we were travelling the Digital World alone and before we even met you guys," Ryo turned to look at them all. "There are seven levels after all – the Sovereigns Level, the Desert Level, the Forest Level, the Prairie Level, the Ocean Level, the Mecha Level and the Tundra Level. Believe me, the Tundra Level is far more inhospitable than the Desert Level. A lot of the problems a big desert might give you like hunger and thirst are nullified due to the fact that it's in the Digital World but the Tundra Level… well that's pretty much filled with the same problems you might get trying to survive in Antarctica."

"That bad?" Jeri breathed.

"Worse," Ryo muttered. "It's blisteringly cold at all times, it's practically in snowstorm mode twenty-four-seven, it's horribly wet and the Digimon inhabitants that _do_ live there can be much more aggressive than the average Digimon from more pleasant regions. Many of them are just as friendly as any other, but a good number of them are nomads who spend almost their whole time alone and don't like anything they might consider an intruder. And of course, they're tough. They have to be to live in the middle of the Tundra Level."

"Yikes," Kazu gritted his teeth.

"Yep," nodded Ryo. "We went there once and we… kinda hoped we would not ever have to go there again."

"And we only stuck to the edges," Cyberdramon snarled. "This time we'll have to go in all the way to reach this citadel."

"He's right," nodded Ryo. "This is _not_ going to be easy."

"We'll manage it somehow," Takato said firmly, raising a clenched fist and scowling in determination. "The others are going to be facing some troubles and we're not backing down from this one."

"I didn't say we should," Ryo replied. "But I do think that we should be very prepared for this one. Everyone stock up on fire Digimon Modify Cards. We might need their assistance."

"If ye loike, we coold send Flyboy O'Cranky out there with ye to clear the way," Ebonwumon offered, referring of course to Zhuqiaomon. "He's abowt the only won of us who really goes arownd the Tundra Level these days and that's because he can melt anything en his path."

"Nah, I don't think we should pull Zhuqiaomon out of his way," Takato replied quickly. "It would probably just annoy him."

"Probably," conceded Baihumon. "Still, it will be difficult and not just for the weather and conditions of the level. Now listen carefully. To find the Citadel, you have to follow the light patterns in the sky. They originate from the Citadel itself so following them back to their source will steer you in the right direction."

"Oh, so we're following an aurora?" Jeri asked brightly.

"Yeah," Ryo nodded. "I saw it while I was there. It's not like the aurora borealis though. It's mostly made of gold and it was difficult to see during the day but very clear at night. It was actually… quite magical."

"I can imagine," Jeri grinned. "I've always wanted to see an aurora."

"Well, now is your chance," Ryo chuckled. "I didn't realise that it was being generated by some citadel to the Royal Knights though. I guess you really do learn something new every day."

"Okay then we know roughly where we're heading and how to get there," Takato nodded. "But what kind of tests are there which we'll have to face?"

"That is something which we cannot tell you," Baihumon replied shortly. "Not only do we Sovereigns have an automatic entranceway which only we can use, but being prepared for what you would face in advance would defy the point. Plus, I do actually know myself since I have never had to use it. I will tell you that they will be designed to test your courage, strength and resolve. Those are, after all, the virtues of the Royal Knights. It's what they embody, and they feel like those who wish to speak with them should embody similar characteristics. I doubt that it will be anything easy, I'm afraid."

"We can handle it," Kazu said confidently.

"Speak for yourself," Kenta murmured. "I'm already getting nervous."

"You've got MarineAngemon," Kazu objected. "You'll be fine. If you find yourself in danger he'll just put you in some kind of near indestructible bubble and you can bounce your way through the challenges in it."

"I do duty," MarineAngemon trilled and winked at his Tamer.

"Thanks, buddy," Kenta nodded.

"Well I think that we can all agree that we won't be telling our parents about these trials which we'll have to get through," Takato announced. "But apart from that, I say that we go for it. Full speed ahead. Besides, Guilmon and I even become a Royal Knight when we biomerge – they might even… I dunno… sense our approach or something and let us in."

"Oi doot it," Ebonwumon interjected. "Even the Royal Knoights continue to test each other's resolve at toimes to see if they're still worthy of their titles."

"Oh. Never mind then."

Baihumon drew himself up to his considerable height and said, "Well then, it is settled. As Sovereign of the West I hereby delegate you Tamers with this mission to save our world. Should you require assistance then do not hesitate to contact us immediately and we shall see what we can do. Good fortune go with you… and with all of us since the fate of all Digimon now rests in your hands."

"We'll try not to let you down, sir," Takato nodded.

Baihumon nodded and then stepped backwards and retreated out of the holographic frame. Ebonwumon stared after him for a moment and then stepped further in so that more of his body and the forest on his shell became visible. He then curved his heads down to fix all four eyes on Guilmon and said, "Hey, Scaly McStomach-on-legs, you lookin' forward to this new adventure?"

Guilmon looked taken aback at being spoke to directly by the giant tortoise but after a moment's hesitation he just said, "Uh… yeah… I'm ready. I can't wait to meet all of these other Royal Knights. I wonder if any of them look like me when I'm Gallantmon."

"Oh, they will," Ebonwumon chuckled. "It'll be a roight old reunion and make no mistake."

"Huh?" Guilmon blinked.

"I dinnae think we're saepposed tae mention that," the other head noted.

"Aye, well, he'll be findin' out the meaning of my wurds soon enough," the first head noted. "Well, off back to me castle. Good luck, ye little whippersnappers."

"Wait, wait!" Guilmon stepped forwards as Ebonwumon turned around and moved away. "What do you mean, reunion? Don't you have to have met somebody before for it to be a reunion?"

But Ebonwumon could move surprisingly quickly for such an enormous creature and he was gone. The holographic light coming from the device in Ryo's hand displayed nothing but blueness just as it had done at the very beginning. Ryo grimaced and hit the button he had pressed last time and the blueness faded, ending the transmission.

Guilmon's bat-wing ears drooped slightly and he turned back to Takato. "What did he mean by that, Takato?"

"I have… no idea," Takato frowned. "Did you meet any of the Royal Knights before?"

"No, not really," Guilmon had a claw against his mouth and was tapping it as he tried to remember. "We didn't meet any when we were wandering the Digital World looking for a way back and I know I've never met them with you guys."

"Perhaps he was referring to UlforceVeedramon," Jeri pointed out. "He's a Royal Knight as well, isn't he and he helped us out against GranDracmon. Maybe he found his way into the ranks of the others."

"Yeah, that must be it," Takato nodded. But somehow he got the feeling that this was not the case.

"Whatever he was talking about, we now know what our next step is," Ryo nodded. "We need to find Imperialdramon Paladin Mode. And to do that we're going to have to speak with the other Royal Knights. And to do that we're going to have to cross the most inhospitable place in the entire Digital World and undergo a series of trials designed to make sure that our hearts are true enough to make it into the citadel of the Royal Knights."

"I maintain that we should all be fine on that front," Elecmon stated with a smile. "You are the Tamers. If the Royal Knights will not accept you into their presence then nobody will."

"Why do they even need a bunch of trials?" Kenta asked. "Won't walk across the frozen wasteland be a trial in and of itself?"

"Maybe for us," Ryo conceded. "But there are many Digimon who wouldn't bat an eyelid at the conditions up there. And not all of them would be welcome into the Citadel of the Royal Knights. An IceDevimon for example."

"Ah. True that," Kenta nodded. "Well then… when do we go?"

"As soon as possible," Takato said firmly. "We don't know how long either of those two tasks is going to take do we. Even if we find Imperialdramon Paladin Mode a month earlier than the day the worlds end then at least we'll still be prepared. We just can't afford to be too _late_ with finding him."

"Takato's right," Ryo nodded. "But this is going to be a big undertaking. I say that we all get ready for the rest of the day and get a good night's sleep. We'll set out first thing tomorrow. If we do that then we might be able to make it to the Tundra Zone by the end of the day provided we can find it."

"I know where it is," Cyberdramon growled. "We passed it during our year alone. I made sure that we did not go there at the time."

"Yeah, I remember that," Guilmon nodded. "You said it was a horrible place."

"I was not lying," Cyberdramon stated.

"Can I come with you?" Calumon asked, bouncing up and down on top of the rock he was standing on enthusiastically. "I want to come with you. I want to help you save the world. Please, please, pleasepleasepleaseplease."

"It's going to be hard, Calumon," Ryo informed him. "The Tundra Level is no place for joking and games and… well… the smaller you are the harder it might be. I reckon even MarineAngemon's going to have trouble there."

MarineAngemon shuddered slightly and dived into Kenta's pocket. "Warm in here," he called out in a slightly muffled pocket.

"Nevertheless, Kenta, you might want to line your pocket with something fluffy for him anyway," Ryo advised.

"Got it," Kenta nodded.

"But I still want to go," Calumon pouted. "I'm not going be left behind while everyone else goes and has an adventure. I was helpful to Impmon and the others. I think that I can be useful again if I try hard. And I promise I will. I'll try really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really hard."

Ryo glanced across at Jeri, and the young girl nodded her head. Calumon had shown his bravery many times in the past despite his stature. And he was just as much a part of this group as all the others even if he didn't have a partner.

"Of course you can come, Calumon," Jeri smiled. "But you're going to have to promise to be very careful, understand."

"I can do that," Calumon grinned. He then frowned and said, "What about Behemoth? Impmon didn't take his bike with him the Pokémon World? Should we take him?"

Ryo hesitated for a moment and said, "I think Behemoth might have some _real_ trouble coping with the Tundra Level. It's going to be tough to _walk_ through it but wheels just won't manage it. I think we'll leave Behemoth behind this time."

"Alright then everyone," Takato nodded. "I guess we get ready. Meet by the hideout tomorrow morning?"

"Eight o'clock," Jeri nodded. "I'll be there."

The Tamers split up and each headed back to their respective house. But, despite the fact that they now had a plan, Guilmon could not stop mulling over Ebonwumon's last words to him. A reunion? That just didn't make sense. Takato had created him and he had never met the other Royal Knights before.

And yet… he was getting a strange tingling feeling inside his gut.

It was almost like… he was going home.

* * *

Once again, huge apologies for the severe delay to this chapter. I really hope that the next week is not so bad, but I don't think that it will be. I should be able to press on with the next chapter of TBAK and then I'll be back here once again and writing the next chapter of this story. Anyway, I aim to press on with my writing after this long delay and soon I will have done twenty chapters since I started this double project. Should be fun.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even if was just another explanatory one. Nevertheless, I have now set the scene for the rest of the side-story. Things are going to be getting _very_ interesting for our friends in this universe just as they did in SOT3. I hope that you enjoy the ride when it comes.

* * *

Next time…

Now with a full team of companions from another universe to help them, the group sets off in search of the Legendaries. Adventure will soon await as they confront this world and the difficulties it presents both to those from it and not from it together. How will the group fare?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 11 : And So It Begins**


	11. And So It Begins

I don't think that I need to apologise for this chapter being so late because you should all already know that I certainly am very sorry. Nevertheless it is here eventually, but as I now have a job working for the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust I have had my time further usurped from writing. I believe I am now getting the hang of the schedule though so things may pick up in the future but I make no guaratees. Thank you all for your patience, as I only received one person telling me to hurry up (and I would like to point out to this person that telling me to hurry will not help as I am already doing what I can) but here I am at last anyway. This is another conversation chapter, one that is still very much needed. But I promise that they finally set out on their journey in the next chapter. Allons-y.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 11:- And So It Begins**

* * *

Absol was reclined against the tree which had spent most of the rest of the day lying next to while curled in a ball and shivering uncontrollably. Now, he looked much more at peace with everything around him, and he had indeed fallen asleep, a rather contented look on his face. Now that he knew what the disaster he was sensing was, things would be much easier for him to handle. He would now be able to suppress and ignore the horrible feeling which was trickling down his curved horn and into his mind.

The situation itself was just as bad as he'd imagined and he did not for a moment think that it should be taken lightly.

But at least now he could relax and focus on other things. This had been his first proper sleep for over a month now and he was quite determined to make the most of it.

Felkan was sat next to him. He respected Absol as an equal just as he did with the rest of his team, but that didn't stop him from rubbing Absol behind the ear like an overgrown house Delcatty. It did him good to see Absol at peace once again. His growing concern for his Pokémon had probably been yet another factor that caused him to snap at the newcomers when they had arrived.

He was still sitting apart from them obviously, having no desire to get too close to the other humans while he had the opportunity not to. They were all children younger than himself, that much was true, but in his experience even children could be could be cruel. In fact, often the children were the cruellest of them all, as they were more likely to do something stupid and rash than an adult due to their inexperience.

For that reason he just sat with Absol and watched the rest of his Pokémon interacting with the newcomers and discussing various things with them. They had decided already that they would wait until the morning before they set out to try and find the other Legendaries that they were supposed to now locate within a couple of months. Not only could Absol use the rest but it was getting close to dark now anyway and for another thing, Aayla had pointed out that they needed some provisions if they were going to make a journey.

The newcomers had left their own universe in such a hurry that they had not had the time to pack anything, which meant that they would need things like backpacks, food, some gear that might help them with the adventure ahead, and perhaps some hygiene products. To do that, they were going to have to stop at a city and the nearest one – Viridian City of Kanto, would have already shut most of its stores for the night.

So, they were just taking the opportunity now to rest and get to know one another better. Felkan couldn't help but notice Gardevoir occasionally looking over her shoulder at him to make sure he was listening to the conversation before she turned back to continue speaking with them.

Felkan knew what she wanted. She wanted him to mingle with the rest of the group as his team was doing. But even though Felkan had now deigned to go with them, he still had no intention of associating with them any more than necessary. First order of business when they finished this quest of theirs was to get away from them again, as far as he was concerned.

Still, he couldn't help but be interested in what they had to say about themselves. Although he tried very hard to hide that fact.

"So, let me get this straight," Houndoom sniffed from where he was laying, his spaded tail sweeping from side to side as if it had a life of its own (though it didn't because he was not a Girafarig). "You're saying that after you evolve, you have the option of regressing _back_ to your smaller forms again?"

"Yep," nodded Terriermon. "I look like this most of the time, but when I want to I can become a mean, green, butt-kicking machine. And then when the party's over… schloop…" He brought his ears up and deliberately brought them together, interlacing the stubby finger-like tips. "Back to little old me."

"Why would you want to do that though?" Houndoom sniffed. "What if something dangerous attacks and you're still in your little form?"

"Then we grow again," Lopmon shrugged. "It's really not too much of a problem to us. And our smaller forms are far more convenient in any case. When we assume our largest and most powerful forms, Terriermon and I become taller than six-story buildings."

"Now, that I find hard to believe," Luxray raised a brow. "In fact I find the whole shrinking back down thing hard to believe to."

"Oh, trust me, they can do it," Sceptile chuckled. "This guy… Impmon, wasn't it… he was a man with armour and black wings twice the height of an average human when he attacked me." He frowned and then added. "Then again… weren't you also fused with your human friends as well when you were like that?"

"Yeah, we can do that," grinned Impmon. "It's called biomerging. It's a neat little trick we do that really shows the bond between Tamer and Digimon, allowing our data to merge with their bodies and produce one extremely powerful Digimon. You just wait – I was holding back on you. If something comes along that requires a real beating then get out of our way."

"Seriously?" Milotic asked. "Merging with humans into something more powerful than either?"

"Surprised us too," Rika smirked. "Though we've done it so many times now that its kinda become second nature to us."

Felkan actually felt a stab of envy through the wall of disbelief that was currently trying to cloak him. He had fought so long beside his Pokémon but he certainly couldn't merge with them. Nor would he ever be able to do so. They weren't Digimon, for one thing. They did not have the ability to pull off something like that.

Still… what might he become if he _were_ able to merge with Garchomp. Or Charizard. Or Lucario. Or even Gardevoir. The possibility was amazing and yet, utterly ludicrous.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm going to have to see that one," Luxray snorted.

"If the situation demands it then you will," Henry chuckled.

"And in comparison to the Digimon," Aayla pointed out. "Pokémon possess the ability to evolve as well, but you can't degenerate back. You stay in your higher form for the rest of your lives."

"Yes," nodded Lucario. "That is how it works. Of course there are Pokémon that don't evolve like Scyther here."

"Got that," Scyther stated gruffly. "And there are Pokémon who don't actually _have_ more than one form like Absol over there. As well as Latios and Latias here of course."

"Sometimes I do wonder what we would look like if we _did_ have an evolved form," Latias murmured, lifting a claw to her chin. "Something badass, I would guess."

"What? You don't think we're badass enough as it is?" Latios asked his sister, slightly deadpan.

"One can never be too badass," Latias snickered.

"That is _exactly _what I think," Terriermon grinned, holding up an ear. Latias lifted a hand and slapped it in a high-three.

"Forget it," Renamon said. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Forget what?" Glaceon blinked.

"I was talking to him," Renamon nodded to her mate. "We share a link to one another's mind, and he's already thinking on how he can either team up with Latias to prank somebody here in a spectacular fashion or work out a way to prank Latias herself."

"Hey!" Latias pouted. "We should at least work together before we trying and destroy one another in funny ways."

"Momentai," Terriermon gave an evil grin. "We'll make an unstoppable team. Of course, you'll always have to be the one that comes up with a way of making sure Renamon doesn't stop us, because if I do then she'll pull it out of my mind and thwart us. She always does."

Renamon raised a brow. "Is that a challenge?" she asked.

"Maybe," Terriermon grinned. Renamon glared at him for a moment before an evil grin formed on her own face. Terriermon balked and attempted to jump aside but Renamon sprang at him and brought him to the floor, grabbing his ears in her paws and pinning them to the ground.

Smirking into her mate's face, Renamon looked up and said, "Latias. Just so you know, Terriermon here is very, _very_ ticklish under his arms and on the bottoms of his feet."

Latias grinned back. "Is he now?"

"Care to test it out?" Renamon chuckled.

"Well, maybe I should be nice," Latias seemed to consider for a moment. "But… he _was_ trying to figure out how to prank me already so…"

The dragoness lunged downwards and scrabbled her blunt claws across Terriermon's sides. Terriermon howled with laughter, pinned by his mate and tickled feverishly by the Legendary Pokémon. There were more laughs from the people who knew Terriermon and Renamon well, giggles and snorts at the ridiculous behaviour.

But several of the other Pokémon just stared in bemusement.

"Remind me again," Scyther murmured. "We're supposed to be helping _these_ guys to save our world."

"And theirs," confirmed Garchomp.

"Anyone else think that we might have cause to worry?" Scyther muttered quietly.

"I heard that," Latias looked up at him.

"Oh great," Scyther rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up with my blades covered in glue or something."

"What a good idea," Latias grinned. "Thanks. And maybe I'll stick some flowers all over them with the glue as well. That would make you look pretty as a picture."

"I'm just going to stop talking now," Scyther said after a moment, edging away from Latias' evil looking grin.

Lopmon looked over at Latios and said," Are you _sure_ you two are twins? Because sometimes I wonder if I'm really twins with Terriermon – we're so different after all."

"Well," Latios shrugged. "If I say too much then I too might be next in Latias' line of fire. She can be very vindictive. But, yes I am definitely sure that we are related. We were, after all, both created by Arceus."

"Oh yes," Lopmon smiled. "I guess that must mean that you have a lot of family then."

"Well yes and no," Latios replied. "I mean, the other Legendary Pokémon are our brothers and sisters only in terms that we are all Children of Arceus. Other than that – we're not technically related. Latias is my only real sibling, as we hatched from the same egg."

"That must have been uncomfortable inside," Mako giggled.

"We don't remember it," Latios replied evenly.

"We don't actually know who our parent is or who created us," Lopmon sighed. "Most Digimon don't. We do know that we used to be warriors of the Heavens and personal servants of our own God, Fanglongmon." She smirked and said, "I guess you could say that makes us the Digimon version of Legendaries."

"You have a Heaven in your world?" Lucario asked curiously.

"Yes," Lopmon nodded. "Full of angel and machine Digimon alike."

"Machines?" Lucario frowned. "Why would you have machines in your Heavens?"

"To remind everyone that while they are divine they were still created by technology," Impmon recited immediately. "That's what the angels told me when I went back there last year."

"Ah," Lucario nodded. He paused and then added. "This is perhaps the most bizarre conversation I have ever had."

"This?" Henry murmured. "Well, this sort of thing is commonplace for us."

"Something we'll have to get used to, I expect," Charizard noted.

"Certainly if you're going to be hanging around us," Henry agreed.

"And what about you?" Gardevoir piped up for the first time in a while, turning to look at Aayla, who was sitting with her legs crossed in a meditation pose. "What's your story? I can sense a great amount of psychic aptitude in you, but its not quite the same as mine. It feels more like… Lucario actually."

"Yes, I noticed that to," Lucario turned and regarded Aayla sharply. "You said you were a Twi'lek? Correct?"

"Yes, I am," Aayla nodded. "From the planet Ryloth. It's a desert planet in the Outer Rim Territories of the Galaxy that I lived in. I was a member of the Jedi Order, and I was sworn to protect the innocent people of the Galactic Republic from anything that sought to destroy the peace."

"Galactic Republic?" Gardevoir blinked. "As in… space-travel and planets all co-existing with one another?"

"Pretty much, yes," nodded Aayla.

"So, you really are like Deoxys," Latios grinned.

"You mentioned him before," Aayla turned to face him. "Who is he?"

"He's one of the Legendary Pokémon that we're going to have to find," Latios replied. "There are several Legendaries that represent things beyond the atmosphere and Deoxys is one of them. Arceus created him by making him into a virus which would eventually mutate into Deoxys when the humans began experimenting with outer space… so as not to overload them with things beyond their world before they were ready for it, I think."

"Fair enough," Aayla smiled. "I guess I am like Deoxys, although I am not unique as he is. My people live on many worlds throughout the Galaxy but Ryloth is our homeworld. But I lived on the Jedi Temple in Coruscant, which was the capital planet. Now, I live with my friends in their world. But while I may not be in my universe any more but I am still a Jedi and my duty to protect the innocent still stands."

"That doesn't really explain your power capabilities," Lucario pointed out.

"Yes, it does," Aayla countered, with a grin. A very large boulder suddenly levitated into the air behind her. "Not just anybody can be a Jedi. You have to have an affinity with the Force for that to happen. The Force is an energy that binds the very fabric of our universe and indeed all universes together and can be found in everything, living and inanimate. A Jedi can harness its power and use it for good, as opposed to the Sith who use it for evil. Not that there are any more Sith, thanks to the help of the Digimon."

As the boulder plonked back down on the ground behind them, Lucario scrutinised Aayla some more. "Interesting," he murmured. "That sounds incredibly like Aura to me."

"Aura?" Aayla asked. "As in an emotional air that people can give off – like an angry aura or a happy aura?"

"That has something to do with it, yes," nodded Lucario. "As it can be governed by emotion. But the Aura I am talking about is pretty much the same as what you just described this Force to be – an energy that can be found in all life forms. There are very few that know how to harness it, but my kind, Lucario and our unevolved form of Riolu, are one of the few Pokémon species that all can do so. Though I must say, I doubt I could levitate a boulder like that without some degree of effort on my part."

"Fascinating," Aayla murmured, genuinely. "Perhaps then this Aura and the Force are one in the same, but we merely have different names for them."

"Possibly," Lucario agreed. "A select few who can master Aura are sometimes taken away and tutored to become an Aura Guardian. And, to give another slightly scary parallel, a description of an Aura Guardian would be exactly the same as how you described the Jedi – beings who utilise their powers to protect those who need their aid."

Aayla and Lucario both stared at each other for several seconds.

Terriermon, now free of being tickled, said, "Well… it looks like that our world is not the only one to have disturbingly similar aspects to this one."

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "What types of abilities does this Aura grant you?"

"Many abilities," Lucario replied. "The ability to sense the life-forces of others for many miles around you, as well as other objects. It heightens our senses and can guide us on how to move in a battle – I can actually do better with my eyes shut and relying solely on my Aura senses than using my eyes themselves. It also grants us the ability to distort its energy and use it for many things such as telekinesis and telepathy, and things like this." He raised a spiked paw and, out of nowhere, a blue sphere began to form in the air, hovering above his palm. Lucario got to his feet and whirled around, hurling the sphere at the boulder Aayla had levitated. The impact of the two, shattered the boulder into gravel and dust in an instant.

"Wow," Impmon stared. "Now that's cool."

"It's also extremely similar to what a Jedi is capable of doing," Aayla remarked. "Eerily similar. We too can rely on our senses to guide our bodies in battle, as well as telekinesis, telepathy and energy attacks."

"It's true," Suzie grinned. "They can actually use their special lightsabers to swat away enemy gunfire."

Scyther looked extremely impressed at that. "And now I'm getting jealous," he sighed.

"All Jedi learn how to do that," Aayla nodded. "But there are many other skills available to us. Many of them I can't use and have never tried to learn, but last year I did learn how to shoot lightning from my fingertips. Most Twi'leks can't do that."

"_No_ Twi'lek besides you could do that last time we checked, Aayla," Renamon chuckled. "And almost no other Jedi."

"True enough," Aayla chuckled. "I have never heard of a Force skill like that sphere of Aura you just used though, Lucario. If I might be so bold, perhaps on our journey you could attempt to tutor me in how to do it. If Aura and the Force are the same or at least similar, then perhaps I can at least transfer the skill. And perhaps I can show you a trick or two in exchange."

Lucario chuckled. "How could I refuse an offer such as that? I always wondered if I would get myself an apprentice. I suppose I can't really call you that, but its close enough."

Aayla smirked. "Then I guess I could call you my Padawan. That's the official name given to a young Jedi being tutored by an older Knight or Master."

"Fair enough then. I am your Padawan. And you mine," Lucario gave a smirk in return and held out a paw. Aayla grasped it, being careful to avoid the spike on the back of it as she did so, and shook it firmly.

"You still need to show us some of those skills with your swords as well," Scyther pointed out.

"And I will," Aayla promised. "But those swords can cut through just about anything on mere contact so using them to fence against you might be dangerous. I'll have to borrow some from your Lobomon Modify Card, Rika."

"Can do," Rika nodded.

"Modify Cards?" Swellow frowned. "What are they when they're at home?"

"Something unique to Tamers and their partners," Henry replied, drawing a card from his deck. "We have special devices called D-Arcs which are linked to the Digital signature of our individual Digimon. We can then use special cards to Modify that data and therefore give our partners unique new abilities for a short time. These things can include increased power, strength and speed, new attacks that normally come from other Digimon, special weapons and wings. Among others."

"Now _I'm_ getting envious," Glaceon pouted. "I've always wanted to know what it would be like to have wings. But unfortunately none of my evolved forms possess them."

"Is there anything about you Digimon that _isn't_ spectacularly bizarre?" Latios queried.

"Depends on your definition of bizarre," Impmon sniggered. "How much time have you got?"

"Personally I think that that is just enough about us for the time being," Aayla spoke up. "Our various worlds and customs might be interesting but since we are, for the foreseeable future, going to be staying in _this_ dimension, I would like to know more about what happens _here_."

"Alright then," Gardevoir smiled. "Well, where to begin? First, there are seventeen different types of Pokémon, and each Pokémon has at least one type and a maximum of two. Take myself, for instance. I am a Psychic type. I have no secondary sub-type. Whereas Charizard is both a Fire and a Flying type Pokémon due to his various attributes."

"The wings usually mean you're a flying type," Charizard snorted, flapping them once and blowing the Tamers' hair back with the swing.

"The other types include such things as Normal, Grass, Water, Dark, Ghost, Ice, Rock, Ground, Electric, Poison, Fighting, Steel, Bug and Dragon," Gardevoir continued. "Each type has various strengths and weaknesses against certain other types which can give them an advantage or disadvantage against any Pokémon that they face. For example, it should be pretty obvious that Fire types generally have a problem against Water types, while they have an extremely high advantage over Grass types."

"That certainly makes sense, yes," Henry agreed.

"Others are less obvious," Lucario chipped in. "Psychic types like Gardevoir are naturally weak against Dark, Ghost and Bug types. But type alone doesn't necessarily guarantee victory, because the many, many different attacks that a Pokémon can learn also all into the seventeen type category. And attack type for each Pokémon is not always limited to the type of the Pokémon themselves. Gardevoir here knows Focus Blast, which is a very powerful Fighting type move and therefore very strong against Dark types. She also knows Shadow Ball – a Ghost type that wreak havoc on Ghost Pokémon themselves."

"This sounds quite complicated," Suzie murmured. "But I think I understand."

"It gets slightly more complex than that," Lucario chuckled. "Sometimes a secondary type counterbalances the primary type. Take me for example. I am a Fighting type and Fighting types are normally susceptible to Psychic attacks. But I am also a Steel type, which are resistant to Psychic attacks. Since I am both, Psychic attacks are neither weak nor particularly strong against me."

"Sounds to me like you would have to know a lot about the other Pokémon of this world to know what to use against them if one attacked you," remarked Henry.

"You would indeed," Garchomp nodded firmly. "Some Pokémon are even completely immune to certain attacks. Electric attacks, for instance, have no effect on me at all. I am a Dragon and Ground type Pokémon, and Ground types are completely immune to Electric attacks regardless of what other type they are. Luxray, hit me!"

Luxray grinned and his fur seemed to sudden crackle with electricity. His eyes and the star-shape on his tail seemed to glow and suddenly a huge bolt of electricity exploded out of his body and struck Garchomp full on. Garchomp merely smirked and stood there, bathed in the yellow glow of the electricity for several seconds before the attack faded away and Garchomp stood there completely unharmed.

"Wow," Ai and Mako said simultaneously.

"There are other things that are useful in battle situations, of course," Houndoom drawled. "Each Pokémon species has one or two special passive abilities, though each individual only has the one. These abilities can give them other edges in certain battle situations. Take me, for example. I have an ability called Flash Fire. That means that if someone uses a Fire attack on me, I am not only immune to it but I can also absorb it and use it to boost the power my own Fire attacks. But, if _I_ were to then throw a Fire attack at Gardevoir, she could absorb that too, because she has an ability called Trace, which allows her to use the special ability of any opponent she is facing and therefore she would have Flash Fire as well."

"True," Gardevoir nodded. "I don't know any Fire attacks I could power with it though but my ability can be very useful indeed, depending on who I'm facing."

"This is all extremely intriguing," Aayla said. "There's no question of that. But the way you talk… it's as if getting into fights and battling is second nature to all of you. And what you were saying before about these tournaments where trainers pit their Pokémon against one another… Tell me more about that."

"There's not much more to tell than we already have," Sceptile shrugged. "It's quite simple. A Pokémon trainer sets out into the world, catches several other Pokémon to add them to his team, raises them to become as strong as he can and the takes part in the League that gets to decide who is the most powerful trainer of the region. Pretty much everything we said before."

"What about those Pokéball things that you mentioned before?" Henry asked. "What are they?"

And from by his tree, Felkan finally decided to join in the conversation. He chuckled and lifted up his shirt, revealing that the belt holding up his tattered trousers was adorned with several small spheres. He plucked one off and hit a small button on it, causing it to quadruple in size until it was nestled comfortably in the palm of his hand. It was half red and half white, with a black line that ran down the middle and through the button on one side and the hinge on the other.

"This is a Pokéball," he called out, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Pokémon trainers can use these to capture wild Pokémon and store the Pokémon that they have when they aren't in use. Don't ask me about the exact science behind it, but I'm lead to believe that each one contains some sort of pocket dimension that houses a Pokémon comfortably, turning them into an energy form to be drawn in. Like this."

He pointed the device as Sceptile and a red beam of light lanced out of the button and struck the lizard in the chest, spreading quickly all over his body and then _through_ it, until Sceptile's whole form was of the same red energy. His form then seemed to melt away and the red light was all drawn back into the ball and Sceptile was completely gone.

Felkan couldn't help but smirk at the shocked expressions of the Tamers. It felt like some sort of small victory over them, as such an expression had not appeared on his own face even when they have been talking about biomerging. He then hit the button again and the ball clicked open on its hinge. White light exploded from out of its interior and pooled on the ground in front of him, resolving itself back into the shape of Sceptile before there the lizard was standing before them once again.

"Wow," Sceptile murmured. "It's been a while since I've been in there. I almost forgot what it was like."

"What _is_ it like?" Terriermon asked.

"Cosy," Sceptile shrugged. "It's quite an interesting sensation to say the least."

Even Aayla had to admit that she was impressed. "Astounding," she murmured. "Such a device must have been invented by someone of extreme genius."

"People have been using them for decades now," Felkan surmised. "Though I believe it was first developed by the Silph Company or someone like that."

Aayla stared at it for a moment longer before she shook her head and said, "But, getting back to my original point, trainers use them to capture Pokémon against their will and then make them battle with one another. Isn't that a little… barbaric."

"Oh, don't tell me you're like one of those people who declare that all Pokémon should be released into the wild?" Houndoom rolled his eyes. "There were a couple of those imbeciles knocking about when we were back in society as I recall."

"Houndoom!" Gardevoir scowled at him. "Courtesy and good manners cost us nothing. Besides, she is a stranger to this universe. Customs may be different here than where she comes from."

"It just seems a lot like a form of slavery to me," Aayla said, a little more darkly than she would normally do so.

"In some cases I suppose it _could_ be called that," Milotic agreed. "But its become an established relationship and, for the most part, Pokémon don't mind when they get caught. They find that their lives get much better when they accompany a trainer – they get treated if they're ill and they rarely have problems with food or shelter and they get the chance to get stronger."

"Is that right?" Aayla raised a brow.

"Yes," the large sea-serpent nodded. "Occasionally… in fact, disturbingly often… you do get trainers who abuse their Pokémon or who drive them hard like a slave driver probably would but people like that are greatly disapproved of by the other humans as a whole. But it is a relationship that brings human and Pokémon closer together."

"Be that as it may," Aayla said. "The concept of dragging an unwilling sentient individual into captivity and using them to fight against each other… frankly it does not sit well with me."

"And for good reason too," Rika murmured.

"If this has something to do with being a Jedi and your role to protect the innocent, I can assure you that Pokémon very rarely become victims thanks to this regime," Lucario spoke out.

"It's not that," Aayla shook her head. "This has less to do with being a Jedi and more to do with being a Twi'lek. Particularly a woman."

"What?" Luxray frowned. "What are you talking about."

Renamon stepped forwards when she saw that Aayla seemed to have a shadow over her face now. Despite her Jedi training and even now a year after she had left her universe this was the one subject that was still a touchy one for her. "Back where Aayla comes from," Renamon explained. "Her people are often subjugated. Particularly the females. The rich, the wealthy and downright disgusting often desire to have slaves, and more often than any other species it's the Twi'leks who are on the receiving end of the trade. Female Twi'leks are considered to be highly attractive, so they are captured and taken into a life of slavery against their will. They suffer through horrible conditions – kept in chains, forced to dance for their so-called Masters, allowed minimal food and only enough clothing to cover their decency. And sometimes not even that."

"Oh my," Gardevoir placed a green hand over her mouth.

"It is not a system that the Republic I fought for supported," Aayla almost growled. "But in such a big Galaxy, there was bound to be a very large black market and outside Republic jurisdiction, slavery was rife. If that is still the case now, I do not know, but I would not be surprised if it was despite the efforts of the Jedi to stop it. And to me, this system of catching Pokémon sounds pretty similar to that."

"It's nothing like that," Garchomp growled.

"It _can_ be," Luxray pointed out.

"Yes, but for the most part it isn't," Garchomp insisted. "Pokémon might not initially want to leave their lives in the wild, but the system of catching them is vastly different from that. Pokémon mistreatment can be a very serious crime. And it's not _always_ battling that they end up doing. Some take part in contests, some become house pets, and some are just kept around to be friends. Besides, we Pokémon are infinitely stronger than the humans. If we did not agree to what they were doing to us, we could probably rise up and crush them if we so desired. But we don't because we agree to it just as much as they do."

"Yeah, and as to the battling," Charizard went on. "That provides an outlet for our powers. All Pokémon have the ability to become powerful and we battle other Pokémon to test our strengths, build our teamwork and reinforce our bonds with our trainer. It's like a human sport and we play just as key a role as our trainer does. Besides, Pokémon are very durable. We certainly don't battle to the death – it's like a boxing match. The aim is to knock the other opponent's Pokémon out. As far as I'm aware no Pokémon has been killed in an official match for a very long time."

"Of course," Luxray snorted. "You _can_ get people who want to use Pokémon for their own gain. They do things like try to steal rare and powerful Pokémon or sell them for a lot of money or even force them to help them commit crimes like Houndoom's old master did."

"Too right," Houndoom nodded.

"But for the most part it isn't like that at all," Glaceon agreed.

"I believe it happens more often than you guys are saying," Felkan announced. "After all, how many times did we come across some human mistreating their Pokémon or pushing them against their limits in matches against us? It might be _meant_ to be a sporting tournament but humans can be pretty cruel to their Pokémon as well. Though more cruel to one another admittedly."

"Be that as it may," Gardevoir insisted. "On principle, humans respect, care for and love the Pokémon they catch. It's not slavery unless the human makes it slavery and for us, at least, it certainly is not slavery. Any of us could get up and walk away from Felkan now if we so wished. But you certainly won't find us doing that, will they?"

There was a very firm chorus of "No!" from all twelve of the Pokémon that Felkan owned, except Absol who was still sleeping like a complete log.

Aayla was silent for a moment, but then she eventually nodded and said, "All right then. I believe I have enough to placate me for a while."

"Good," Gardevoir smiled. "And, for what it's worth, we're sorry to hear about what happens to your own people."

"I was fortunate," Aayla sighed. "I too was destined to be a slave before I was found to be Force-sensitive by a Jedi Padawan who would one day go on to be my training Master. Many of my people are not so lucky. I began a campaign to destroy the slavery empire of the Galaxy and free the slaves of all species after the war which the Digimon helped us to win was over, but I left my universe almost after it had begun so I could live with the Digimon when they returned home. I have not been back since. I have not been able to. Who knows what my old Master and friends are doing over there right now."

"Anakin, Ahsoka and Barriss," nodded Suzie glumly. "I really miss them. I miss them all. I miss Numa and Obi-Wan and Bly and Rex and Chuchi and Padmé and Yoda. I even miss Bane a little bit."

"Really?" snorted Terriermon. "You miss a Bounty Hunter who once threatened to shoot you between the eyes?"

"He got better," Suzie retorted.

"Actually he did a little bit," Renamon agreed. "Not by a whole lot though. I wonder if the Republic has caught him yet."

"Probably not," Aayla chuckled. "Anyway, back to my original point, I shall hold off my final judgement on these Pokémon battles until I see enough of them for myself. But at least it is not like the Twi'lek slave trade. If it were then I would probably begin a campaign here to put a stop to it too."

"Perhaps you could still," Luxray murmured distastefully. "There are still plenty of humans who _do_ abuse their partners. I should know."

Aayla regarded him for a moment. "Maybe I will," she said. "Maybe I will."

"Um… I have a question?" Latias asked. "You said that you couldn't go back into your own universe, right?"

"Yes," Aayla nodded.

"Why? If you managed to get to the Digimon's world, surely you should have been able to get back."

"No, I'm afraid not," Aayla shook her head. "Would that we could have done but sadly that was not the case. The Digimon first arrived in my dimension thanks to the whim of an evil Digimon effectively zapping them there. They had to destroy that evil Digimon at a later date to keep him from wreaking havoc on everything around him. Impmon here if the only one of the Digimon who did _not_ come to my universe initially, but he was able to make a deal with the Digimon God of the Dead to make a single trip to and from my universe to retrieve his friends."

"And that's basically it," nodded Impmon. "It was a one-off, and I lost the ability to do it within a day. Aayla came of her own free will, but she knowingly trapped herself when she did so."

"Wow. That sucks," Houndoom murmured.

"Well, maybe," Latias said with a twinkle in her eye. "Just maybe, you could find yourself being able to head back there if we manage to do this right."

"How?" Rika asked, suddenly with a great deal of interest. "We asked Uxie if Giratina could take us and he said that it would not be possible."

"Perhaps not for Giratina," Latias grinned. "But Palkia is a completely different matter."

"Palkia," mused Renamon. "Uxie mentioned him too. Isn't he Giratina's brother or something."

"Yep," nodded Latias. "Under normal circumstances, space is like putty in his hands. Uxie said that he couldn't help us in this situation with the colliding worlds due to there being two worlds he would need to control at once, but he can open portals to any dimension which he chooses at will. If we save the world and bring Palkia out of his hibernation, then maybe he could help you pop round to visit your friends."

"Are you serious?" choked Lopmon.

"She's very serious," Latios assured them. "Palkia is called the Ruler of Space for a reason."

"That would be brilliant," Terriermon gasped. "He could send us back to Coruscant and we could cruise around all our old haunts and meet our old friends. That would be awesome to see them all again."

"Fantastic," agreed Rika. "Can you imagine the look on Anakin's face when he opens the door to find us on the other side? Now _that_ I would pay to see."

"And you believe Palkia would be _willing_ to do this for us?" asked Aayla.

"More than likely," Latios nodded. "Near as I can tell, Palkia is a very proud Pokémon, but he's certainly not going to be averse to helping someone who saved his world."

"Well, now I'm more raring to go than ever," grinned Suzie.

"Me too," Terriermon added.

"Me three but I have another question," Renamon chipped in. "While we're discussing things and not actually going anywhere, we should probably ask for some details about all these other Legendaries that we have to find. Uxie said that if your didn't include him and his siblings, Giratina and his brothers, Arceus himself and the two of you, we would have to look for twenty-five others. Who are these other twenty-five?"

"Er, well let's see," Latias frowned and began counting them off on her claws, and considering she only had three on each hand this was slightly difficult. "There's Groudon, the Lord of the Land, Kyogre, Ruler of the Sea, and Rayquaza, Emperor of the Skies. And then there are the Regi trio – Regirock, Regice and Registeel, as well as their leader Regigigas, so that makes seven. Then there's Lugia and Ho-oh, real nice those two are, and there are Ho-oh's three servants, Raikou, Entei and Suicune as well. Then there's Celebi and Mew and Jirachi, and the three birds, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres…"

"Sorry what?" Impmon blinked. "Uno, Dos, Tres? Really?"

"Impmon, don't interrupt," Lopmon scolded him. "Keep going, Latias."

"Right, yes," Latias nodded. "Well, with all of that lot, that makes… sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Yes, eighteen. And then there's also Deoxys, who we mentioned earlier, and Manaphy and Shaymin. And then there's Cresselia and of course, Darkrai…"

A collective shudder ran through the group from everyone except Houndoom at the mention of that last name. "What?" Ai asked. "What is it?"

"Darkrai is the Legendary the represents the Dark Side of the Moon," Houndoom related. "He also gives anyone that gets close to him nightmares. Literally. It's his power."

"Sounds like a real charmer," Renamon muttered dryly.

"Actually he's quite a nice guy," Latios defended his fellow Legendary. "He can't help it really. People around just _get_ nightmares if they happen to fall asleep. Unless Cresselia is there too as she can nullify his effects."

"Ah… alright then," Renamon nodded.

"Anyway," Latias continued. "Who have I missed out? Oh yes… Heatran. And… yep… I'm pretty sure that that's everyone."

"Are you sure?" Aayla asked.

"Pretty sure," Latias nodded. "Why?"

"Because that only makes twenty-four."

"Does it?" Latias blinked. She had stopped counting when they'd gone off on the tangent about Darkrai. She quickly muttered all their names again, counting them off on her claws once more. "…Manaphy, Shaymin, Cresselia, Darkrai, Heatran… yep, you're right. That's twenty-four. Have I missed someone out?"

"You must have done." Latios frowned, wracking his brain. "Uxie would not have made a numerical error, I'm sure. Are you sure that you heard him right?"

"Yes, he definitely said twenty-five," Terriermon nodded. "Definitely."

"And he definitely didn't mean Arceus as well?"

"Definitely not. He said twenty-five _not_ including Arceus, you two, him, Mesprit, Azelf, Giratina, Dialga and Palkia. That's what he said."

"But that doesn't make sense," Latios shook his head. "That's everyone. That's all the Legendaries that there are. Raikou, Entei and Suicune are pretty recent additions to our ranks in the grand scheme of things but…I can't think of anybody else."

"Could he have meant Manaphy's children, the Phione?" Latias queried.

"I don't think so?" Latios shook his head. "They might be Legendaries too but there's more than one of them and they all go anywhere that Manaphy goes. Find Manaphy and we'll find them."

"Well, I can't think of anyone else he might have meant," Latias shrugged. "He must have meant the Phione."

"Perhaps," Latios sighed. But neither of them were fully prepared to believe that and everyone else knew it.

"Maybe we can ask him about it later on," Latias suggested. "He must be planning on dropping back in now and again to see how we're getting on."

"Uxie woudn't need to, remember?" Latios pointed out. "He'll always _know_ how we're getting on. He'll know every time one of us goes to pee."

"That is a thought I did not need," Impmon shuddered.

"Nevertheless it's true," Latios said. "And whatever the case, it seems we have a missing Legendary."

"We'll ask the others when we meet them," Latias suggested. "One of them must surely know about this spare guy we don't know about. We can't _all_ be ignorant of it besides Uxie."

"I guess," Latios murmured. "Let's just hope we don't end up going straight past wherever he or she lives."

"Well, this is a good start," sighed Impmon. "We haven't even left the campsite yet and already we've got a problem."

"We'll figure something out," Renamon said firmly. "We always have so far."

"Hey guys," Henry observed, glancing through the trees at the sky. "It's getting quite dark. I reckon it's time to get some rest. And none of that 'I don't wanna go to bed' stuff from you two, twins," he added to Ai and Mako. "We've got one big trip starting tomorrow and we should all be refreshed."

"Well, look at you, taking charge," Rika snickered. Henry flushed.

"He's right about it though," Felkan murmured. "Come on guys. Let's settle down. If we have to return to areas with other humans tomorrow then I want everyone to be on high alert. If I get spotted and recognised then we'll need everyone to be ready, assuming those humans are still looking for me and Absol. And I'm certain that they will be."

"You got it, Felkan," Glaceon smiled and yawned, throwing out his front paws and stretching his back. "Good night then."

"Good night," Felkan nodded. He gave one last glare in the direction of the other humans, as if letting them know that there had better not be any funny business during the night, before he settled back against the back of the tree and lay down next to Absol. As the Pokémon separated outwards, Gardevoir stepped back over to her trainer and lay down right beside him, moving herself as close to him as was possible without pressing herself up against him. As the Tamers watched, they saw Gardevoir slip one of her hands into Felkan's. And they saw Felkan's fingers close around her own comfortingly even as they both she their eyes.

"Okay, even I have to admit that's cute," Rika murmured quietly.

"They've been doing that for years," Swellow told them as he stepped up beside them. "Gardevoir likes to sleep as close to Felkan as she can, so that she can still feel his presence with her mind even when he's asleep. It all started when they were both kids, sleeping in the same bed next to one another. And it's a habit that they've both kept up to this day. Holding hands is actually pretty mild. Gardevoir usually has at least one arm wrapped around him and her head on his chest."

"Is there something going on between those two?" Impmon whispered back conspiratorially. "As in… you know… love-wise?"

"Well yes. But also no," Swellow replied. "Depends on what sense you're talking about there. Gardevoir loves Felkan with every particle of her being but it's not a romance thing. It's quite complicated really but in essence that's just how Gardevoir is. It's how all Gardevoir are as far as I am aware."

"So they don't sometimes go and find a quiet corner to snog in?" Terriermon snickered.

"Terriermon!" Henry hissed.

"Momentai. I was just asking."

"Well," Swellow snorted through his beak. "If they do then I've never seen it. But it's definitely not that kind of love. It's almost deeper. Near as I can tell, Gardevoir would sleep next to all of us if she could. But she's been with Felkan the longest of any of us so it's natural that their bond runs pretty deep."

Gardevoir opened one eye and looked over at the group from where she was lying next to her trainer and offered them a small smile, before she shut it again and shuffled a little closer to Felkan.

"She knew we were talking about her?" Rika blanched.

"She's a Psychic. It's tough to hide things from a Psychic type unless you're a Dark type," Swellow chuckled. "In any case, I believe it is time that I returned to my roosting perch."

All around them the other Pokémon were settling down and drifting off to sleep. Glaceon was curled up in a ball not far away, while Lucario was sleeping with his back against a tree-trunk as if ready to jump up immediately if there was some sort of attack. Scyther was lying on his front to protect his wings, while Sceptile had vaulted into a tree and was lying across one of its branches with a foot and a hand dangling over the edge.

And Charizard… appeared to have put the tip of his tail into his mouth as he lay down to rest.

"Er… care to give us an explanation for that before you go?" Impmon asked, indicating the orange dragon.

"Charizard's been sleeping with his tail in his mouth ever since we came here," Swellow snickered. "Makes him look like a big baby doesn't it?"

"Hold on. Doesn't he have a flame on the tip of his tail?" Impmon blinked.

"Yes. That's exactly why he does it. We are in a forest, after all, and Charizards have a penchant for causing forest fires. So our Charizard puts his tail in his mouth so as not to start one by accident in his sleep."

"But it's a flame!" Impmon protested. "Doesn't it burn him?"

"He's a fire type," Swellow pointed out. "He breathes fire from his mouth all the time. He can handle having a small flame on his own tail in there. Doesn't hurt him at all. But if a Charizard's tail flame goes out, it dies, so he also fills his mouth with flames every time he breathes out to make sure it stays lit in there."

"Is that why he appears to have smoke coming out of his nostrils?" asked Henry.

"Yep. Pretty much," Swellow chuckled. "Well. Good night then. Oh, and one last word of advice… take it slow with Felkan, okay? He's not going to start trusting you straight away but we all want him to trust you again. As well as other humans too. He might be rude, he might glare at you every now and again, he might snap at you for no very good reason sometimes but please just remember that he is _not_ a bad person."

"Do not worry," Aayla nodded. "We will."

Swellow looked grateful, before he then lifted off and fluttered onto another branch and tucked his head under one wing in what looked like an awkward position but which was actually quite ordinary for him.

Latios and Latias were now the only Pokémon who still hadn't settled down for the night. The two dragons took another moment to regard this group of people who had suddenly walked into their lives.

_What do you make of them, brother?_ Latias asked with her mind.

_I don't know yet,_ Latios replied. _But if Uxie says they can be trusted then I believe him. Still, they do seem nice enough, even if that Terriermon is a little winged devil. Like you._

_Hey!_ Latias turned around and butted him lightly with her nose. _Watch it!_

Latios smiled affectionately and then addressed the others by saying. "Well, I guess that tomorrow is the day that we go and try to save the world."

"Two worlds," Renamon reminded him. "Our world is at stake as much as yours. And we want to make sure that _both_ live to tell the tale."

"Well, thank you," Latios nodded.

"See you all in the morning then," Latias grinned. "I literally can't wait! This is going to be amazing fun, you just wait and see! And don't worry, Terriermon. I'll come up with a way of pranking your mate if it's the last thing I do."

Terriermon laughed, but since he had no desire to be tickled again he held his tongue apart from that.

"Nighty-night," Latias grinned and turned to head off and find a place to sleep. Latios made to follow her but hesitated, before doubling back on himself and getting closer to the group.

"Listen," Latios murmured. "I don't know what's going to be waiting for us on this adventure, but I do know that it could very well be dangerous in some places. The Pokémon World does have its fair share of dangers in it, and despite being thousands of years old, Latias has never really had much experience of dealing with it. I worry for her all the time, since her adventurous and boisterous attitude is more than likely to get her into trouble wherever we go. So, what I'm asking is, do you think you could help me keep an eye on her. You know, make sure that she doesn't put herself in danger unnecessarily."

"We shall guard her with our lives," Renamon declared solemnly.

"Amen to that," Lopmon nodded.

Latios looked grateful for a moment. "Thank you," he said. And then he turned and followed his sister across the glade.

The Digimon, the Tamers and Aayla all regarded each other for several moments. "Well… what a day," Henry chuckled as they all settled down where they stood. "So much for having a quiet school day finishing when we'd all done our homework. Instead we travel to another universe and meet so many strange new creatures. I honestly didn't see this coming."

"Me neither but still," Terriermon said brightly. "At least they're all friendly so far, despite the little spat we had when we met them and the hostility of their human friend."

"I still feel really sorry for him," murmured Suzie, glancing across at Felkan. "I can't imagine what it must have been like to grow up like that. It must have been horrible."

"No doubt," Rika agreed.

"I want to help him," Suzie continued. "But how do we do that when he hates us so much."

"I don't think he hates you," Aayla said. "He doesn't _like_ you either but he doesn't hate you. He doesn't know what to make of us at the moment, but he still really does not trust us. And I agree. We do need to figure out a way of helping him."

"You're better than us at this sort of thing, Aayla," Henry pointed out. "What would you suggest?"

"A gradual approach," Aayla replied immediately. "It's you Tamers that most of his distrust is bent towards. And me to a certain degree since I'm close enough to being a human in his view. For the Digimon, it's less so. I suggest that you four Digimon be the first to approach him and try to win over that trust. Make it subtle as well, if you can. If you succeed, then I'll be the next to try, and if I can gain his trust as well then perhaps we can walk him into trusting you Tamers as well. And, perhaps eventually, humans as a whole."

"We can only hope," Rika sighed. "It'll get uncomfortable fast if he sends us death-glares throughout the whole journey."

"All the more reason to try and help him through this," Aayla nodded. "His team want us to and so we will."

With that, they each quickly settled down for the night. Although a large portion of their day had been lost in the journey across the collapsing walls due to distorted time, things had been sufficiently taxing enough for them all to nod off rather quickly.

All with the exception of Renamon. The fox Digimon rarely slept anyway, so she bounded up onto the branch of a nearby tree and stood tall amongst its foliage, taking up her usual position of keeping watch. The sun was sinking almost below the horizon by this point and Renamon knew that, while it was unlikely that anything would attack, you could never be too careful.

She could also see that she wasn't the only one with this view. Down below, Houndoom was also still awake, and his black pelt made him almost impossible to see amongst the growing shadows. Houndoom seemed to sense her eyes on him and he turned to look up at her. She gave him a curt nod, and he responded with a slight smirk before he turned away again.

Renamon wasn't too sure what to make of Houndoom just yet. Usually she had the ability to cotton on to a person's general personality and views with a mere look, as if she could almost see into their soul. It was one of the benefits of being a Digimon that transformed into a shaman in latter stages of Digivolution. But Houndoom was different. She couldn't seem to getting a reading on him for some reason.

But she shrugged it off. She doubted that Uxie would have left without warning them of Houndoom if he was going to be a danger to them and he seemed to be as loyal to Felkan as all the other Pokémon. So she shoved the feeling aside and watched the sunset in silence.

* * *

Sunsets were a thing unheard of in the Digital World. Things operated extremely differently there. When the Digital World decided it was night, there was an instant shift. One moment it would seem like it was still the middle of the day, and the next it was practically the dead of night, darkness washing over it like a wave.

As this happened yet again, a Digimon with black but kindly looking eyes looked up and yawned. For her, it had been pretty much an average day and she seemed to be having a fair few of those recently. It consisted mostly of sitting around and doing nothing, which didn't particularly sit well with her. She was full of beans and yet she had nothing to spill those beans on and frankly that left her bored.

Hence the yawn. She wasn't tired. She was just a little lethargic from inactivity. She plucked a large fruit from the tree above the branch that she was lying on and bit into it lazily.

"Another day comes and goes," she murmured to herself. "And yet still I find myself wishing something more productive had happened between the coming and the going."

"Well, you _could_ do something about it instead of lying on a branch all day," a raucous voice announced from down below. The female Digimon looked over her branch to see a large bird-like Digimon stalk into the clearing, his enormous metal talons cutting into the ground with each step.

"Well what do you do when you go on your little walkabouts, Diatrymon?" she asked. "As far as I'm aware, you just amble around to stretch your legs all day."

"And you would be right," Diatrymon nodded. "But at least I do _something_ instead of just lying on my back, Lilamon."

"I'd like to see you lie on your back," Lilamon snickered, flicking the flower petal that dangled in front of her face out of the way. "That would be hilarious. I can imagine it now, your legs flailing in the air uselessly." She grinned and rolled back over, lifting her legs up and windmilling them as if she was trying to run and getting nowhere.

"Yes. Hilarious," Diatrymon muttered dryly.

"Oh go on, I dare you. I would break the monotony. I think I'm running out of jokes to play on you anyway."

Diatrymon rolled his large eyes. "Maybe you should have one of those TV things from the Human World installed in your clearing. Then you could still lie on your back all day but you might still be entertained."

"I wish," Lilamon nodded with a sigh, sitting up and shifting around so her legs dangled over the edge. "Sadly that sounds like a very far-fetched idea to me. I just…" she clenched her petalled hands, trying to come up with the words. "I want to feel a rush again, Diatrymon. You know. I need adventure and excitement and all those other what-have-yous that we got when we journeying around with Impmon."

"Including the many near-death experiences?" Diatrymon asked with a raised brow.

"Well, those I could do without," Lilamon admitted with a chuckle. "But the rest of it, I miss. Don't tell me you don't either. Our lives seemed so much more… well… _more_ when we were helping Impmon get away from GranDracmon. We were part of a Great Prophecy. And now all I'm doing is sitting here and wishing for something like it to happen again."

"Careful what you wish for," announced a new voice from above. Lilamon yelped as a huge winged form curved into view over the trees almost silently.

"Don't do that, Wingdramon!" she scolded that large, blue dragon with the lance on his back and the permanently outstretched wings. "I've asked you a million times now."

Wingdramon chuckled. His wings had the ability to repel gravity which meant that he didn't actually need to flap them to stay aloft, which could make him eerily silent on the wing for something so large. These three had been crucial parts of the adventure that had revealed Impmon's past to him and had played key roles in the destruction of GranDracmon himself by forcing him out of his world of Darkness and into the Heavens. But having done their work they had returned home to the Forest Zone of the Digital World and they had not done much with themselves since then.

And quite frankly all of them were feeling it by now. Bubbly Lilamon was the first to begin to get restless, but the other two were slowly beginning to cotton on to her train of thought. Their life seemed a little hollow now without all the friends they had made in it. They had returned to the Digital World because the Human World was, quite clearly, not ready for them. Wingdramon and Diatrymon in particular had caused quite a mess when they had gone there, destroying things left, right and centre completely by accident, so they had thought the decision to leave would be for the best.

But while the three of them enjoyed each other's company and had good times with just themselves around, it still seemed a little… empty without the others around now. Impmon and his Tamers had come to visit them on occasion, and on rarer occasions he had brought some of the others with him, and all of them agreed that those times had been the highlights of their year. That had been when they had been most content. Most at home.

Now, they were beginning to want more.

"See anything new on your flight, Wingdramon?" Diatrymon asked.

"No," the dragon shook his head. "It was essentially the same. Lots and lots of trees. I got too close to the Geckomon village though. I heard them singing for thirty seconds and my ears are still protesting."

"Yep. Essentially the same," Lilamon sighed. "Story of our lives at the moment. We didn't get to hand around with the Tamers and their Digimon much but I definitely got the impression that their lives were more interesting than this. Maybe we should have stayed in the Human World after all."

"Yes, and the roads of the entire city would be wrecked by Diatrymon's feet at this point and I would have probably broken all the traffic lights by now if we had," Wingdramon pointed out. "And you probably would have gotten into trouble due to that money stuff that the humans use."

"Ugh, I still don't understand that system," Lilamon muttered. "But I suppose you're right. Still, I wonder what Impmon and the others are doing right now."

"Probably getting ready to sleep," Diatrymon muttered, settling down onto his legs. "And I don't know about you but I intend to do the same. Good night all."

"Oh, you're no fun at all," Lilamon muttered, plucking off another fruit and lobbing it down at him. Diatrymon's head darting to the side and the fruit missed, splattering on the floor. Diatrymon seemed to be used to this sort of behaviour because he ignored it and simply settled his head down on the grass and began to doze.

"Well, how about this then, Lilamon?" Wingdramon asked. "If things don't pick up for you soon, we can all head up to the Desert Level, find a Data Stream that will take us to the Human World and give everyone a surprise visit. Would you like that?"

"Ooh yes," Lilamon nodded, clapping her petals together. "Very much so. Thank you!"

"No problem," Wingdramon nodded, tucking his limbs underneath his body as he prepared to go to sleep still hovering above the ground. "Good night then."

"See ya in the morning, Scale-face," Lilamon grinned. Wingdramon rolled his eyes. Lilamon had kept up the habit of using the nicknames that Impmon had given to both him and Diatrymon ever since they had returned here. Wingdramon watched as the flower-fairy rolled over on her branch and shut her eyes, before glancing up at the sky.

He wondered whether he should have mentioned the strange light he had briefly seen in the sky, like someone had very, very quickly torn the sky open and resealed it about two seconds later, but he decided not to bring it up. The Digital World was a strange place so there was a strong likelihood that it was nothing to worry about.

Still, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that it _was_ something to worry about. But he didn't want to pass that worry onto his two friends just yet.

* * *

Despite the fact that night was setting in, the hustle and bustle of the planet Coruscant went on pretty much uninterrupted. There were usually just as many people wandering the streets when it got dark as it did when its single sun was out, and today was no exception.

In the tall skyscraper that jutted out of the Senate District known as 500 Republica, Anakin Skywalker and his mostly secret wife Padmé Amidala clinked their glasses of some obscure green liquid together before both taking a sip.

"Well," Anakin smiled. "I'd say that today went pretty well in all. From what I saw, the Kaleesh people are well on their way to recovery and while they're still resisting our attempts to get them to join the Republic as proper members I think that there are a few of them who are interested. Their enmity of the past is going to be hard for them to let go even now but I think we'll sway them eventually."

"That is good news," Padmé smiled back. "I presume that somebody will be making their way down the Coruscant Penitentiary tomorrow to let Grievous know that. Perhaps we could even convince him to help guide his people along on the road to joining us."

"There'll be a lot of growling involved if we asked that," Ahsoka Tano chuckled from where she was reclined on a sofa nearby. "He might be willing to help us do it but his attitude hasn't really adjusted any since we put him in that prison. At least it hadn't the last time I went to visit him."

Ahsoka had grown a lot in the year since they had won the Clone Wars. Her lekku and montrals were longer now, but she still wore her Padawan braid even now. She had turned sixteen just last week, and even though she had still yet to become a Knight, a lot of people now thought that it wouldn't be long before she took the trials. Many Jedi were beginning to think that she would break the record for youngest Jedi Knight ever, a record that was still currently held by their old friend Aayla at seventeen.

"That may be," said Barriss Offee, from her position on the floor where she was meditating. "But you have to give him credit where it's due – he's managed to stop himself from murdering San Hill with his bare hands every time they've seen one another. And I do get a feeling that if he really, _really_ wanted to, he could break out of there. We didn't put him in a maximum security cell after all. He's still there out of respect for his bargain with Aayla, not because we're holding him there."

"That is true," Ahsoka nodded. "That is very true. Commander Fox told me that he still gives him the shivers every time he looks at him."

"What – Grievous looking at him, or him looking at Grievous?" Anakin chuckled.

"Both," Ahsoka smirked. "But the former especially."

There was a shrill chirruping whistling noise from the astromech droid R2-D2 from where he was standing nearby that sounded a little like some sort of electronic giggling. His tall, golden counterpart, C-3PO, looked down and said, "Oh, hush now Artoo. Really that is not the way to behave when speaking of an ally who proved critical in the turning point of the Clone Wars."

"Relax, Threepio," Padmé laughed. "I'm sure Grievous wouldn't mind that he still instils fear in people. It's one of the few things the poor soul seems to have going for him at this point."

"Well, hopefully the news of his people will give him something else to ease his mind," Senator Riyo Chuchi remarked from her seat. "I do feel sorry for him sometimes. It can't be good for someone with a mind like his to be holed up like that. He might not have killed anyone yet, but I did here that he took a swing at a Karkodon that tried to bad-mouth him and not only broke its nose and knocked out most of its teeth but also hurled it across the room where it flattened an unfortunate Rodian to the ground. All with just one blow."

"Sounds like the Karkodon deserved it," Ahsoka remarked. "For being stupid enough to insult someone like him."

"Enlighten me," Anakin said pointedly. "Was it not you who called Grievous "grumpy" the first time you met him?"

"Touché," Ahsoka murmured.

The whole group laughed. The smile on Anakin's face could have lit up the building. This was just how he preferred things to be, which was odd now that he thought about it. There had been a time where he sought out action, perhaps in some pathological need to boast about his abilities through demonstration. But now, in this time of peace, he was practically carefree.

The people in the room with him now were those he had no secrets from. All of them knew about his relationship with Padmé and about all the various other things which he tried to keep in the dark and secret from other people. Not even Obi-Wan, his master, knew what they knew, though Anakin was trying to work out a point to tell the man who had raised him as a Jedi. It didn't seem right to leave him out of this, but he was still working on how to bring it up.

The only other person in the Galaxy who knew Anakin's secrets was the Wookiee Chewbacca, but he was currently at home with his family on Kashyyyk and last time they had checked he had not told anyone.

The only thing that could have made this moment more perfect would have been if Aayla and the rest of their old companions – the Digimon and the Tamers, who also knew his secrets – could have been here too. But sadly, this was not the case. And Ahsoka's recent birthday was actually a sad reminder that it had been a year since they parted ways.

All of the occupants of the room would often think about their missing friends and wonder what they might be doing at this moment. But, unfortunately, none of them had the answers. And it seemed unlikely that any of them _would_ have the answers in the future. Efforts to master dimension travel were still eluding even the top of scientists.

"Hey, you know what?" Barriss asked, breaking the silence. "I think that we should go and visit Godzillo tomorrow. It's been a while since we hopped over to Maridun for a visit."

"I could go for that," Chuchi nodded. "Assuming the Senate has no emergency meetings of course."

"Well, there's nothing on the radar," Padmé shrugged. "Sounds like a plan to me."

And the group kept up their idle conversation into the wee small hours of the night, simply enjoying one another's company.

* * *

But, across the Galaxy, Admiral Yularen stepped across the bridge of his cruiser, surveying the various clones at work. Even though their usual Jedi Generals were absent, the 501st were still currently on duty, and they had just completed a routine survey of a couple of planets in the Outer Rim. Despite the fact that the war had ended, there was, apparently, one threat left from its olden days. It was a relatively minor one though – just a Geonosian called Gizor Delso and a few of his associates who stubbornly refused to come out of hiding and admit defeat.

But Yularen was about to receive a surprise, as Captain Rex suddenly ran up to him and said, "Sir. Er… you might want to take a look at this." The clone handed a datapad to him and continued with, "We appear to have received some sort of strange transmission."

"From where?" Yularen asked, studying the datapad.

"The Crelythiumn system, sir," Rex said. "And that's way beyond the Outer Rim. But that's not the funny thing about this transmission. It doesn't contain words – it's just a signal. We don't know where in it it's coming from or why it's being made but when we decoded it, the only thing we could find was a distress code. A Jedi distress code."

"Jedi?" Yularen looked up sharply. "I was not aware that there were any Jedi in the Crelythiumn system."

"Neither was I, sir," Rex agreed. "But, the other strange thing, and perhaps more strange, was that it took us a while to find the code… because it's an ancient code. One that hasn't been used for over two-thousand years."

Yularen's eyes widened perceptibly. He stared at the datapad for a couple of seconds, before he said, "Contact the Jedi Council. Top priority message. Now."

* * *

Bet some of you weren't expecting those bits at the end, were you? But yes, we've finally heard a little from some of the other players of this story, although their roles will not become main for a good while yet even so. I hope you liked the discussions between everybody, and I assure you that those of you who are waiting for action will not have to wait many more chapters before they get it. I have already planned out the rest of this arc and it's already looking better than my initial plan was.

So, see ya when I see ya, I guess. But momentai. I'll get it done eventually.

* * *

Next time…

The group finally set out towards Viridian City in order to stock up on supplies and prepare for the journey as a whole. This means Felkan will have to face going into areas with other humans once more and the newcomers will, at last, get to experience the Pokémon World for themselves.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 12 : The Way of Life**


	12. The Way of Life

So much stuff to put down. So little time. Literally. When I'm not working for the Nottingham Wildlife Trust I am doing things for my parents and when I'm not doing things for my parents I almost always find myself with something else that I need to do soon. It's just so difficult to find the time to write these days. And then when I do find time to write, invariably one of the dogs will do something that forces me to stop and do something about it. Ugh. Sorry about this everyone – I honestly am trying. Still, I should be back and uni by mid-September so only about a month and a half more of slowness before speed picks up again. Anyway, hope you like this chapter.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 12:- The Way of Life**

* * *

Dawn arrived the next morning bright and early to find Renamon still awake and still standing sentinel on the tree branch where she had spent the entire night. The yellow Digimon had not quite known what the night would bring in a new world like this but at least they hadn't been attacked by anything. There had been one point during the night where she had heard a great roar in the distance which had put her on high alert, but her other nightly companion, Houndoom, had just yawned.

"Tyranitar," he said quietly, but loud enough for Renamon to hear him. "Quite ill-tempered creatures but they rarely stray off the mountain itself. They prefer solid-rock underneath their feet. Nothing to worry about."

"They sound powerful," Renamon noted.

"They _are_," Houndoom confirmed. "They're certainly not to be trifled with for any reason. But it's fine. No Tyranitar has ever bothered us since we've been here. Just ignore it."

Renamon merely nodded and returned to her vigil. She supposed she ought to be asking why Houndoom wasn't getting any sleep either, but she reckoned that he was very much a creature of the night. He certainly looked the part of one.

She vaguely wondered just how many different kinds of Pokémon there were in this world. She had no idea how many different kinds of Digimon existed in her own. Were there a similar number of varieties? Were there more Pokémon than Digimon? Pokémon had less evolution stages than Digimon did so could there be more kinds of Digimon.

Frankly she had no idea and she was unlikely to find out any answers anytime soon. There was still so much that she wanted to know. She was certainly not a curious Digimon by nature – she left that job to Terriermon – but this… this was a whole new world with a whole new sets of rules, ideals and creatures. If that wasn't enough to peak anybody's curiosity then nothing probably was.

And that was pretty much it for the rest of the night, except for a short instance when she spotted a couple of dark-feathered birds flying overhead, silhouetted against the moon, though she couldn't make them out very well as they were too far away. But then when the sun rose, she calmly bounded off the branch and landed nimbly and with a scary amount of silence right next to Terriermon and prodded him awake.

"Wh-huh?" Terriermon asked blearily. "Wazzup?"

"Morning has arrived," Renamon informed him. "It's time that we got underway on this quest. We might have a couple of months before us still but considering we're facing the destruction of everything around us I would say that every minute is precious. Wake everybody up, would you?"

Terriermon sat up and stretched his ears out to either side before grinning and saying, "Sure. I am, after all, the world's greatest alarm clock." He bounded to his feet and perched dramatically on the top of a nearby boulder, clearing his throat like a professional thespian and pausing for dramatic effect. Before…

"HHHHEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!"

The effect on the field was literally electric, if only because the moment Luxray sprang to his feet his entire fur began crackling and sparking as he looked around for imagined threat. All the Pokémon who had been quietly snoozing were up almost instantly, striking battle stances and poses and eyes darting around for any incoming fire. Felkan had automatically rolled to the side and propped himself up on one knee while Gardevoir stood in front of him with the shield of Protect already in place. The Digimon, Tamers and Aayla on the other hand, merely sat up, startled but not overly surprised. They were used to this kind of thing by nowm

And the Pokémon watched with mounting incredulity as Terriermon launched into song.

"Who the hell are you to tell me?  
What to do, why to do, why bother!  
Leech in a mask of virtue!  
Such waste to ever think of you again!  
Hey Judas, your Christess was our love!  
Hit and run, your will be done!  
Never sorry! Never wrong!  
More! More! More, more, more!"

And the Pokémon were even more surprised when the rest of the Digimon joined in with:-

"Master Passion Greed! Master Passion Greed!"

Terriermon looked like he was about to go on, but a chuckling Aayla raised her hand and summoned him to her with the Force, jerking him off the rock with the power of her mind and pulling him over so his mouth landed in her raised palm and floated there with her hand over his face. "Okay," she said. "I think that you've accomplished what you set out to do. Everyone's awake. That's enough now."

As soon as she released Terriermon he rolled his eyes and said, "Spoilsport. What happened to the days when you would have joined in the song and started dancing as well."

"They'll return when we don't have a mission at hand as they usually do," Aayla remarked as she pushed herself to her feet. "Sorry about that everyone. Terriermon likes to think of interesting ways to amuse himself, usually at everyone else's expense. There's no immediate threat."

"Perhaps not," Scyther griped. "But my confidence in the success of our mission just dropped a little bit."

"Aw, come on, Scyther," Latias giggled. "I thought it was quite funny."

"That's my point," Scyther rolled his eyes. "You and this little joker are among the only ones who can help save our world. We really are doomed."

"Not to worry, big guy," Lopmon snickered. "I'm sure that Latios and I can provide enough seriousness for four between the two of us if necessary."

"Sometimes I feel like I have to provide enough seriousness for four to keep Latias in line as it is," Latios muttered. "And she still constantly misbehaves."

"Who wants to behave?" Latias winked. "Behaving is not fun."

"I really have found my kindred spirit," Terriermon beamed.

"Oi! I thought _I_ was your kindred spirit, Helicopter-Head," Impmon glared.

"And that makes us a Terrible Trio," Terriermon grinned. "As soon as we save the world they will learn to fear us."

"You especially," Henry muttered. "The Terrible Terriermon. Perhaps Terrier was a more appropriate prefix to Mon for you that I previously thought. It almost describes you in one word."

"Spot on," Terriermon nodded.

"I am beginning to see what you mean, Scyther," Garchomp muttered quietly.

"If this world-ending cataclysm doesn't kill us all then they probably will," Sceptile agreed, as everybody slowly began to relax, staring a little uncertainly at the grinning bunny, laughing imp and giggling dragoness.

Felkan shook his head slightly and pushed himself to his feet completely. He took a brief moment to look around the clearing a little, the place where he had lived for nigh on five years now in his self-imposed exile. Today was a day that he thought and hoped was never going to come - the day where he set back out into the world. His Pokémon had occasionally pressed him to do it but he had never actually thought it would happen.

He was suddenly filled with a slight misgiving and his mind flashed back to the possibility to just staying here. He hadn't even set eyes on another human bar these Tamers since he had settled here. Rejoining them, particularly after everything they had done to him, would be far from easy. He wondered whether he was really up to it at all.

But then he felt a soft hand take his own. He didn't have to look to know that it was Gardevoir, but he looked anyway and stared into her soft crimson eyes, so full of reassurance and hope. She had been a constant source of support for him since they had met well over a decade ago and she did not need words or psychic projections to tell him that she would remain at his side and help him along on this quest, as would the rest of his team.

Felkan felt a rush of gratitude to her and then turned to look back at the Tamers and the rest of their party. His expression turned sour. He still didn't like the thought of accompanying them, but dwelling on it certainly wasn't going to make it easier to do. He might as well just get on with it.

"Alright then," he said. "Are we going or not?"

"Yes," Aayla nodded immediately. "But we do not have any maps of this world, so I'm afraid we're relying on you to take us in the right direction. Remember, we need to get out supplies first."

"Yes, I heard you last night," Felkan said, a little shortly. "And as I said, the closest city is Viridian in the Kanto region. But we're still a long way out from anyway so the only way we're going to get there quickly is if we fly."

"No problem," Suzie smiled. "We can do that. Just show us where to go."

Felkan's eyes settled on her just long enough for her to start feeling uncomfortable under his gaze before he turned away and said, "Charizard, Swellow, Garchomp, you three know the way, right?"

Charizard shrugged. "Well yeah. I mean, we haven't been there in Arceus-knows-how-long but it shouldn't be too hard to find it again. It's going to be mostly in the opposite direction to BlackthornCity and we all know how to get there."

"I can scout ahead if you like," Swellow offered. "Like I did back in the old days when we… you know…"

"Yes, I know," Felkan nodded. He sighed and nodded. "Alright then. If we've got to get out there again then I suppose we better get started. See if you can plot a course for us, Swellow. We might be heading back into human territory but I don't want to be seen flying above if we can help it. Can you do that?"

Swellow smirked as much as his beak would allow. "Of course," he said. "We'll be like wraiths passing overhead. I'll make sure nobody spots us." And he spread his slender but powerful wings and shot upwards with a single flap, spiralling through a hole in the canopy and winging away at the twitch of a couple of feathers.

"Whoa," Mako gasped. "He's fast."

"All Swellow are fast," Lucario chuckled. "It's part of their biology. But our Swellow has been attempting to maximise his speed as much as possible during our training here. I would be willing to be that there are not many things on the wing that could catch up with him in this world. With a few notable exceptions."

"Like us, for instance," Latias grinned. "We're pretty speedy too, you know."

"Oh, are you?" Terriermon eyed her evilly. "Want a race?"

Latias returned the evil glare and was about to say "You're on," but before she could Latios moved between them.

"Please, can we take this seriously?" he asked. "There'll be time for fun and silliness later on but for now we're on a mission to save this world. And I think that we would all do well to remember that," he added, casting a significant look at Latias.

"I agree," Renamon nodded, stepping over to her mate. "Remember our missions back in Aayla's world, Terriermon. We proceed as we did then – calmly, quickly and with concentration. Just because you've found this kindred spirit in the Pokémon World is not an excuse to go wild on it."

Terriermon sighed. "Alright, alright. Fine."

Latias coughed and made it sound suspiciously like a whipping noise. Impmon snickered. Lopmon swatted him.

"Right," muttered Felkan. "Anyway, since we're flying we'll want to lower the weight as much as possible so anyone who can't fly should get back in their Pokéballs now."

"We haven't been in there for ages," Glaceon yipped. "It'll be like our journey all over again, won't it? The excitement, the thrills, maybe a battle or two…"

"…People staring at us uncomfortably," Luxray added.

"Oh don't be like that," Glaceon rolled his eyes. "It'll be fun."

"I highly doubt it, Glaceon," Felkan replied, pulling Pokéballs off his belt.

"And _I_ think that it will be fine," Milotic admonished her trainer. "You might as well do your best to get into the swing of things. It certainly will not be a pleasant experience if you do not."

Felkan stared at the large serpent-like Pokémon for a moment before grimacing, but he said nothing in reply. Instead, he merely raised his hands, each with a ball nestled in the palm and said, "Alright then. Return, you guys."

In pairs, Felkan sent out the beams of red light that lanced into one of the Pokémon in the glade and liquefied them into the same light before sucking them back into their original Pokéballs. Though they had already seen this last night, there was still a large amount of fascination involved for the offworlders, as they sat and watched as Glaceon, Luxray, Houndoom, Milotic, Lucario and Sceptile were all drawn back into the little devices.

"You know, I still find that extremely disconcerting," Terriermon muttered.

"Actually, so do I," Lopmon nodded. "Though I can't help but wonder what it would be like in one of those."

"Well if anyone tries to get me inside one of those balls then they'll get a Bada Boom shoved up their tailpipe," Impmon stated profusely.

Felkan, who was not listening to this discussion, turned to Absol and said, "You feeling better now?"

"Yeah," nodded Absol. "Yeah, I'm okay. Much better in fact. I can still sense the incredible disaster coming up but at least now I can ignore it. Push it to the bottom, so to speak. Sorry I was a burden on you for the last few months…"

"No, don't be sorry," Felkan chided him. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad that you didn't go mad or something. Still, you feel up to riding in your Pokéball again?"

"Yeah," Absol nodded. "I'll… I'll be fine."

"Sure?"

"Absol-utely," Absol chuckled. Felkan couldn't help but chuckle at the old joke that Absol had started using many years ago. It had long since stopped being particularly funny, but it didn't have to be. It was a sign of having the old Absol back and that was more than enough for Felkan. He quickly returned Absol to his Ball, and stowed it on his belt as with all the others. That left only Charizard, Garchomp, Scyther, Gardevoir and the Lati twins still in the glade.

"It is time to go," Aayla said, stepping closer to Felkan. "We must not linger any longer."

"Tell me something I don't know," Felkan muttered, not meeting her eye. He was not yet sure what to make of this Aayla person. She wasn't a human but she certainly looked like one in many aspects, which left him a little conflicted as to how he felt about having her around even though he still wanted to avoid contact with the Tamers. "Charizard, how are your flight muscles?"

Charizard looked offended. "Stronger than ever. Hop on, I could carry you to Hoenn and back if I had to."

"Well, we don't need to go that far," Felkan snorted, stepping over to the Fire-type, who hunkered over and allowed his trainer to clamber onto his neck and settle down just above his broad wings. Felkan was much taller and heavier than the last time Charizard had carried him but Charizard was still more than capable of carrying him. He had improved his own flight muscles by carrying boulders for miles.

There was a brief flash and a blur as Gardevoir vanished from sight and an instant later she was sitting on Charizard's back right behind Felkan, wrapping her arms around his waist. All the Digimon briefly wondered why Felkan had not returned her back to her Pokéball as he had with all the others that couldn't fly, but they decided not to comment on it. Even Terriermon held a surprising amount of tact by not bringing it up or even joking about it.

Felkan looked back at the others, looking extremely reluctant to speak to them but doing it anyway. "Can you guys find a ride of your own?"

"We could carry you," offered Latios. "We've never carried anyone before but we're more than capable."

"Why thank you for asking," Terriermon immediately sprung into the air and landed on Latias' head. "All aboard."

"Well, we do have our own means of getting around…" Henry protested.

"And you want to reveal all of what we can do at once?" Terriermon asked. "Come on, Henry. Leave some surprises in store for these guys. It'll be more fun to see their faces later on when we've got to know them a little better first. Come on, let's get going."

The Tamers looked at one another slightly before they sighed and moved forwards. Henry and Rika clambered onto Latios' back while Latias helped Suzie and the twins on board her own.

"You won't drop us, right?" Ai asked, a little nervously.

"Are you kidding?" Latias snorted. "Even if I did drop you I could catch you with my psychic powers before you'd fallen two feet. Relax. You'll be fine."

And then Renamon was there, flipping over to land smoothly on Latias' back. "And I'll make sure that you don't fall off in the first place," she added with a smile.

As Lopmon and Impmon clambered on board Latios, Aayla stepped up to Garchomp and said, "I hope you don't mind giving me a lift, big guy."

Garchomp looked down at Aayla. He wasn't a whole lot taller than her, but he was still significantly larger. "You sure?" he asked. "My fin can make things a bit uncomfortable for people unused to flying."

"Well, fortunately, I am very used to it," Aayla chuckled. "I was a pilot of a starfighter back in my own universe. And though this is substantially different, I'm sure that I'll manage."

Garchomp stared at her for a moment. Then, "What's a starfighter?"

"A spaceship," Aayla chuckled.

"Ah. Well then if you can manage that then I suppose you can manage a sleek, skilled flyer such as I," Garchomp snorted. "Madame," he added theatrically proffering an arm to the Twi'lek. Aayla chuckled and took said arm, before using it to vault herself neatly onto the Dragon's back.

Swellow appeared in the space above the canopy and said, "Are we going or what?"

"We have lift-off," Charizard roared, spreading his mighty wings and hurling himself into the air, powering upwards with huge, sweeping beats of the blue appendages. Swellow curved to one side and shot away again as Charizard surged through the gap, with Felkan and Gardevoir both settled smoothly on his neck.

Garchomp followed on quickly, zipping upwards with Aayla balancing easily on his shoulders, and the Eon twins and Scyther quickly followed. Unburdened by passengers as he was, Scyther's wings were beating nineteen to the dozen as he curved around and settled into a steady flight next to Garchomp.

"Oh yes!" Scyther laughed. "Who needs to evolve when you lose the ability to do this? And you know, I can't believe that we've actually left. We're heading out of the forest again once more."

"Too right," Garchomp snorted. "Look out Pokémon World. We're coming back."

"With a vengeance," Swellow agreed, corkscrewing between the two and then swooping underneath Charizard and zipping out in front once more with all the grace and acrobatics of a dragonfly.

Charizard threw in his lot with a gout of flame from his jaws that seared out across the sky for a moment before fizzling out of existence. Even Felkan, reluctant as he was to even be here, couldn't help but chuckle at the enthusiasm his Pokémon were showing. He couldn't blame them too much – after all they had been stuck in the same forest as him for five years simply because they refused to leave him.

There were many things that Felkan no longer knew about himself, but when he saw the looks on some of the faces of his team as they set out into the world anew, a horrible flash of guilt lanced through him just for a second. Had he been selfish to deny them for so long and refusing to budge from his spot for over half a decade?

Did he even deserve their loyalty?

_You can't think like that,_ Gardevoir's voice resounded in his head. _If you didn't deserve our loyalty then we wouldn't give it to you. Simple as that. We know that you always had our own best interests at heart which made your decision to stay a very unselfish one indeed. If you had continued to refuse not to come now though, _that_ would have been selfish. But you didn't._

_Only because you convinced me,_ Felkan pointed out.

_You can't expect to make the correct decision on your own every time, Felkan,_ Gardevoir replied. _And I'll always be there to help guide you if you want me to be. Still, this little… adventure that we're going on could be a great experience for you. But only if you work together with these offworlders. And I mean all of them._

_I'm not doing this for them_, Felkan reminded her. _I'm doing this for Latios and Latias. Those Tamers are still humans, and I'm willing to bet that just because they're from a different universe they're still exactly the same as the humans from this one._

_Regardless, not all humans from this universe are bad people and you know that without me having to tell you_, Gardevoir reminded him back. _What about Cynthia?_

_She abandoned us,_ Felkan growled. _She made no attempt to speak up for us even though she said she would. There was only one person who attempted to speak out for us, remember? And even he didn't do so for long. If I get close to these Tamers… they'll just betray me in the end too. Every human always has before._

Gardevoir said nothing more but she sighed internally. She adored her trainer but that didn't mean she agreed with him. It was her duty to be his emotional support but it was also her duty to make sure that he went down the right path. And she was convinced that this road of forced isolation he was taking was only going to end up hurting him. But while he normally listened to anything she had to say, when it came to the subject of humans, he shut her out. He _always _shut her out, and everyone else. Even she couldn't sway his mind on that one subject alone.

The only people who could do that… were other humans.

And now they were on a journey that they had to undertake with no less than five other humans. Granted they were all younger than Felkan but children were still the best way to start. And if Felkan wasn't going to go to them, Gardevoir had to try and make them come to him.

She glanced across the gap and her red eyes locked onto Aayla's brown ones. Gardevoir had a sneaking suspicion that the Twi'lek knew what she was thinking about. The Jedi gave her a reassuring nod, promising to help in any way she could with just the motion of her head before looking away.

Gardevoir hoped that things would get better soon. For all their sakes. But especially Felkan's.

* * *

The flight to Viridian didn't take too long in the grand scheme of things, but it still took a couple of hours of hard flying. Swellow, Garchomp, Latios and Latias could have all made it there much faster if they had been going at their highest of speeds, but their passengers would likely have been severely injured in the process so they stuck to a more sedate pace.

Swellow did his job well. His eyes were as keen as any eagle's despite the fact he was a swallow, and he was able to pick out the shapes and signs of human campsites and hikers with ease. He only saw a couple on the way, and they skirted around them with ease.

At some point, they flew over the Kanto Victory Road, which was the first sign that they had entered the other region for the first time in years. They flew on by wordlessly, eyes flicking down to the enormous cave entrance and the extremely distant shape of the castle of the Elite Four but they made no move to stop. They merely pressed on, increasing their speed slightly. They had no desire to be spotted by the Elite Four themselves. That might involve things getting a bit messy if Felkan was recognised.

* * *

Eventually though, they did arrive at Viridian City. Swellow turned back and swept between the group to indicate they had arrived before spiralling down towards the ground, the others close behind him. Nobody had a desire to set down in the city itself. Pokémon like Garchomp were few and far between as it was and if anybody spotted something like Aayla or the Digimon there was sure to be immediate hubbub. And as for Latios and Latias, well… there would be no end of trainers trying to catch them if they were seen.

So, they settled on the outskirts, in the forest to the north of the city, finding a clear space for them to alight on the ground. As the passengers disembarked from their carriers, they quickly made their way towards the edge of the trees and peered from around the trunks at what they could see.

They were still a fair distance from the city itself, but they could see enough to know that it was a pretty modern place. The buildings there were mostly two stories tall with the occasional three-story place and there were not that many things taller than that. It reminded the Tamers or the inner suburbs of the Shinjuku District back home, meaning that it was a lot like the region that Rika lived in rather than that of the tall apartment blocks where Henry and Suzie made their home. All in all, it seemed to be a fairly pleasant little place.

"There it is," Charizard nodded. "Viridian City, a roadstop on the way to adventure for young trainers everywhere."

"You've been here before then?" Aayla asked him.

"Nope," Charizard snorted. "Just heard about it. Viridian is apparently one of the first major stop-offs for most trainers who set out on their first Pokémon journey, because they usually have to go to a little place down south to get their first Pokémon from the Kanto region. There might be a few Charmanders down there right now."

"Well, it's the first stop-off on _our _journey too," Henry threw in. "Because we need to get things like food and that map and some other gear. Guess we should head in there and see what we can find."

"Hold on," Rika said. "How are we going to pay for it?"

…

…

…

"Er…" Henry muttered. "That… is actually a very good question? Has anybody got much money on them?"

"Not me," Suzie shook her head. "Mum didn't give me this month's pocket money yet."

"Our Mum doesn't even give us pocket money yet," Ai muttered. "She says that we don't need it for a few more years."

"Well, I think that I've got a little bit," Rika sighed. "But not nearly enough for us to buy the kind of things that we might need. What about you, Henry."

"Same answer," grimaced Henry.

"And here's another point," Aayla raised. "What currency do they even use in this universe? They may not use the same system that you use in Japan back home."

"Good point," Henry grimaced. "Well, this adventure has been very well co-ordinated, hasn't it?"

"I thought that the point of an adventure was that you didn't know what you were doing half the time," Latias frowned. "Isn't that the whole point of the quest to discover what you're meant to do along the way or something?"

"At the rate we're going that may well be the case," Terriermon chuckled. "Hey, Felkan. Do they use yen here in this world? And have you got anything in your own pockets that could give us a hand?"

"You must be joking," Felkan stared flatly at the small Digimon. "I've been living on my own for years now – I haven't had any money for any reason in a very long time."

"Ah," Terriermon blinked. "Good point. So… what are we meant to do?"

Felkan stared out at the city with a distant and unreadable expression on his face. This was a place that he really did _not_ want to be right now. He could see numerous other people in the distance and the mere idea of heading into such a populated area was making him uncomfortable already. After so long avoiding such places… this was going to be even harder for him than he had previously thought.

Eventually though he just snorted through his nose and brought his hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. "Look," he muttered. "You don't need money to get the things that you need."

"We don't?" Henry blinked. "Why not?"

Felkan continued as if he had not heard the question, though ended up answering it anyway. "Every major city and town and some of the longer routes of each region have a significant building called a Pokémon Centre, which is a place where trainers can get their Pokémon healed and they can stock up on supplies such as food and various gear. Since Pokémon trainers don't earn a steady source of income, the services for them are completely free. All you need to do is go in there, pretend you're Pokémon trainers and they'll supply you with everything you need."

"Is that a fact?" Renamon raised a brow. "Well, that's certainly very handy."

"Hold up," Impmon folded his arms. "All _you_ need to do? You're the Pokémon trainer here. Why don't you do it?"

"You _must_ be joking," Felkan looked at Impmon incredulously. "Listen, I might be part of this little trip to save the world but if you think I'm heading into a public area where anybody could see my face and recognise me for who I am then you can forget it. I am not prepared to put my Pokémon on the line to get you your supplies. End of. If you want to get supplies then fine, but you're doing it on your own."

"What, so that's it then?" Impmon scowled. "You'll just wait here on the sidelines while _we_ have to do something about it?"

"Pretty much, yeah," nodded Impmon. "Your own humans will be fine – they don't have a bounty on their heads like I still probably do. The trainer with the Absol will still be on the wanted list after five years, you mark my words."

"But we don't know what we're doing," complained Suzie.

"And half of our group would draw attention," Rika agreed. "We can't just waltz into this Pokémon Centre with four Digimon and a Twi'lek. They'll stand out a mile. There's nothing like them in this universe after all."

"Won't they think that they're some kind of strange Pokémon?" Mako asked.

"That's what I mean," Rika said. "Strange and probably _rare_ ones, right? Cue fascination and interruptions and hurried explanations, etcetera…"

"Alright, alright!" Felkan suddenly snapped at them, causing the younger humans to flinch back and the rest of the group to stop and stare at him. Felkan gritted his teeth and muttered, "Scyther, Charizard, your kind are native to Kanto so your presence won't draw as much attention. You two feel like going out there and showing these… kids what they're meant to do?"

Scyther shrugged. "Why not?"

Charizard snorted. "Sure. Come on then. Let's get going."

The Bug type and the Fire type stepped out of the undergrowth and made their way towards the distant buildings. The Tamers looked at one another for several moments, unsure how to proceed but Aayla gave them a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry. We'll be close by as always. Renamon, can you keep us out of sight?"

"You need to ask?" Renamon chuckled, raising her perception filter. Even Felkan was taken slightly aback when the four Digimon and Aayla all vanished from sight.

"Ooh," Latias grinned. "We can do that too, can't we?" And with a flash of sparkles she too turned invisible. "Let's go!" Her disembodied voice cried as she shot off after Charizard and Scyther.

"Latias wait!" Latios cried, whooshing after her and turning invisible himself as he tried to catch up with her.

The Tamers made their decision and hurried off after their newest companions, their invisible entourage in hot pursuit. Felkan watched them go grimly as he leant against the tree he had been standing against.

"I don't believe you should be so rude to them, Felkan," Gardevoir sighed. "You're not like this to any of us. Just because their human it doesn't mean you should act so coldly to them. You don't have to like their company if you don't want to but being short with them is not going to make things any smoother for any of us."

"Yeah, I know that," Felkan grimaced. "But… every time I look at them… I just think of what happened back in HearthomeCity. It makes my blood boil."

"It makes _all_ our blood boil. Even Milotic's," Gardevoir smiled sadly. "But please… just try and play a little nicer. It wouldn't kill you to try."

"It could," muttered Felkan. Gardevoir stared at him levelly for several seconds before he gave up and said, "Alright. I'll try and be a little less… for lack of a better word, nasty."

"Thank you," Gardevoir beamed. "Come on, give us a smile. I have a feeling that we're going to need to keep our spirits up in the upcoming weeks."

Felkan chuckled. "Sometimes, Gardevoir, you can be as incorrigible as Glaceon."

"All in your best interests," Gardevoir winked at him.

"I have a question," Garchomp growled as he stepped closer to the pair. "If you're not going into civilisation again today then… when are you going to head back?"

Felkan left a significant pause hanging over the air like a thick fog barrier before he said. "I don't know. But… not today."

"And I have a question too," Swellow threw in from his perch. "Where exactly are we going once we have these supplies? Where do we start looking for the Legendary Pokémon?"

Another pause.

Then…

"I might have an idea about that," Felkan mused. "If there's one good place to start… it'll be there."

* * *

WELCOME TO VIRIDIAN CITY, GATEWAY TO THE INDIGO PLATEAU, A CITY OF EVERGREEN, said the signpost as the group entered the buildings.

"What's the Indigo Plateau?" Henry asked curiously as they strolled into the place.

"I think it's the place where they people from Kanto hold their Pokémon tournament to determine who faces off against the Elite Four and Champion every year," Scyther replied. "Never been there ourselves of course but we were planning to come here next if it didn't work out at the Sinnoh tournament all those years ago."

"This place is beautiful," Rika murmured. "And I don't say that very often."

She was right too. It was almost as if the forest they had just left started within the city itself. There were trees and shrubs surrounding the houses on all sides and the roads were all neatly paved and practically shining in the early morning sun. The buildings themselves all looked modern but cosy and naturalistic. There was a rather drunk looking elderly man staggering around nearby which kinda spoilt the view a little bit, but if you ignored him then the city almost seemed to be a natural beauty.

"A lot of the cities of this world are like this," nodded Charizard. "The humans are very respectful to nature since they live alongside us Pokémon, so many of their cities try to integrate with it as much as possible."

"Would that the humans in our world were so considerate," Henry sighed.

"You can say that again," Rika murmured.

_Guys,_ Lopmon's voice resounded in their heads from wherever she and the others were currently hidden from sight. _Will you take a look at this place? This… it's like… it's just what we all keep wishing things could be back home._

And she was right. As they moved deeper into the city, the Tamers began to see more and more of its people walking around the streets… and a large portion of those people were not human. They were quite clearly Pokémon. There was a small construction area nearby where several able-bodied men were being assisted by small, grey humanoid like creatures with long, muscled arms, and one similar but much larger Pokémon which was carrying enormous girders and concrete slabs as if they weighed nothing.

In the streets themselves there were a large number of kids who were running back and forth excitedly and playing with small friendly Pokémon who yipped around like dogs, including a small brown puppy like thing with large ears and a something like a small rein of fur around its neck and another red fox-like creature with what appeared to be six tails. One young woman was tending to a horse… a horse with a flaming tail and mane and a large horn sticking out of its forehead, and several others were taking a swim in a nearby pond where there appeared to be large tadpole like creatures with small legs and large swirling black patterns on their fronts.

There were many other examples of this kind of interaction between human and Pokémon going on all around them, and none of them appeared to pay this a moment's thought – this was second nature to all of them. Heck, it was probably _first_ nature. Human and Pokémon shared their world and everything in it in what seemed to be perfect harmony.

_It's astonishing,_ Renamon murmured. _This is… ideal. It's exactly how we want humans and Digimon to interact and live back in our own world. This is… a dream world._

_Yeah, except it's very real,_ Terriermon agreed.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of the Tamers, Digimon and people like Yamaki, the Digimon World and the Human World were still extremely separate from one another, with the Tamers providing the only link between the two species. And it was not just the barrier between the worlds that was keeping them apart. Many, many humans respected the Digimon and were in awe of them whenever they saw them in the streets, but most of these were the children, who never hesitated to run up and try and introduce themselves, which got rather annoying at times. Some adults were pretty similar, although most of them kept a respectful distance all the same.

But for most of those adults, the respect they held for the Digimon was a very wary one. Many of them tried to keep their children away from the creatures and often still gave them a wide berth even now after everything that had happened. When something went wrong in the city, like a power outage or a missing child, Digimon were among the first probably causes that always sprang up. And many people were still downright terrified of the creatures.

The government especially seemed to be scared of what the Digimon were capable and not just the ones that belonged to the Tamers. Yamaki didn't give the Tamers many details, wanting to keep them from worrying too much, but the Tamers were aware that he had to work near tirelessly to counter suggestions from people in high places to have the Digimon in the city eradicated or at least taken away and held captive or even experimented on, and many more attempts to find ways to destroy the Digital World and everything in it as HYPNOS had once tried to do.

Time and again, several of the Tamers had days where they fretted about what would happen if Yamaki ever lost one of these arguments. He'd been able to put them all down in the past and thankfully he was a close friend of the Japanese Prime Minister, who had even more sway than Yamaki did. But many of the Digimon had not exactly made it easy for Yamaki. The D-Reaper had not been the fault of the Digimon, but Ogudomon had been a different matter. He had destroyed the entire city of Tokyo in a matter of hours with his great strength, and days later, when Fanglongmon had awoken, the Digimon God had repaired the damage Ogudomon had caused with a mere flick of his eyes.

That sort of power scared several of the politicians and the Tamers knew that each time a powerful Digimon attacked, the line was going to get thinner. They had become painfully aware that they needed to do something about it – get the Digimon and the Humans to work together more closely than they were, but they had never found the opportunity. But when they did, Aayla had promised to do all in her power to help, and her diplomatic Jedi skills could prove to be extremely useful when that finally did happen.

Here, though, in this Pokémon World… this was what all of the Tamers envisioned that their own world should be like. And seeing it played out before them left them in awe and with not a little jealousy.

_Alright Aayla? _Henry thought. _Does this ease your mind about the relationship between the humans and the Pokémon. It seems to be a pretty companionable and friendly one to me._

_Perhaps,_ Aayla replied. _I cannot deny that it certainly is amazing… and not a little touching._ There was a mental chuckle and the red six-tailed fox caught one of the kids and brought it down, only to jump up and start licking its face. _Alright, very touching. But we have yet to see one of these so-called Pokémon battles which Felkan mentioned previously. I am still not sure what to make of the concept of that – it sounds a little too much like… well… dog-fighting might not be the right description but I assume you get my drift._

_I do,_ nodded Henry. _And in a way I do agree with you a little bit. But still… this isn't our world and I think we should withhold our judgement until we can see one of these Pokémon battles for ourselves._

Suddenly Latias' voice chipped into everybody's head, including those who did not have access to the psychic link like Impmon and the twins. _Well, look no further,_ she said. _There's a small Pokémon battle going on over here. A street to the left of where you guys actually are._

_Is there some way you could warn us before you suddenly burst in on our heads like that?_ Terriermon griped.

_Momentai._

_Hoi!_

"A Pokémon battle, hm?" Rika turned to look at Henry. "Might be worth a look."

Henry shrugged. "I don't see why not. Let's go." And the group quickly altered trajectory and hurried off, Charizard and Scyther lifting into the air to follow them. The two large and menacing looking Pokémon did draw a few stares, but nobody made any comment on it and looked away again after a few seconds. Apparently these two Pokémon types were not seen often, but not so rarely that there was anything amazing about their presence here.

As the Tamers rounded the corner Latias had mentioned, Henry, Rika and Suzie felt the presence of the invisible Digimon and Aayla land next to them, having jumped off a roof so they could observe the battle with their friends, hidden from all under Renamon's perception filter. They had no idea where Latios and Latias where, but they assumed they were nearby.

_Yep, we're right above you,_ Latias giggled. _And check it out. Is that not a true clash of the titans?_

"I'm going with… no," Charizard snorted as they beheld the battle. The two trainers in question were young – very young. Younger even than Suzie which probably made them around ten years of age. There were several other even children around them, watching with wide eyes and exuberant faces as the two trainers commanded their Pokémon against each other.

Said Pokémon were small, about the same size as Terriermon and Lopmon. One of them was a little turtle-like creature with a brown shell with a pale underside, and light green skin on stubby limbs, a round head and a slightly curled tail sticking out of said shell. The other was a small, brown bird with short stubby wings and a small crest on top of its head.

"Squirtle versus Pidgey," Scyther laughed. "Well and truly a battle for the ages."

_Oh leave them alone,_ Latios chuckled. _These trainers have obviously just started on their own journey haven't they? Cut them some slack._

"You're right, of course," Charizard nodded. "You can't make fun of a beginner. That's just mean. Let's see who triumphs shall we?"

The rest of the group were only partially listening to what the Pokémon where saying, as they were paying close attention to the ongoing small battle.

"Pidgey, use Tackle!" cried one of the boys on opposite ends of the battle. The Pidgey responded immediately and steered itself around, aiming itself right at the Squirtle, who braced itself, waiting diligently for its trainer's orders.

"Squirtle, dodge and use Tail Whip!" shouted the other trainer. Squirtle instantly threw itself to the side and the Pidgey breezed harmlessly by, but not before the Squirtle lashed out with its tail and tapped it against the Pidgey's back once. Pidgey was knocked off balance for a second but it regained its altitude reasonably quickly.

"What good did that do?" asked Suzie.

"There are quite a few Pokémon moves that are designed to lower the various strengths of the opponent," Scyther explained. "Tail Whip is one of them – it's meant to lower the opponent's defences."

"How does that work?" Rika asked, frowning in confusion.

"It just does," Scyther snorted. "Leave it at that."

"Now use Bubble!" cried the trainer with a grin on his face. Squirtle span around and unleashed a stream of bubbles from its mouth upwards at the flying bird.

"Pidgey, quick, get out of the way and use Tackle again!" yelled the other boy. The Pidget twirled slightly in the air and dropped down low to the ground, swooping across it and shooting right at the reptilian opponent.

"You use Tackle as well, Squirtle!" ordered the opposing boy, and Squirtle obeyed instantly, dashing forwards as fast as his limbs could carry him which was not terribly fast, before throwing himself at the Pidgey, shoulder first. Pidgey angled itself so it did the same and the two crashed into each other full-on, before both fell to the ground, dazed by the impact.

"Looks to me like they're just ramming into one another," Renamon's voice muttered quietly.

"Are you surprised?" Charizard asked. "Those two trainers are obviously not very experienced at this at all, and neither are the Pokémon. My guess is that they've only been doing this a couple of days at best."

"Get up, Squirtle, and use Tackle again!" the boy cried as Squirtle grunted and pushed itself back upwards before throwing itself at the Pidgey, who was still trying to get back up.

"Sand-Attack! Quick!" screeched the other boy and the Pidgey cooed as it kicked up a flurry of sand with its wings which shot into the Squirtle's eyes. Squirtle let out a cry of surprise and pain as his eyes were filled with the stuff and it fell to the ground next to Pidgey, giving the bird plenty of time to roll over and escape into the air again.

"Hey, isn't that fighting dirty?" asked Mako.

"I assume the pun was not intended but I agree," Henry said.

"No, Sand-Attack is a perfectly legitimate move," Scyther replied. "There are rules in these battles that you're not allowed to break but lowering the accuracy of the opponent is not one of them. It's also probably the best use of strategy that either of them can even use at the moment."

"Now use Tackle again!" the trainer cried, and the Pidgey shot forwards and rammed into the Squirtle while it was still scrabbling at its eyes and was sent bowling over.

"Squirtle, are you okay?" asked the trainer. Squirtle pushed itself back up again, bleary eyed but still able to fight. "Alright!" the boy cried. "Use Bubble to wash off the sand and then use Tackle again!" Squirtle quickly complied, blowing Bubbles out of its mouth and pushing them into its own eyes to wash out the grit and then charging for the Pidgey yet again. And yet again, the Pidgey came in for a Tackle of its own and the two crashed into each other and went rolling.

"This is getting a bit repetitive," Rika muttered. "I thought you guys said that Pokémon can know many different attacks, so why do they keep using the same one?" She stared as the Pidgey and Squirtle pushed themselves back up once again and Tackled one another for the third time.

"Pokémon don't just know every attack they can learn right off the bat, you know," Scyther replied. "They have to learn how to use new ones. There's all sorts of techniques and skills they need to learn before they can master a new move. Those two are young and those attacks are probably the only ones they know. This is an extremely rookie example of a Pokémon battle."

"Careful," Impmon muttered quietly. "Rookies can be quite a handful sometimes, you know. Particularly Rookie level Digimon."

"Of course, of course," Scyther nodded with a smirk.

"So, Aayla, what do you make of it?" Rika asked.

There was no answer.

"Aayla?" Rika blinked, looking round at invisible space. "Are you there?"

"Oh, she's here," Terriermon replied. "But she's staring at the battle with an expression of ultimate focus, I can tell you."

And that was indeed what Aayla was doing. She was analysing the battle with all the observation skills of a former General and of a Jedi Master. The two trainers were the first parts of it she had scrutinised. They were young and brash and bold, the pair of them, and extremely enthusiastic about the battle, but when their Pokémon looked hurt or got hit by an attack from the other one there were genuine looks of concern and worry on both of their faces. It seemed that they really did care about the creatures they were ordering in to fight one another. Unlike people who fought creatures back home on Earth or in her own universe just for amusement they actually did worry if their charges got hurt.

And then there were the two Pokémon themselves. The Pidgey and the Squirtle were just as young and inexperienced as their trainers, but Aayla was very good at reading the emotions running through their eyes as they fought. She could quite clearly see dedication to their trainers, determination to triumph and, perhaps most importantly of all, enjoyment. They were enjoying the battle, enjoying testing themselves against their opponents and enjoying the competition.

They wanted to do this just as much as the trainers did.

There were no cruel words from the trainers. There was no reluctance to obey from the Pokémon. And there appeared to be a sense of trust running from trainer to Pokémon and back. This was not like anything that Aayla had feared and she could see it quite plainly. This was not slavery, not cruel and barbaric fighting competitions between the two combatants. It was indeed more like a boxing match or wrestling or another legitimate sport. And it was already allowing the trainer and Pokémon to bond with each other.

She felt a smile creeping onto her face as she watched the enthusiasm of the young boys and of the young Pokémon as they kept trying to outdo one another.

Eventually though, it was becoming clear that the Squirtle was gaining the advantage. It seemed to be taking far less damage from the Pidgey's tackle attacks as the Pidgey was from its own. Probably due to a combination of a hefty shell and the fact that it had apparently lowered the Pidgey's defences with Tail Whip. And then the final straw came when the Pidgey circled around for yet another Tackle and the Squirtle's trainer held up a hand, silently motioning for Squirtle to wait.

When the Pidgey was within six feet, the trainer cried. "Use Bubble now!" Squirtle grinned and let rip with a barrage of harmless looking Bubbles from its mouth. Apparently though Bubbles from a Pokémon did far more damage than bubbles from a blower because the Pidgey ploughed into them and lost its balance as they popped against it, overshooting the Squirtle and crashing into the ground, where it lay limp.

"Oh no! Pidgey!" the trainer cried and ran over to the small Pokémon. "Are you okay?"

The Pidgey cooed a little and looked up at its trainer with apologetic eyes. And that was the end of the battle, simple as that. Pidgey was clearly no longer in a fit state to fight, but it seemed as though there was no serious injury, and a slightly older kid, looking to be around twelve, cried, "Pidgey is down for the count, so the winner is Squirtle."

"Yes! Alright!" the small boy cried, and the Squirtle ran up to him and jumped into his arms, both of them hugging one another. "We did it! We won! You were awesome, Squirtle!"

"Thanks!" the Squirtle beamed, though the boy only heard it say, "Squirt."

"You did great, Pidgey," the other trainer nodded. "We'll get him next time, yeah? Take a nice rest." And he held up a Pokéball that looked too big for his hand and recalled the Pidgey into it. "Guess you won then," he called across.

"Yeah. You were quite good but my Squirtle is just awesome!" the first trainer laughed. "Does anybody else want to take me on?"

"We'll knock you all down," the Squirtle cried, punching the air with a fist.

Aayla and the others chuckled. It seemed that, like most small kids, this trainer was letting his victory go to his head a little bit. And the Squirtle was not much better.

"So then, Aayla," Scyther turned to look at his fellow blade-wielder. "Thoughts?"

And Aayla was just about to give them to him when one of the assembled kids finally noticed they were there. "Look! Look, it's a Charizard! Those guys have a Charizard with them!"

There was immediate hubbub as the group of kids, including the one with the Squirtle and the trainer of the Pidgey suddenly ran forward to gather in front of the enormous dragon, seemingly completely unafraid of his tail, menacing stature. The invisible Digimon and Aayla bounded out of the way before any of the kids could collide with them and Latios and Latias raised themselves higher, leaving the kids totally unaware of the rare beings that they were surrounded by.

"Oh, he's so cool!" one of them gushed, staring up at Charizard's intimidating stature.

"Why thank you," Charizard chuckled, though obviously he was not understood.

"What am I? A Rattata?" Scyther muttered to himself, turning to look away. "Sure, he's not fully evolved so he's not as cool. Ugh."

"Charizards are so awesome," another declared.

"I am so getting a Charmander when I can finally become a trainer," another exclaimed. "He's the coolest of the three starters anyway."

"No they aren't," glared the Squirtle trainer. "Squirtle is and you know it. My Squirtle could take that Charizard and beat him into the ground."

Charizard raised a brow. "Sounds to me like somebody's getting a bit too big for his britches already."

The Squirtle himself suddenly looked quite nervous, gulping as he looked up at the smirking Fire type Pokémon. But his trainer evidently didn't seem to notice and said, "Which one of you guys is the Charizard's trainer?"

Henry was about to reflexively say that none of them were, but Rika cut across him and said, "Suzie here," placing a hand on Suzie's shoulder. "She's Charizard's trainer."

"I am? I mean, yeah… I am," Suzie said, a little uncertainly. "Charizard and me are… old buddies, aren't we?"

"Oh totally," Charizard chuckled, finding this situation hilarious. "Couldn't ask for a better trainer."

"Then I challenge you to a battle," the trainer pointed theatrically. "My Squirtle and your Charizard. Right here, right now."

"Er… Are you sure?" Suzie blustered. "Doesn't your Pokémon need to rest or something. It got hit by that Pidgey a few times, right?"

"Oh come on," the kid said. "Squirtle's fine. He could keep this up all day."

"Er… yeah… yeah I could," Squirtle nodded, still looking uneasily at the much taller opponent.

Charizard looked down at Suzie and said, "Oh, please let me at him."

"What?" Suzie blinked.

"This kid's got some serious overconfidence issues and he needs sorting out right now, because at this rate he'll probably end up going out there and doing something stupid."

Suzie hesitated, but she heard Lopmon's voice resounding in her head. _Go on, Suzie. You're pretending to be a Pokémon trainer for a day. He's issued a challenge. You can do it._

_But I don't know any of Charizard's attacks,_ Suzie protested. _I don't know what to do?_

_Not like it matters,_ Latias laughed. _Charizard could stand here until the world ends and take anything that Squirtle throws at him. Literally since the world ends in two months or so if we don't stop it. He's very strong. And besides, I know his attacks, so I'll tell you what to order him to do. All you need to do is command him._

_Well… okay then. _Suzie nodded, and then repeated it out loud. "Okay then. Let's battle."

The trainer nodded and stepped backwards as the others formed a ring around the new combatants. Squirtle leapt out of his trainer's arms and landed in front of Charizard. He still looked nervous, but now he looked determined to do his best despite the fact he knew that the odds were stacked against him while his trainer seemed oblivious.

"Let the battle begin!" cried the slightly older kid.

"Squirtle, use Bubble!" shouted the boy. Squirtle sucked in a deep breath and blew out a reasonably sized stream of bubbles that wafted towards Charizard and impacted against his yellow belly.

"Yes!" the boy cried. "Direct hit. Water always beats Fire!"

_Does he seriously think he's already won?_ Impmon asked. _Even I wouldn't have been that naïve._

_Agree to disagree on that one,_ Terriermon laughed.

Charizard smirked. Despite the fact that Bubble was a water type move he had barely felt a thing. It took Squirtle's trainer a couple of seconds to realise that Charizard seemed to be totally unfazed and when he did, he panicked and cried, "Use Bubble again! Hurry!"

Squirtle complied, even though he was painfully aware it was useless. By this time though, Suzie, under the direction of Latias, cried, "Counter it with Ember."

Charizard almost laughed, and let out a stream of small fire pellets from his jaws in what was one of his least powerful attacks. And yet they were still powerful enough so that when they collided with the oncoming bubbles they vaporised them and bombarded the Squirtle with extreme prejudice. The Squirtle yelped as the fire pellets seared at him and he stumbled backwards, landing flat on his back.

And… that pretty much did it because not only had the Ember depleted the last of Squirtle's strength, but the turtle, like so many members of its kind couldn't physically push itself back onto its feet due to the shape of its shell. It slumped, dazed and near unconsciousness and Charizard chuckled and stepped over to it, helping it back up with his tail.

"Better luck next time Squirt…le," he added.

"You're really strong," Squirtle observed weakly. "I hope that I can be as strong as you are one day."

"It takes a lot of effort," Charizard warned him. "You sure you're up for it?"

"Heck yes!" Squirtle grinned, trying to punch the air, but almost fell over again.

"One hit…" breathed the Squirtle's trainer. "He beat Squirtle in just one hit from a Fire type move?"

"Well, this Charizard's been training to become strong for many years now," chuckled Rika. "But don't worry. I'm sure that you'll get there yourself eventually."

"Yes, but until then don't overestimate yourself," Henry agreed. "You've got a long way to go yet, my friend. Just do your best and be a little bit more careful who you pick fights with in future, alright?"

The trainer sighed and recalled Squirtle before nodding and saying, "Yeah, I understand. But don't worry. One day we'll meet again and when we do we'll both be much stronger. You'll see."

"I'm sure we will," Henry nodded. "In the meantime though I assume you need to heal your Squirtle so you'll be heading the Pokémon Centre right? Could you lead us there? We need to restock on supplies before we head on with our own journey."

"Yeah, okay, sure," the Squirtle's trainer beamed, sadness at his loss replaced by enthusiasm. "It's this way. Follow me."

"Nicely played," Rika muttered to Henry as they followed the kid through the streets. "Saves us having to wonder through the streets looking for the place."

"Exactly."

"And next time I get to do the battle," Scyther said as his flitted past Charizard.

"Sure thing," Charizard snorted.

"Oh, awesome! A Scyther as well! They're the most badass of Bug-types ever!"

"Ah, so I do exist," Scyther grinned, slightly mollified. "Nice to hear."

The visible group followed the kids towards the Pokémon Centre, while the invisible group followed via the rooftops. Although Latios and Latias could not see one another or those being hidden by Renamon, they could still sense their presences and they swooped low so that they were right over the heads of their new comrades.

_So, Aayla,_ Latios asked. _After seeing all that, what do you make of the whole concept of Pokémon training now?_

_Well,_ Aayla sighed. _I'm still not sure what to think of that idea of catching Pokémon against their will, but I must admit that what I saw was certainly nothing like what I was comparing it to. There was real spirit there and real passion in both the human and the Pokémon – real competitiveness. If other Pokémon trainers are anything like those kids, who really did care for their charges… then it certainly isn't as bad as I thought. Not nearly. In fact, it's the complete opposite._

_You're saying you were wrong? _Latias asked.

_From what I saw… yes. I am not ashamed to admit it. Of course, I cannot judge the whole concept based on just those kids but…_

_Actually you can,_ a new voice suddenly interrupted, and everybody started when they recognised it to be Gardevoir, who was still back in the forest with Felkan and therefore a considerable distance away. _What you saw was the generic and usual relationship between Pokémon and trainer. The entire foundation of the Pokémon World is based on that relationship. There are notable exceptions to every rule, as we said before, but in my experience virtually all trainers treat their Pokémon as not just pets or animals, but as equals, even though many of them send their Pokémon in to battle each other. It is the way of life for… well… everyone._

Aayla paused for a moment and then she chuckled and said, _Alright, you've made your point. And I saw for myself the mutual trust, friendship and respect that they gave to one another, and as far as I'm concerned those are some of the most important values that any relationship must possess. Don't worry. I'll stop complaining. Aside from the fact that this is not my world and therefore probably not my place to comment on its customs I am more than satisfied. Pokémon trainers… are a good thing. In fact… I might go so far as to say that are pretty similar to Digimon Tamers._

_Yet another disturbing parallel but an apt comparison,_ Renamon chuckled.

_I'm glad you think that, Aayla,_ Gardevoir added. _But I hope that you don't change your opinion on the whole idea if we run into a harsher, brutal scumbag of a trainer. There are, unfortunately, a reasonable number of them too. Ask Luxray and Houndoom, they can tell you all about that. But as far as I'm aware the Pokémon League looks down on all trainers like that._

_Well, if we do encounter one,_ Aayla murmured. _Perhaps a slight… readjustment of his behaviour might be in order._

_Agreed,_ Gardevoir mentally nodded.

_Would that our world could have the same relationship with its variation of monsters as this one,_ Henry sighed.

_Maybe one day it will,_ Terriermon said brightly. _Momentai, Henry. Who knows? Maybe we could establish relationships between the Digital World and the Human World and even use this world as an example._

_We can only hope, Terriermon,_ Henry chuckled. _We can only hope._

* * *

Once they reached the Pokémon Centre, everything seemed to flow from there. With those invisible staying behind outside but peeking in on what was going on with their minds, the five Tamers made their way inside and Henry went up to the nurse and explained a much altered version of their situation, using the ruse that they were the trainers and that they required more supplies. It was not technically stealing because they certainly needed the food and they were close enough to Pokémon trainers anyway. Plus, Felkan was a trainer, even though he had not come with them.

Fortunately the nurse had been very friendly and rather trusting it seemed, and the presence of Charizard and Scyther was more than enough to convince her that they were telling the truth. She, and a large bulbous pink Pokémon with an egg in a pouch on its front and which Scyther identified to them as a Chansey, helped them to stock up on everything they needed, including food for both them and the Pokémon, various toiletries, appropriate extra clothing such as waterproofs, tents and other gear and a world map of all four major regions.

The nurse did seem a little bemused at the fact that they needed so much replacing, but Rika quickly explained that their last camp had been ravaged by a wild Tyranitar, the information on the giant Pokémon being fed into her mind by Renamon, and most everything had been destroyed, as they had gotten a little too close to Mount Silver. The nurse had seemed to believe them, but had cautioned them to be a little more careful in the future.

Then, with fully burdened backpacks, the group had set out once more, waving goodbye to the children who were waiting for their Squirtle and Pidgey to be fully healed and then heading back up towards Viridian forest where Felkan was waiting for them, leaning against a tree with his arms folded while Gardevoir, Garchomp and Swellow waited around him.

"Success then," Felkan said without looking as the previously invisible members of the group stepped back into view once more.

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "We're fully stocked up and now we can move on and begin this quest properly. I must admit this is unlike anything I've ever had to do before. Most missions for the Republic involved travel rations and brief stop-offs on the planet with temporary barracks if necessary."

"Welcome to the life of a Pokémon trainer," Felkan said dryly.

"You'll get used to it," Swellow added. "Besides, we Pokémon know full well how to survive in the wild so if the worst comes to the worst you'll have to eat berries, sleep under the stars and go without toilet paper."

"That's a point, you know," Terriermon muttered. "We never had supper or breakfast this morning and unfortunately this is not the Digital World. I'm getting hungry!"

Without waiting for permission, the bunny broke into one of the food containers and began fishing out biscuits, tossing them around to various group members and chowing down. As all of them dug into the first food that they'd had for a while, Felkan continued with, "Well then, I'd say we need to make our first move. Latios, Latias, where are we going to head first?"

"Huh?" Latias asked. "What d'you mean?"

"We need to track down the other Legendaries, don't we?" Felkan pointed out. "And the Legendaries are among the most elusive Pokémon on the planet. That's part of the point of them being Legendaries, isn't it? People can go for years trying to find just the one and never succeed and we're meant to be finding them all within a couple of months. A Heracrossean task if there ever was one."

"Is that true?" Lopmon asked, alarmed. "I knew that it would be tough but I didn't realise that they were that hard to find? How are we supposed to find twenty-five Legendary Pokémon in two months under those conditions. Especially when we don't even know what one of them even is?"

"Well, we were hoping that Latios and Latias would know where the majority of them are," Gardevoir pointed out. "They're Legendaries too, after all. They've met all the other members of their family before… at least we assume so."

"Well… yes," Latios muttered. "We have met them all before but… well we haven't seen many of them for many years. We saw Ho-oh last year, flying over the SeveiiIslands, and I'm pretty sure that we saw Raikou a couple of years ago but we're not entirely sure about that one since he was gone in the blink of an eye. The last time we saw most of them was a very long time ago."

Impmon groaned. "Do you even know where any of them actually _live_ then?"

"Er… no… not really," Latios said sheepishly. "We might all be Legendaries but we mostly try and keep out of each other's way, and that's usually to avoid disagreements with one another. Many of the Legendaries are extremely powerful, much more so than Latias and I. The last time Groudon and Kyogre met each other it shook the world. Literally. When we argue… it almost never has good consequences for anything within a hundred miles depending on the strength of the Legendary."

"Besides, we know that many of them don't even _have_ a home," Latias threw in. "Many of them wander around wherever the wind takes them. We have an idea as to where a couple of them might be but… well… that's it really. An idea."

"Great," Impmon griped. "Just great. So what are we supposed to do now? We can't wander the world aimlessly for two months, can we? We need some idea of where we're going."

"Somewhere to start certainly would be nice," Lopmon nodded.

"Then it's a good thing that I have an idea," Felkan said, staring to the south across ViridianCity. "I know somebody who might be able to help us and tell us the things we need to know."

"Someone?" Rika asked. "A human, you mean?"

"Yes," Felkan nodded, a little tightly.

"But I thought you didn't like humans," Suzie blinked.

"I don't," Felkan turned and fixed the Tamers with a deep stare of resentment. "But this person I'm talking about is the only person who attempted to speak up for us when the rest of them condemned us because we associated with Absol, and one of the few people that I got on with back in the days where I _was_ a proper trainer. He also happens to be the world's leading expert on Pokémon, so if there is anybody who can tell us things about the various Legendaries then it would probably be him, and if he cannot then he should be able to point us in the direction of somebody who might. If there's a question about Pokémon you have, it's more than likely that he will know the answer."

"That sounds to be as good a place as any," Aayla nodded. "Better than any other real direction which we have at the moment actually. Where does this expert live?"

"A place called PalletTown, which is a short flight down south from here," Felkan confirmed. "It won't take us too long to get there." Felkan sighed and resumed staring south. "Looks like I'm finally going to meet with an old acquaintance once again sooner than I thought."

"Great. Let's go," Terriermon grinned. "What's the guy's name?"

"Professor Oak."

* * *

Hooray, a Pokémon battle. Granted it was rather repetitive and a bit unadventurous but that's generally the kind of thing that happens at the beginning of the games which was the stage that the trainers in question were at. Still, I hoped that you liked the various aspects, conversations and observations of this chapter and I promise you it will not be much longer before the proper story begins to get underway.

Also, one more thing – the Unova Legendaries will still not feature in this story as I have said they will not all along as there is simply not enough space for them, but I would like them to feature in potential sequels so I need to come up with a way of bringing them into existence despite the fact none of them exist now. Any ideas anyone?

* * *

Next time…

One short trip down to PalletTown later and the group arrive on the doorstep of the world's most renowned expert on Pokémon, and one of the few people Felkan actually trusts. Naturally there is a certain amount of fascination on his part where the Digimon are concerned, but if anyone can help them with the search for the Legendaries, it would be him.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 13 : Professor Oak**


	13. Professor Oak

Ha! Take that life! Considering I have two fics on the go at the moment this was a remarkably fast update compared to the others that have been going on recently. But now that we're beginning to get into the swing of things I almost forced myself to find time to continue with this writing. Soon I'll be back at uni and the schedule will resume as normal, which will be a welcome relief, I can tell you. Anyone, once again we have another dialogue driven chapter here, and as I said the action will soon be coming, but you have a couple more chapters to wait after this one before the fighting really begins. Still, I hope you enjoy this one too.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 13:- Professor Oak**

* * *

"Astounding," the man in the lab coat murmured as he peered into the microscope on the desk in front of him. "Absolutely astounding. No matter how many times I look at this, it gets me every time."

It was dark in the lab at the moment, the only light coming from the bottom of the microscope in question and illuminating a little of the man's face, though most of it was still hidden since it was pressed up against the scope. The lab itself was crammed with various desks and mantelpieces, which were, in turn, covered in dozens of strange-looking and bulky bits of laboratory equipment, samples of various different kinds from jars full of hair or feathers, to mucus and scales, and different makes of computers and analysing machines lining the walls. There was even a large fossil plonked on top of one of the desks. It was, quite frankly, cluttered and messy, but the man who it all belonged to had very little time on his hands for organising things.

Or rather, he did, but he preferred to spend all of that time working on more interesting things, and thereby creating more mess.

Of course, the man had many assistants, and this particular lab was but one in the large laboratory building, but this was the personal lab of Professor Oak, the world's leading expert on all things to do with Pokémon and when he worked he did so alone, so as not to be disturbed by the hustle and bustle of those assistants as they cleaned up around him. The result was a mess, but he still preferred it that way.

The man was, obviously, Professor Oak himself. As he pulled back from the microscope and placed a hand on his chin, he revealed his face. He seemed to be in his late fifties, not yet terribly old but definitely showing signs of aging. His hair was mostly grey as it was at the moment, but his face didn't have too many wrinkles as of yet. His garb was a simple lab coat over a red sweater and grey trousers – his work clothes, and the ones which he used wherever he went, as he claimed to be almost always working. He preferred it that way. There were still so many unanswered questions when it came to Pokémon and he wanted to answer as many of them as he could while he was still able.

Currently, he was examining the cell structure of a Rock-type Pokémon – in this particular instance, an Aggron, which was also a Steel type. "The Pokémon retains the characteristics of its type right down to its very cells. Each one is practically a small boulder or a sheet of metal. I wish someone would invent the technology that would allow us to break open those tough cells and gain access to the DNA from Rock and Steel types. Isolating the gene that produces this characteristic would really make my day."

He stared at his sample again before sighing and pushing it away. "Sadly it seems I have to wait yet longer for that day to arrive." He wheeled around on his knees and bent over the fossil on his desk behind him. "We're gaining the ability to use that DNA to revive fossils like this with trace elements of the cells that remain but we're still no closer to examining the DNA strands themselves. And of course we can't examine the DNA of a Magcargo without it melting the microscope either. It's so frustrating. We're beginning attempts to revive an Anorith like this little fellow here but we still can't…"

He stopped and looked up, face wary. For a moment, he had been sure he had seen something out of the corner of his eye and _in_ the corner of his lab but as he stared into the darkness he couldn't actually see anything.

"Hello?" he asked. "Is there anybody there? Omar, is that you? You know I don't like to be disturbed when I'm working."

There was no reply for a moment, and then a pale white figure slowly emerged from the shadows. For a heart-stopping moment, Professor Oak thought it might be a ghost. An actual ghost, not a Ghost-type Pokémon, that is. It was humanoid, pale white, the size and shape of a human and appeared to be wearing a dress that billowed around it as if it were floating on air.

But, as it came more into focus, Oak saw quite clearly that it was a Gardevoir. An easy mistake to make, in hindsight.

Oak blinked, and the Gardevoir stared at him for several seconds. What the heck was a Gardevoir doing in his lab? As far as he was aware none of the trainers who sent their Pokémon to him owned a Gardevoir and none of his assistants did either – they were very rare Pokémon. So why was this one here?

"Hello," he said, with a friendly smile – he knew that a Pokémon was more likely to be friendly if you were friendly first. "What are you doing here? And how did you… no, wait. You're a Gardevoir. You can Teleport. Silly question. Ignore me. Well, don't ignore me totally but… you know what I mean, right?"

The Gardevoir giggled, and a distinctly feminine voice was suddenly speaking the Oak's head. _I see that you have not changed very much, Professor. I am glad of that._

Oak blinked. "Not changed? I've not changed? Hang on, that implies that we've met before. Do I know you? I have encountered very few Gardevoir in my time. Are you one of them?"

_Of course,_ Gardevoir nodded serenely. _I am sure that you remember my trainer too. It's him that I have come to speak to you about. He would like to meet with you – he and some… companions of his._

"Well then, by all means, he can come and have one," Oak nodded, trying to place the Gardevoir and wondering which trainer she was referring to. She had distinctly said 'he.' He had met five Gardevoir in his life so…

_No, that it is not what I mean_, Gardevoir shook her head. _He wants it to be a private meeting. Very private. As in, nobody can even know that he was here, not even your other assistants. He's outside now. Do you think that you could come out and escort him and the others inside? It's very, _very_ important. Both the meeting itself and the privacy._

Oak's curiosity was peaked. "What is the meeting to be about? What does he want of me?"

_He feels there are some other things that you ought to know first before we get to that,_ Gardevoir insisted. _Please, just head to the front door and let him in._

Oak frowned. "Yes, very well," he said, while his brain was still whirring. "I'll see… to it…" his eyes suddenly widened. Of the five Gardevoir he had met before, two of their trainers had been female. Of the three men, one of them was now dead, Arceus rest his soul. And of the remaining two males, one of the Gardevoir themselves had also been male (and the poor thing was hideously embarrassed by its own appearance and feminine qualities and was constantly expressing how it wished it had found a Dawn Stone before it evolved naturally so it could become a Gallade instead). But this Gardevoir was definitely a female.

Which narrowed it down to one trainer. A trainer that Oak had heard nothing about for many years.

_Thank you,_ Gardevoir nodded.

"Wait!" Oak shot upwards. "Are you…?" But the Gardevoir teleported away before he could finish the question. Oak didn't waste any time. He quickly turned round and hared out of the lab, dashing down a corridor and nearly colliding with one of his assistants.

"Professor, are you alright?" the assistant cried.

"Er… yes, Omar, I'm fine," Oak nodded. "Ahem… I need someone to go down to the pastures and feed that Snorlax again. Would you get on it please?"

Omar paled at the prospect but Oak was gone before he could protest.

_It can't be,_ Oak was muttering inside his head as he hurried for the main door of the lab. _It can't be. He's been missing for five years. Five years of fruitless searching from both me and the authorities alike. Five years of nothing. It can't be him… can it? Could he really have come back now after so long?_

Oak rushed to the door and paused for a moment, his hand hovering over the knob. He bit his lip. He knew what he wanted to see on the other side of that door when he opened it up, but now he was afraid of what he might not see. He had spent five years worrying about what had happened to that young boy and if he was even still alive.

He swallowed.

He opened the door and he blinked.

"Are you Professor Oak?" said the boy with pale brown skin and dark blue hair on the other side. "My name's Henry. Henry Wong."

Oak paused in slight bemusement, taking in the sight of both the boy, a teenage girl of about the same age leaning on the stair-rail nearby, and a slightly younger girl standing with her hands on the shoulders of a pair of much smaller kids probably just over half her own age. Oak's eyes flicked up but he could see no sign of anybody else.

He quickly tried to hide his disappointment and gave them a warm smile. "Yes, indeed. That is what they call me. How can I help you all? Perhaps one of you are here to pick out your first Pokémon for your journey?"

"No, nothing like that," Henry shook his head. "We're already on a journey as it is."

"Yeah, but we've got someone who wants to see you again," the red-headed girl agreed. "Well, I say 'wants' – I think he would have preferred to stay out in the wilderness for a few more… decades but…"

"Yes, thanks for that," growled another voice, and Oak blinked when a taller and older boy stepped out from behind the banister, a boy with several Pokéballs attached to his belt and long hair that was so dark it was almost black, and he was casting a venomous look at the girl. "I think I would like to be the one who explains what's in my own mind."

"Sorry, I'm sure," muttered the girl.

Oak stared at this new person. Had he not suspected that he was already out here, he never would have recognised him – he had aged and changed considerably since the last time that Oak had seen him. He seemed more rugged, slightly tougher and leaner. Evidently constant living in the wild had had a dramatic effect on him. Oak stared for several seconds, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him and if this was really the person he thought it was.

The clincher was when the Gardevoir appeared out of thin-air by his shoulder and placed a green hand on his shoulder soothingly. This person's Gardevoir had been attached to him inexorably, strong even by Gardevoir standards. And it seemed that that bond had not lessened at all.

"F-Felkan?" Oak stammered, staring at him still. "Is that… is that you? Really you?"

The boy sighed and reached up to put a hand over Gardevoir's own and said, "Alright Professor. Long time. How've you been?"

"How've I been? _How've _I_ been?_!" Oak practically yelled, hustling past Henry and the other children in a manner that was not usually befitting of him to actually grab Felkan and hug him, clapping him on the back as he did so. "What about you? Where have you been all these years? Are you and your Pokémon all alright? I tried to find you? I tried to tell people that you were not to blame for what happened that day but… well…"

Felkan had not felt so awkward in a very long time. Oak was one of the few people he still considered dependable, but that didn't make being hugged by him any less uncomfortable. He extricated himself as quickly as possible and said, "I can tell you things if you want but I don't think it would be a good idea here. Can we go inside and somewhere private, quickly? I do not want to be overheard."

Oak blinked again. "But… I can assure you that my assistants are perfectly capable of…"

"I'm sure they are," Felkan interrupted. "But we need privacy. Either that or we turn around and leave right now. Sorry Professor but that's the way it has to be."

Oak looked torn, but only for a moment. "Of course, of course," he then said quickly. "Come on in, all of you. Gardevoir, so good to see you again too. Why I remember meeting you for the first time when you were just a little Kirlia."

* * *

Oak quickly hurried them inside, and Felkan grudgingly held the door to allow the rest of his party through. Oak continued onwards, back into the cluttered lab which Gardevoir had first appeared to him in and fortunately none of the other assistants came out of their own labs to interrupt their progress. Evidently Omar was still busy trying to fill the belly of a huge Snorlax. Poor guy.

Oak made to shut the door of the lab, but Gardevoir stopped him with her mind, bringing the door to a complete stand-still halfway open and placing her hand on it to let Oak know. Oak stared at her questioningly, but Gardevoir just stood there for several seconds, watching the door as if expecting something. Then she just stepped back and nodded and, after a moment of confused silence, Oak complied and closed the door, locking it in the process.

"Now… Felkan," Oak turned around to look at the boy, much older than he remembered and almost a man now. "Before we get to whatever reason you have for breaking your, for lack of a better word, exile, I believe that you have some explaining to do."

"Explaining?" Felkan asked.

"Yes, explaining," Oak nodded earnestly. "Like, where have you been hiding yourself for the past few years? Half a decade has gone by and nothing. No sign of you at all."

"That's what I was going for," Felkan said darkly. "But first, Professor – I want you to promise me something. None of what I tell you can leave this room. Nobody must ever know that I was here, not even your assistants. There's something important that we have to do and I would very much prefer it if we could keep the police _off_ our tails whilst doing it."

"I… yes, yes, very well," Oak waved a hand. "You have my word I will not tell a soul. Now tell me. Where were you?"

"Mount Silver," Felkan replied. "Been there ever since I had to leave, the forest around the base of the mountain. Not much else to tell really. My Pokémon and I have been living as best we can out there. All twelve of them are still with me, by the way. Including Absol," he gave Oak a defiant look. "I'm not about to release him based on what other people think."

"And quite right too," Oak nodded. "I never did believe what anybody else thought of your Absol. I tried to tell them all but I was hushed up very quickly. The Pokémon League and the authorities were not happy with me for some time afterwards."

"Well, at least you tried," Felkan muttered bitterly. "Unlike some people."

Oak stared at him. "You're thinking about Cynthia, aren't you?" he said.

"She said that she was going to try and get people to see sense as well," Felkan growled. "And then she didn't. I never heard anything about her trying to stick up for me. Not during the whole time we were on the run. You were the only one who tried."

"Actually Cynthia _did_ try," Oak replied, surprising Felkan. "But she made the mistake of going to the League governors themselves first and trying to gain their support before she went out to try and convince everybody else." Oak sighed. "Unfortunately the League governors were just as convinced as everyone else that you and Absol were responsible. Absol are such mysterious and elusive Pokémon… and the superstitions about them are deep-seated… practically ingrained into most people's psyche. It scared them, and they immediately denied Cynthia their support. So when Cynthia tried to leave and convince everyone else instead they stopped her. They confined her to the Sinnoh League headquarters and when they eventually let her out again they told her that if she attempted to find you or support you that they would revoke her Champion status."

Felkan's eyes widened, surprise at Cynthia's actions clearly evident on his face. But then his mistrust set in again and his eyes narrowed once more. "Well then I guess that proves it. If she were my true friend she would have given up being a Champion. That's what I would have done if one of my friends were in danger."

Oak sighed. He could see the bitterness written all over Felkan's face. He turned to Gardevoir questioningly and she nodded sadly. Oak could already figure out that five years of bitterness and anger had built up over Felkan's feelings about these matters.

He decided to get Felkan off the subject and said, "Mount Silver was searched by the authorities just as everywhere else was. There was a world-wide manhunt for you, Felkan. How did you elude them?"

"Oh you can thank Milotic for that," Felkan chuckled. "When she was exploring the lake beside which we made our home she discovered a small underwater cave in a deep part of the wall. Then of course, Swellow spotted the search party from miles away and she took us all down there to hide. Only Sceptile stayed up top to keep an eye on things – he's a master of moving through forests. Nobody ever saw him. And Gardevoir was in contact with him with her mind at all times so we could come back up the moment they'd gone."

"Ingenious," Oak exclaimed. "And a true example of teamwork. I never was surprised that you defeated the Sinnoh League, Felkan."

"Thanks," Felkan grunted.

The red-headed girl cleared her throat loudly and Felkan shut his eyes, as if internally sighing. "Right. Yes. Fine. Professor Oak, may I introduce you to my… associates. You already know Henry, and this is Rika, Henry's sister Suzie and the two little ones are… Ai and Mako, isn't it?"

"Hey, you remembered us," Ai grinned. "Yay!"

Oak still had many questions burning inside him but he had no wish to be discourteous and ignore the rest of his guests. He turned and gave them all a warm smile. "Good morning, children. I am Professor Samuel Oak, as you have probably gathered from this conversation by now. How did you meet up with Felkan after he spent so long hiding out in the wilderness, may I ask?"

"You may indeed," Rika smirked. "Happens we were introduced to Mister Happy-face here by some friends of ours. Pokémon friends that is. They led us right into his campsite. And he didn't like that very much."

"What was your first clue?" Felkan muttered.

"Don't reply to that," Henry murmured to Rika, stopping the retort she was going to throw at him. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you Professor and I don't mean to be rude but we are on quite a tight timeline and I don't think we should stay long. I know you probably want to do five years-worth of catching up with Felkan but the truth is we don't have time. We need some information on some certain Pokémon fast, and we thought that you would be the person to come and ask. Well…" he added when Felkan scowled at him. "Felkan did anyway."

"I'm honoured," Oak said, frown in place. "I'll certainly do my best but what Pokémon could you possibly need to know about that would cause you to be in such a rush?"

The Tamers glanced at each other before Rika said, "Have you ever wondered if there are any alternate universes out there, Professor?"

Oak blinked – this seemed to be one of the most bizarre questions he could be asked. "Well… many times. Ancient texts speak of certain Pokémon that reside within their own separate universe. The Unown for instance have been…"

"No, we mean realities _beyond_ Pokémon," Rika continued. "Ones that don't have Pokémon in them at all. Or humans, for that matter. Ones that are completely unrelated to this universe in any way whatsoever."

"Er… well, yes I would say so. I have," Oak nodded.

"Well, what if we were to tell you that there are a large number of beings from other universes currently standing in this room," Rika smirked. "And I don't just mean us."

"Sorry?" Oak looked completely bewildered now.

"Professor, I know that you're going to be full of questions," Henry said. "And if you're anything like my Dad and his friends you will want to know the answers to them all within the first five seconds, but first may I ask that you curb your… enthusiasm. We'll tell you everything that we can, but there's certain things that will have to wait before we explain."

Oak just stared at him incoherently, so Henry just sighed and said, "Alright, guys. You can stop being invisible now."

"About time," said the white bunny which suddenly appeared on Henry's head. Oak staggered backwards and crashed into his desk, knocking his Aggron sample flying and the microscope over as he stared at the small creature in shock. And that was not all. A tall yellow fox, another small but brown bunny, a purple imp-like creature and a humanoid woman with blue skin and tails on her head had popped into existence at the same time all around the room. Oak's eyes flashed from one individual to another for several moments, blinking in shock and, after several moments, awe.

"I… I don't believe it," he breathed, pushing himself up again and reaching out slowly towards the brown bunny who lifted up an ear to touch it to Oak's finger, E.T. style. "You… say that these are creatures from another universe?"

"Yes, we are," the bunny nodded. "And not Pokémon either. Nice to meet a friendly face, Professor. My name's Lopmon. That's my brother Terriermon, his mate Renamon and my own… well, not mate yet but… close enough… Impmon."

Impmon coughed awkwardly. "Yep, that's us sure enough. And we're what's known as Digimon, partners of these kids you see all around you. Except this chick," he jabbed a thumb at the blue woman. "She's a Twi'lek and her name's Aayla."

"Chick?" Aayla raised a brow. "I thought I asked you not to call me that, Impmon."

"Sorry," Impmon grinned. "Would 'gal' be more to your liking?"

"I'm going to have to kill you for that later," Aayla chuckled. She turned to look at the Professor, who looked close to hyperventilating at this point, which was hardly surprising. As a seeker of knowledge, he had long been theorising about the possibility of alternate realities and apparently now he was being presented with proof of it. It was a lot for him to take in. She sent a pulse of the Force at him, soothing his mind and calming his senses, and Aayla sensed she was not the only one to do so. Gardevoir had just done something similar. The two turned and smiled at each other.

Oak quickly regained his composure with Aayla and Gardevoir's help and coughed, straightening his lab coat and standing up properly, wishing to be a good impression with these extra-dimensional beings. "Uh, hello there, friends. I am… but I guess you already know that if you were in the room all along. I take it that was why you held the door open for a little longer, Gardevoir," he turned to the only Pokémon he could see. "To let them in too?"

Gardevoir nodded simply.

"It's also why we didn't all simply teleport into your lab," Felkan explained. "Having to teleport so many people at once would have drained Gardevoir's strength for a while."

"Yes, of course," nodded Oak. "But this is an extraordinary honour indeed. I can hardly believe myself. Real, genuine beings from another universe and the return of Felkan on the same day. It defies belief. I must be dreaming surely. Can this truly all be real."

"It is," Terriermon grinned. "But momentai, Professor. We've still got to explain what we're doing here and all."

"But before that," Renamon chuckled. "Let us really make your day." _Latios, Latias, is there any particular reason you two are still invisible,_ she added with her mind, knowing that the two of them would pick it up even though she didn't have a link with their minds.

_Uh-huh _, Latias' voice replied, with a hint of exasperation. _Latios is being a worrywart as usual. Fretting about whether we can trust this guy. Seriously Latios, if Felkan trusts him then we can. It's alright, really._

_How do you know that,_ Latios murmured. _Every person wants to catch their own Legendary Pokémon, don't they?_

_Maybe but I reckon this guy can respect us enough not to try,_ Latias protested and before Latios could stop her she lowered her own invisibility and grinned at Oak. _Hiya!_ She cried.

Oak fell over. He literally stumbled back in such surprise and amazement that he collapsed onto his backside. It was thankful that he had not gotten quite too old just yet as he stared at Latias in wonder. Latios sighed mentally and lowered his own invisibility, appearing to hover beside her sister. He waved a small clawed hand a little nervously, watching the man warily.

"I don't believe it," wheezed Oak. "A Latios and a Latias. Two genuine Legendary Pokémon. In my own lab. How is this possible? Three impossible things happening all in the same day. Are you sure this is real. Or perhaps Cresselia is giving me a wonderful dream indeed."

Aayla and Renamon bounded over the table and helped him to his feet. "I assure you Professor," Renamon said, placing a paw on his shoulder. "We are quite real. All of us."

_Yeah, but it would be nice if Cresselia was close by,_ Latias added. _We could really use her right now. In fact, Cresselia's one of the reasons that we've all come here._

Oak blinked. "She is? You want information on Cresselia?"

"Not just her," Henry threw in. "But on all the Legendary Pokémon besides Latios and Latias here. And a couple of others. We'll talk about the physiology and body structure and powers of Digimon and all the other things that you probably want to know at this point another time, Professor, but right now we need you to listen to something else."

"Indeed," Aayla agreed. "Sad to say this is not a happy visit. Once you learn why we're here to see you at all, you might be quite a bit less excited. Who wants to explain it to him?"

"I'll do it," Terriermon piped up.

"_**NO!"**_ yelled everyone who knew Terriermon well _and_ Latios, who could see quite clearly that that might not be the best idea with his mind.

"Jeez, I _was_ going to be serious, you know," Terriermon sulked quietly.

"Momentai," Latias said aloud, giggling.

Terriermon opened his mouth to protest, frowned and said, "You know what… for some odd reason I don't mind so much when you say it. Maybe it's because you're a female, draconic me."

"Aww," Latias pouted. "I feel both flattered and annoyed. Flattered that you think that of me but annoyed that I can't do something to annoy you that annoys you when anyone else does it."

"Guess that's the way the world works," Impmon snickered. "Any world."

"Back to the point please," Henry uttered, rolling his eyes a little. "Aayla, I think you should do the talking."

"Very well," Aayla nodded. "Alright Professor… it's like this."

And she told him everything. She outlined how the Legendary Pokémon had appeared in their universe, explained briefly and as concisely as she could what Uxie had told them about the situation of the universes and their collisions, as well as what was needed to put it right, culminating in how they had arrived in the universe and met up with Felkan, as well as Latios and Latias, to begin their journey. She left out Felkan's angry reception, which Felkan was surprised to find himself feeling grateful for. The last thing he wanted to seem to be was an immature child throwing a tantrum.

As Oak listened, his face gradually became more and more sombre, until Aayla finished with how they had gathered supplies from Viridian and come straight to him. By this point, Oak was leaning against the desk behind him with a hand on his chin, one finger tapping the side of his face as he absorbed the information like a well-practiced sponge.

After a significant pause, he said, "Well now. That is quite a tale and no mistake. Forgive me for any potential doubts I might have but, Felkan, do you believe this?"

"Unfortunately yes," Felkan nodded. "It makes all too much sense. Absol has been freaking out for months over the incoming disaster he's been able to sense and Uxie told me the same thing. It's going to happen if we don't do something, Professor."

Oak nodded, as if he'd had his fears confirmed.

"You believe us then?" Suzie asked tentatively.

"Of course I do, my child," Oak nodded. "I highly doubt that a group of kids would introduce such strange beings to me and travel all the way to see me to invent some story and try and fool me with it. I certainly do believe you, but this is indeed a great cause for concern. You say that the two universes would cancel one another out entirely?"

"'Obliterate' might be a better word," Impmon supplied.

"And there is no other solution?" Oak asked.

"Not according to Uxie," Renamon added. "And he supposedly knows everything."

"Except how this happened in the first place," Lopmon murmured.

"Except for that, yes," Renamon agreed.

"But the solution… and the parameters you have in which you must achieve it," Oak shook his head. "It must be next to impossible, surely. The Legendary Pokémon are the most elusive creatures on the planet. You're more likely to run into a two-headed Seviper or a shiny Dragonite than you are to run into something like Ho-Oh or Rayquaza. The fact that you have not only met but befriended these two dragon Legendaries is astounding enough as it is."

_Not so astounding,_ Latios shrugged. _Latias insisted that we stick around once we learnt what happened to Felkan._

"Nevertheless, my point does still stand," Oak sighed. "What you have been asked to do is a phenomenal undertaking indeed. People spend their whole lives searching for one Legendary and never find it. The current Gym Leader of Ecruteak City, Morty, has spent every day since his childhood trying to find a way of seeing Ho-oh and come no closer to his goal. All of them in two to three months… it beggars belief."

"Nevertheless, we must try," Aayla said firmly. "To give up all hope without even attempting to complete the task would be a shameful thing to do. And besides, it is not impossible. Uxie said that if we do things right then there is every chance that we can indeed succeed. It helps that we have our own Legendaries already after all, does it not?"

"There is that," Oak conceded.

"How many Legendary Pokémon have you seen before?" Mako asked suddenly, eager to throw some contribution into the discussion.

"Good question," Impmon nodded, grinning at his Tamer, who beamed.

"Well, not including the two currently in my lab," Oak murmured. "I have seen two Legendaries. And I have been lucky and they were both brief glimpses. I was on my way to do my weekly Radio Show in Goldenrod once when I what could only have been Entei dart past in the distance. And another time when I visited Sinnoh I was convinced that I saw Shaymin flying overhead one time. But that was all."

"The odds are definitely stacked against us then," Lopmon grimaced. "But still, Aayla's right. We do have to try."

Oak nodded glumly. "Very well, what do you wish for me to do?"

"All we really wanted from you is information," replied Felkan, stepped forwards once again. "You're the most famous Pokémon Professor in the world, aren't you? Surely if such rare things as Legendary Pokémon are sighted then you must hear something about it."

"I do have an extensive recorded of alleged Legendary sightings indeed," Oak nodded, gesturing to his computer. "But it's difficult to know which of the sightings are genuine and which are fake. Very few come with photographs and most of those photographs are very unclear."

"It's a starting place," Felkan insisted. "And that's what we need right now."

"Perhaps it would be better if I were to call up a few of my contacts," Oak muttered. "Ask them for some assistance in this endeavour."

Felkan tensed visibly. "Remember you said that you wouldn't mention me."

"Of course I won't but the task is impossible sounding enough if only you lot are the ones attempting to find all the Legendaries," Oak pointed out. "If I were to get others involved we could widen the search. Spread the word about our situation and get multiple groups out looking, gain the help of the authorities and…"

"NO!" Felkan shouted violently, which caused Oak to start backwards and Gardevoir immediately made her way forwards to rest a re-assuring arm on Felkan's arm. Felkan's face was twisted into a grimace as he went on. "No, absolutely not. No authorities, no police, no help from the League, no nothing like that. We do this alone, and by that I mean just us in this room."

Oak looked alarmed at Felkan's vehemence. "Felkan with the help of the League, our chances of finding all the Legendaries would increase exponentially, and they are ridiculously slim as it is. Besides, it will not be necessary to mention you are part of this at all."

"Maybe not, but one slip-up… one anything that lets them know I'm in on this then they'll come after me and my Pokémon. They'll ask questions, like where did you get your information on this from and you'll have to come up with cover stories. If they hear about us, find us and catch us, then they will not hesitate in putting Absol down for real this time and neither you nor Cynthia would be able to stop them. Then they'll imprison me, take all my Pokémon away from me and probably lock them away too. They might even decide to go as far as to put some of them down too. I won't have it!"

"Though I believe he could have handled his vehemence a little better," Aayla coughed. "Felkan does have a point. Besides, Uxie said that it was essential for us to complete the task ourselves. He wouldn't divulge why but told us that was necessary. Besides, the fewer people who know that we, by which I mean myself and the Digimon, even exist at all, the better. If news of our existence gets out, many things could go wrong."

"Yeah, they could try and catch us," nodded Terriermon. "Or poach us. And that would be the last thing we need."

"They might deem us dangerous and try to lock us away," Impmon added.

"Or scientists less scrupulous than yourself might attempt to use us in experiments," Lopmon agreed.

"And if word of _why_ we're here got out as well," Renamon concluded. "That would probably do nothing but cause widespread panic. It's better that we keep these covert and close to our chests for now. The situation may change in future but we should keep things under wraps for as long as we can."

_Agreed,_ Latios nodded. _I'm uncomfortable being in a human settlement as it is. The last thing we need is hordes of trainers coming after us, impeding our search with trying to catch us. Worse still, someone might actually succeed. No Legendary has ever been caught before, and we're going to need them all for this to work after all._

_Wow, brother dear. You actually sounded wise then,_ Latias snickered.

_I can be wise when I want to be,_ Latios glowered. _I have to do all the thinking for the pair of us as it is._

_Oh, shut up,_ Latias swatted him playfully.

Oak looked torn, but then he merely grimaced and said, "Very well, you've made your point. I still say that this mission that you have landed yourselves with is to be next to impossible under any circumstances."

"True, but don't forget," Felkan said. "Uxie did give us the ability to understand Pokémon. Even though Latios and Latias here don't know much about where their fellow Legendaries might be, others might be able to lead us straight to them."

"That is true," nodded Aayla. "It could become something of a chain reaction. We merely find one or two of them and then suddenly we find more and more quicker every time."

"We can only hope," Oak nodded. "Well, I suppose we better get started." He moved over to the computer and began to boot it up. "Be aware that I know frustratingly little on most of the Legendary Pokémon – most of what I do know of them is based on myths, old scriptures and often nothing but mere speculation. It's hardly surprising, given that they're so elusive. But I'll do what I can. Oh, and perhaps this might be a good idea." He quickly went over to a drawer, pulled it open and fished inside it, before pulling out a small square device and showing it to them.

"This is an X-transceiver," he said. "It works as a communication device and if you take this then I should be able to contact you as you continue your journey. If I hear anything new about the Legendaries in future I'll be able to keep in touch and let you know. I might consult some of my fellow Professors, like Elm, Birch and Rowan. I won't tell them it's you, of course. Not even Birch. But they may know more about their native Legendary Pokémon than I."

"Excuse me, did I just hear that right?" Terriermon asked. "Oak, Elm, Birch and Rowan? Really?"

"Yes?" Oak blinked in bemusement. "What of it?"

"Never mind," Terriermon sighed. "Who gets the handy PDA thingie?"

"You should probably take it, Felkan," Gardevoir suggested. "It won't exactly be difficult."

Felkan hesitated, but only for a moment before he stepped forwards and took the X-transceiver from the Professor. Oak looked a little wistful. "What I wouldn't give to be able to understand what Pokémon say. Anyway, let's get started. Where would you like to begin?"

"Well, by logic, we should probably start with the Legendaries that have been sighted closest to here," Henry suggested.

"Good thinking," Oak nodded, turning back to the computer and beginning to thumb through various records that appeared on the big screen before them and broadcast the information out to everyone present.

"I never did understand human writing," muttered Latios. "Looks completely meaningless to me."

"Then I hereby decree that we must teach Latios how to read during the course of our journey!" Terriermon cried.

"Sounds headache-worthy," Latios chuckled.

"So, what Legendary Pokémon should we be trying to find first then?" Impmon turned his attention back to the Professor.

"Well, the Legendaries that are most frequently sighted around the Kanto region where we are now are the three Legendary birds; Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos." He pulled up images of the three of them on the screen. Surprisingly these were photographs that seemed to be relatively clear. They depicted a blue-feathered bird with a long streamer-like tail, a yellow bird with a long beak and jaggedly spiked wings, tail and head and a more orange bird with wings, tail and a head-plume which were all seemed to be actually made of fire.

_Yep,_ Latias nodded, using her mental voice so all could hear her. _That's definitely them. Haven't seen them for a few years now. It might be nice to catch up with them._

"Well, first we have to find them," Aayla said. "Which of the three would you say was closest according to densest concentration of sightings, Professor?"

"Well, if we go by the logs then that would probably have to be Articuno," Oak clarified, magnifying the image of the blue bird. "It's said that it appears to people who get lost in blizzards, but of course I wouldn't recommend trying to find it by that approach. Besides that, most of the Articuno sightings within the last decade placed it close to the Seafoam Islands, just east of Cinnabar." He pulled up a map of Kanto and indicated with a stick. "We're here in Pallet Town, and down here are the Seafoam Islands. It's rumoured that it makes its homes in the ice caves there."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Terriermon said optimistically. "A bit cold perhaps but we can find it surely."

_She,_ Latios said.

"Sorry?" Terriermon blinked.

_Articuno is a she,_ Latios replied. _So is Moltres. They are not 'its.' Neither is Zapdos, but of course, he's male._

_I always liked Articuno,_ Latias said. _Despite being an Ice-type she had a very warm heart. Very caring, a bit like a mother hen. She likes to take unfortunate Pokémon under her wing and help them when they're in trouble. If she's at those Seafoam Islands then we'll find her, no problem._

"Well, as nice as that is to hear," Oak sighed. "Unfortunately I very much doubt that it… she… would still be there."

"Why?" Felkan asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Oak looked across at him. "Well, of course you were in isolation, but I thought you might have heard about the fact that the volcano on Cinnabar Island erupted last year."

"It did?" Felkan blinked.

"Yes," Oak nodded sadly. "A large number of people died, but thanks to the efforts of the local Gym Leader to hold back the surge, most were able to escape with their lives. But the island itself was almost completely wiped out, reduced to a pile of ash and rocks in the sea. The ash cloud spread as far as Pallet Town and definitely enveloped the Seafoam Islands."

Felkan frowned. "Actually I do remember Absol being a bit jumpy one day before all this colliding universe stuff began. And Garchomp said he thought he sensed some upheaval in the ground somewhere far away on the same day."

"That may have been it," Oak nodded. "My guess is that Articuno would probably have vacated after that. She probably won't be there. After that, there were considerably less sightings of her and those that have come in mostly placed her in high mountain ranges. And a different one every time."

Renamon grimaced. "Well, it is a starting point nevertheless. I vote that we still try and locate her at those islands. If it turns out she's not there then we've only gone a couple of days out of our way at most."

"A couple of days could make all the difference at the moment," Henry muttered. "Nevertheless I agree. I think we should go there first. What say you, Felkan?"

Felkan grunted non-committedly. "Whatever. I suppose. But what about the other two, Zapdos and Moltres?"

"Well, Zapdos is perhaps the most solid of the three in terms of sightings," Oak chuckled. "There's an old Power Plant just north of Lavender Town up here," he indicated with the stick near the northeast corner of the map. "It used to be run down but it was renovated shortly after you went into hiding Felkan, and now it's being used to power the Magnet Train from Saffron to Goldenrod. It generates a lot of excess electricity that attract Electric type Pokémon for miles around, and according to the sightings, Zapdos appears there once every so often, presumably to absorb some of the excess electricity."

"Well, that sounds better," Impmon grinned. "Surely we should be able to find him there then."

"Hold on," Lopmon raised an ear. "What the catch?"

"The catch?" Oak chuckled. "The catch is that Zapdos does not appear to have a schedule. His visits are supposedly random. One of my assistants camped out beside the Power Plant for eight months hoping for a sighting of Zapdos and saw nothing. Of course, Zapdos was spotted in the area two days after he gave up and came back, though whether that was a genuine sighting or someone just trying to be cruel I don't know."

"Ouch," Terriermon muttered. "That's harsh."

"What's Zapdos like then?" Rika turned to ask the Eon duo.

_Tempremental,_ Latios replied immediately. _He has as good a heart as the next Legendary, he protects the innocent with all his strength and when he sets his mind to something he rarely gives up, but he has a rather short fuse. It doesn't take much to get him angry, and when he gets angry it's usually best to stay out of his way… by about two miles. His thunderstorms can be dangerous._

"Great," Rika murmured. "Well, I guess after Articuno, that is our best shot. And if we don't find Articuno, maybe he can lead us to her. And Moltres."

"Indeed," Oak nodded. "As to Moltres itse…herself," he corrected himself quickly. "Her sightings are considerably rarer than the other two. In years past, a lot of people saw her at Victory Road near the Pokémon League, but there haven't been any sightings of her there for years. It was rumoured that she went to Mount Silver after that, but I assume that she's not there or you probably would have seen her, Felkan."

"Maybe," Felkan muttered. "We rarely went on the mountain itself though. And I did see something that looked like a streak of fire in the sky once not long after we started living there. That could have been Moltres. But I never saw it again after that."

"Well, I'm afraid I can't really help you beyond that," Oak grimaced. "Not for Moltres anyway. All I can really recommend is looking for flashes of fire in the sky, and possibly searching close to a volcano."

"But aren't volcanoes dangerous?" Ai asked, shuddering.

"They can be," Aayla nodded. "Very dangerous places indeed, but let's hope we don't need to get too close to one."

_Moltres is a great person,_ Latias grinned. _She's quite fiery, as you might expect from someone like her, but she's a great lark – more fun than the other two are. Haven't seen her for a while though – it will be nice to catch up._

"Alright then, so those are the Legendary Birds," Renamon went on. "What about the other twenty-two that we have to find?"

"Well, perhaps I should proceed onto the Legendary Beasts next," Oak nodded. "Raikou, Entei and Suicune are their names and they are even more elusive than the birds. Very little is known about any of them, but this is supposedly what they are meant to look like." He pulled up three more images of Pokémon on the screen. These ones were all quadrupeds, one of them being yellow and tiger-like with long saber fangs and a flowing purple cape-like structure on its back, the next being russet red and lion-like, with thickset limbs and a proud posture, and the final one being something like a cheetah and pale blue, with white spots, a large blue crest and purple cape, and something like a pair of ribbons flowing out around it.

"Wow. They're like big cats," Suzie remarked as she stared at them. "Really big cats. Or dogs maybe. It's hard to tell which."

_Those three are quite young compared to the other Legendaries,_ Latios said. _Too young to have attended the previous gathering of all of us several thousand years ago. They're only about seven-hundred years old themselves. They were created by Ho-oh from the dead bodies of three Pokémon who perished in a fire once. We actually haven't met all three of them at the same time, though we have met them all individually._

_Yeah,_ Latias nodded. _Raikou's a bit hasty – quick to jump to conclusions, very fast to act and can be a bit distrustful at times but as far as I could tell he was a very dedicated Legendary. And Entei, well… just look at him. He's very bold and very brave, relatively fearless in comparison to a lot of people I know. And Suicune… she's extremely devoted to Ho-oh and is quite a serious Pokémon, but she can be a bit vain sometimes as well. Constantly fussing over her cape and her ribbons. Er… don't tell her I said that though._

"Well that's more information on these Beasts than I have I'm afraid," Oak muttered. "Near as I can tell the Beasts never stay in one place for more than a day. Every single sighting of them that we have confirmed as a genuine one has been brief and they were always running. They're mostly seen in the Johto region, but as to where I cannot say. Sightings of them are almost _never _in the same place twice."

_That's because they're supposedly travelling around to keep watch on humanity from afar,_ Latios nodded. _Lady Ho-oh thinks that humanity has become impure, so she tasks the Beasts with watching until such a time as they are worthy of her presence again._

"Ho-oh seems to have got the right idea to me," Felkan muttered quietly, so much so that only a couple of the others picked up on it.

One of those others was Rika, who glowered at him, but then turned around and said, "So I take it that means that Ho-oh sightings are even rarer then."

"Indeed," Oak nodded. "There have been almost no recorded sightings of Ho-oh for hundreds of years, and none of the ones that have been seen can be confirmed as genuine. But perhaps if what Latios says is true then if you somehow managed to track down the Beasts, they might be able to lead you to her. Winning their trust could win hers by default.

_That's very true,_ Latios nodded. _Still, under most circumstances, you would need a very pure heart for any of them to let them see you. You should feel very honoured that Entei let you glimpse him Professor, even for a second._

"Oh, I do, believe me," Oak nodded fervently. "But perhaps you should also take a visit to Ecruteak City on your travels to learn more about Ho-oh there. And her counterpart, Lugia. Lugia sightings are just as rare as Ho-oh's these days, but he is significantly more understood than her. According to ancient texts on Lugia which have been translated many years ago, Lugia possesses extraordinary powers over the weather. He used to live on top of a tower in Ecruteak City, but when that was destroyed in a storm in which Lugia himself accidentally created, he apparently decided to seclude himself at the bottom of the deepest trenches in the sea to protect people from his own powers."

"Oh well that's helpful to us now," Impmon griped. "Exactly how are we meant to get to the bottom of the sea to talk to this guy?"

"Submersible?" Terriermon suggested with a shrug.

"Yeah, and where are we going to get one of those from?" Impmon muttered.

"There may not be the need," Oak said. "Of the few sightings that have been recorded recently most of them occurred around the Whirl Islands in the Johto region. That might be a relatively good place to start looking."

"That will be dangerous," Felkan remarked. "I've heard about the Whirl Islands. They were named for the many powerful whirlpools that surround them, weren't they?"

"Indeed they are," Oak nodded.

"Sounds like a good place to start looking for a powerful weather creature to me," said Henry brightly.

"I have some contacts in Ecruteak who claim to know a few things about Lugia and Ho-oh," Oak suggested. "Perhaps I could put you in contact with them."

Felkan's face darkened but Aayla interrupted and said, "Perhaps another time, Professor, if we have had no luck in finding the other Legendaries ourselves. Now, what about the others?"

"Well, perhaps I could talk about Mew, Celebi and Jirachi next," Oak nodded, pulling up some more pictures. "These three Pokémon have very little two do with one another but they are often put in a group together due to their similar body sizes and structures," Oak nodded, pulling up some more pictures. These ones were notably not photographs but old carvings that appeared to had been done in stone many years ago. "According to ancient scriptures, these three were perhaps the most elusive of all the Legendary Pokémon. Some people think that Mew might merely be a mirage or another trick of the light because its seen so briefly."

_Mew can transform into any other Pokémon she wants,_ Latios related. _And she can turn invisible like we can. But she's definitely real, I can tell you that. Head in the clouds most of the time, and more playful even than Latias here, which is odd considering she was the mother of all life in this universe bar the other Legendary Pokémon._

"Is _everything _about these Legendary Pokémon designed to make them hard to find?" even Lopmon was beginning to feel exasperated now.

_Pretty much,_ Latias said brightly. _Still, if Mew senses us she should come out straight away. She's a powerful Psychic – she'd know you weren't a threat, and she'd probably want to play._

"Small consolation," Renamon said through gritted teeth. "We'd still have to get near her first."

"Well if you think finding Mew will be difficult, wait until you hear about the other two," Oak chuckled wryly. "There might not even be a Celebi in existence at the moment because according to all the old legends, Celebi can travel through time."

"Say what?" Terriermon blinked. "Really? A time-travelling Pokémon?"

"That's what I said," Oak nodded.

"Awesome!" Terriermon grinned. "That is one cool ability! How come I haven't heard of a Digimon that can do that?"

"It's not such good news in terms of finding it though, is it?" Rika sighed. "How are we supposed to find a Pokémon that might be hopping into the past or the future at any random time?"

"All Celebi sightings have been in forests," Oak reported, "So that would be the best place to start. A shrine was built to it in the Ilex Forest in Johto and its said by the locals that it actually might appear there quite regularly. But some reports say that there might be several Celebi in existence because more than one have been seen at the same time."

_No, there's just one_, Latias assured them. _Celebi is nearly as playful as Mew, and if she gets bored she sometimes goes back in time to play tag with herself._

"Eh?" Terriermon blinked. "But wouldn't that cause a paradox and destroy the universe or something?"

_Not if she says it doesn't,_ Latios replied, making everyone blink.

"Ooo-kay," Terriermon turned back. "So, forests and time travelling. Brilliant. And the other one… what's his name again?"

"Jirachi," nodded Oak. "Where he is concerned, I have good news and bad news."

"Always good news first right?" Suzie asked. "Isn't that the way it goes."

"Technically the good news is related to the bad news so I'll say the bad news first this time," Oak replied. "According to scriptures, Jirachi only wakes up from a deep hibernation once every one-thousand years. Nobody knows the exact location of where he sleeps but when he does wake up he does so for seven days and is capable of granting three wishes to whoever he chooses during those days."

"Sounds kinda like a Digi-Gnome," Suzie said brightly.

"And on another note, what the hell?" Impmon cried. "Once every one-thousand years! How are we supposed to do anything about that? Please tell me that Jirachi's all set to wake up sometime soon."

"Afraid not," Oak shook his head. "If the ancient stories are anything to go by there are still a good two-hundred-and-fifty years to go before Jirachi is set to wake up once again."

"Oh, brilliant," Henry sighed.

"Ah, but you're forgetting something," Oak grinned at them. "If you can somehow find Celebi and convince it… her… to work with you then Celebi would be more than capable of popping back to the past or heading into the future and bringing an awake Jirachi right back to the right time that he was needed."

"Oh… hey that's right," Rika's face lit up a little. "With a time-traveller on our side, things could get so much simpler for us. That's a great idea, Professor."

"Yes, I'm rather pleased with it myself," Oak chuckled.

_It could very well work as well,_ nodded Latios. _Celebi and Jirachi always were very good friends whenever Jirachi actually did wake up if my memory serves me well. She should have no problem tracking him down. But, of course, we still have to find Celebi first._

_Way to put a damper on things, brother dear,_ Latias patted Latios' shoulder.

_I'm just telling it like it is,_ insisted the blue-faced dragon.

"And he is certainly right," Aayla agreed. "Still, it should make our lives just that little bit easier, and if all we're hearing is true then we're going to need a lot of advantages in future. And if my count is correct, that leaves us with fourteen Legendaries remaining."

"Then let's proceed," Oak nodded. "The next batch of legendaries are known as the Legendary Golems. Nobody has set eyes on them for many thousands of years either, but ancient carvings of them were discovered in the Snowpoint Temple in Sinnoh, and they supposedly look like this." The pictures that he pulled up on the screen depicted Pokémon that were all blocky and chunky and had no discernible heads or faces of any kind.

"Supposedly the great Regigigas, who towed the continents in days of old, created the other three Legendary Golems himself – Regirock from stone, Regice from ice and Registeel from magma, and fashioned them in his image. But ancient people considered them too powerful and locked each of them away in ancient tombs. In fact, Regigigas is the only Legendary Pokémon that I can tell you the location of with one-hundred percent certainty."

"You can?" Even Felkan showed surprise at this statement. "Where?"

"In the Snowpoint Temple itself. North of Snowpoint City in Sinnoh," he said. "I have never been there myself but many archaeologists dug into the old ruins once and found him there, seated in a great stone throne and lying dormant, and he has been there every since like an immovable monolith. But it's said that the only way to wake him from his slumber is to bring his three subordinates to him and, unfortunately, their own locations have long been lost."

_I always wondered what happened to Regigigas,_ Latias pondered. _He's not exactly a master of stealth but we hadn't seen him for millennia. And we only met the other three Regis the one time, during the last meeting of all of us. That was the day that Regigigas decided to create them actually… fashioned them right in front of us. Never saw them again after that. Now we know why._

"Seriously no offence to you guys but you humans can sometimes be real idiots," Impmon snorted.

"Well, I do know of someone who believes he is close to finding the location of the other three Golems," Oak said brightly. "Steven Stone, the old Champion of Sinnoh before he stepped down and allowed Wallace to take his place. He's been searching for them ever since, studying old ruins and such and he told me just last month that he had made a breakthrough. Who knows – we might actually have a bit of luck with this one."

Felkan gritted his teeth again. "Stone works for the Pokémon League doesn't he? We get him involved and what's to stop him from telling them all about us."

"Steven doesn't answer to the League anymore, Felkan," Oak said cheerfully. "He fell out of favour with them due to his obsession with travelling in search of rare rocks and minerals, which is what drew him to his work in finding the Golems. I'll contact him and explain the situation to him at a later date, if you like."

"That would be very much appreciated," Aayla nodded. "Perhaps the Golems will be comparatively simple compared to the others."

"So, who's next?" Lopmon questioned.

"Well, while we're on the subject of Hoenn we might as well speak on the Weather Trio. The might Titans of Land, Sea and Sky – Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza."

_Oh boy, do I remember those three,_ Latios chuckled. _We've met them both from time to time. When they're on their own, Groudon is normally quite slow, stoic and methodical, while Kyogre is calm, serene and very peaceful, making them quite similar to one another really. But when the two of them meet, all that goes out the window and across the cosmos and they always engage in a fight to the death._

"To the death?" Aayla asked, alarmed. "Really? What would cause them to have such hatred for one another?"

_They're both angry that their own creation cannot cover the whole surface of the world,_ Latias replied. _It's practically ingrained into them. Groudon thinks all the world should be land while Kyogre thinks it should all be sea. Groudon can make volcanoes erupt with a thought and Kyogre can create tidal waves on a whim, making them both some of the most powerful Pokémon there are. Only Rayquaza has the ability to calm them down because his territory – the sky – covers both of theirs._

"But if we're to awaken Arceus and save both our worlds then all the Legendaries must be gathered," Renamon pointed out. "That would mean that Groudon and Kyogre would _have_ to meet one another."

"Then we should make sure that at least have Rayquaza with us at the time," Henry said logically. "If he's the only one that can keep them from tearing each other apart then we'll need him around them at all times."

"But what happens if they _do_ start fighting?" Suzie asked. "Can Rayquaza keep stopping them?"

_Are you kidding?_ Latias laughed. _Rayquaza is _ridiculously _powerful – much more so than Groundon or Kyogre themselves. He's very noble and takes it upon himself to protect the world from every threat that he comes across. He can sort the both of them out, especially since he possesses the natural ability to suppress their powers over the weather._

"Well that's certainly good news," Oak nodded. "But according to sources, Rayquaza is a globetrotter that spends most of his time in the ozone layer so finding him might be a challenge. As to the other two, there are rumours that Groudon might be sleeping somewhere under one of the Hoenn region's mountains, while Kyogre resides in the bowels on the Sea Basin – a particularly deep stretch of ocean just off the coast of Hoenn. Perhaps if you can find Lugia, he might be able to find her for you, or even the other way round if it comes to that."

"Well, things do seem to be looking up a little," Aayla remarked. "Things seem to be tying themselves together slightly. Only seven Legendaries remain of the list we have to find."

"Well, one of those is Deoxys," Oak nodded, bringing up a blurry image of something that appeared to be mostly red with four long tentacle-like arms, but few other visible features due to the clarity of the image. He is another of the sky-faring Legendary Pokémon who was supposedly found within a meteoric crater many years ago. Few people have seen him since but once again, if you can find Rayquaza, perhaps you can find him too."

_Rayquaza might actually be a very big boost to us,_ Latios agreed. _He wanders all across the world on his travels through the ozone layer, and yet he can still see things on the ground perfectly. If he's seen any of the other Legendaries recently, he could tell us about it. And Oak is right, he and Deoxys get on very well. Rayquaza can get a bit touchy when others enter his territory but Deoxys is one of the few that he has always tolerated._

_After they got to be friends that is,_ Latias threw in. _First time they met Rayquaza thought Deoxys was trying to take over and Deoxys was paranoid and confused. Took the combined efforts of Lugia and Ho-oh to break them up as I recall._

"Well we seem to be getting some better news that before at any rate," Henry mused.

"And that just leaves the remainder of the primarily Sinnoh-related Legendary Pokémon behind," Oak acknowledged. "Most of those are primarily out of my field I'm afraid, but I can tell you that Cresselia is one of the most commonly-sighted Legendary Pokémon of all. She travels all over Sinnoh, doing her best to make sure that everyone, Pokémon and human alike, don't suffer from trauma of the mind, whether that be from mental scars or nightmares. The most frequent sightings of her though appear around the Snowpoint and Canalave areas to the north and west of Sinnoh. Some people travel to a place called Fullmoon Island close to there to those areas to be healed by her."

"And she comes to them?" Aayla asked, intrigued.

"Well, when they do this they never actually see Cresselia, as she only comes when they fall asleep, but they have an untroubled night and when they wake up they often find a glowing feather beside them. One that almost definitely belongs to Cresselia."

_That sounds like her_, confirmed Latias. _She always was extremely kind. Very gentle, very soothing. And of course, she's the only one who can resist the powers of Darkrai._

"You mentioned this Darkrai before," Renamon nodded. "You said that he gives people nightmares?"

_It's his thing,_ Latios replied. _He can't actually help it. It just happens whenever people fall asleep around him. He's fine to be around when you're awake. He's very quiet, extremely reserved, doesn't really like to talk much but he's certainly not evil as a lot of people seem to think he is. But fall asleep next to him… hoo boy. He doesn't just give you nightmares, he shows you visions that twist your unconscious mind into everything that you fear and dread. Where he hides himself away I have no idea – but people always know when he's been there in the night._

"Fascinating," Oak breathed. "I had no idea that Darkrai's power over nightmares was an automatic reaction. Quite remarkable indeed, albeit a terrible thing. But as to where he is I am afraid I have no idea either. Darkrai has always been an enigma, one of the most feared and hated Pokémon in the world. Nobody knows where he lives. And there are not many who want to find out."

"Poor guy," Suzie murmured sadly. "That's not fair. Not fair at all."

"No, it's not," Aayla agreed. "He sounds like he deserves better. But perhaps Cresselia will know where he is if nobody else does. If she's the only one who can counteract him perhaps she can sense his presence or something similar."

"And if that is the case," Oak nodded. "Then there are only three Legendary Pokémon left in my databanks. Manaphy, Shaymin and Heatran. Of those three, Manaphy might be the hardest to find, but since he is, like Lugia and Kyogre, a Guardian of the Sea, perhaps they too can help you to find him. If not, then there are several books in the libraries of the Pokémon mansion near Pastoria City that are meant to hold more information on Manaphy that I've been meaning to head down there to read. Perhaps they can tell you more if Lugia or Kyogre can't."

"Hey, sounds like things are rolling together closer to the end. Like we thought they would," Terriermon grinned. "What about the other two?"

"Well, Heatran has not been seen for many thousands of years, and the scriptures say that he spends most of his time in the world's mantle, amongst all the volcanic lava," Oak said. "However, there is a special stone in a place called Stark Mountain which is rumoured to be related to Heatran in some fashion. It's heavily guarded and it's said that if the stone is removed from the vicinity of the mountain that Heatran will lose control of its powers and go on a rampage. That might not sound encouraging, but perhaps in finding more about the stone you might find more on Heatran himself."

"Brilliant," Rika grinned. "And Shaymin?"

"Well, Shaymin's another elusive one," Oak conceded. "But according to some more recent research, Shaymin is able to change its form in the presence of a special flower called the Gracidea flower. There haven't been many sightings of it but your best bet would probably be to find those flowers and widening the search from there. And… that's all of them, I believe."

"Really?" Aayla raised a brow. "Because, once again, my count has reached twenty-four and not twenty-five as Uxie informed us. Are you sure that there is nothing that you've missed out, Professor."

Oak paused, opened his mouth to speak, frowned, shut his mouth again and began thumbing through the records on his computer. "I… I don't know but you're right. That _is_ only twenty-four. And… I… can't find… any other records of… any additional Legendaries in here."

"Oh, damn it," Impmon muttered. "Foiled again. Latios and Latias can't think of another Legendary Pokémon either."

_And everyone we _could _think of was mentioned just now by the Professor,_ Latios sighed.

"Sounds like our mystery Legendary wishes to remain a mystery," Renamon grimaced. "That is hardly encouraging by any means."

And suddenly Gardevoir chipped into the conversation for the first time – she had spent most of the ensuing discussion keeping quiet and watching Felkan's reactions closely. _And things are stacked up enough against us as they are. We might know more about the other Legendary Pokémon now but still finding just one seems to be going to be challenging enough._

"Then we've gotta hope that at least one of the other Legendary Pokémon knows about this missing one," Felkan said, pushing himself up from the table he had been sitting on. "Because we don't have time to hang around anymore – we have to get going. We still heading for the Seafoam Islands first?"

"Seems like it," Henry nodded.

"Then we get moving," Felkan stated. "Now. Professor, thanks for your help. I… I really appreciate it. But I will appreciate it even more if you don't tell anyone else I was here. That… any of us were," he coughed. "Because if people find out I'm back…"

"I understand," Oak nodded, flicking off his computer and looking resolute, but with a small amount of discomfort present on his face. "I will not tell another soul. Nevertheless, I will… continue to look into this further and make some enquiries and… let you know via the X-transceiver if I learn anything."

"Thank you, Professor," Felkan nodded.

"Yeah, thanks Prof!" Terriermon agreed. "We might not know everything but you sure were a big help."

"My pleasure," Oak nodded. "And when all this is over I want to know everything about you extra-dimensional creatures – anything you can tell me. But you have a long way to go and I will not keep you any longer. The fate of the world… two worlds in fact… is at stake. Now, come, I'll show you out."

"Don't worry, Professor," Aayla nodded. "We'll tell you everything you wish to know as soon as we sort all this out."

"Good, good," Oak nodded, looking a little distracted. He looked up and, as the others made their way closer to the door, his eyes met with Gardevoir's briefly. Oak had wondered, during their discussion, why the Pokémon had been so quiet, but as he saw her expression, he suddenly knew. Gardevoir had been watching Felkan closely… because she knew. She knew what Oak was about to say, and she had known he was planning on saying it the moment he knew Felkan was back. She must have read his thoughts, possibly under Felkan's direction to make sure he wasn't planning to tell people about him.

Gardevoir had a look of resignation in her eyes, but she gave Oak a brief nod, before stepping over to Felkan and placing a hand on his shoulder, merging her mind with his to the best of her ability and channelling calm into him. Oak coughed and said, "Felkan. There is… there is one other thing… that you should know. And I feel… I should tell you before… before someone else does."

Felkan blinked, turning back to look at the Professor in bemusement. "What?" he asked, shortly, and wondering what Gardevoir was doing at the same time.

"It's…" Oak sighed, running a hand over his face as he hesitated for several more seconds, before sighing and saying. "It's… your mother. She… she's… she died… three years ago now."

Dead silence.

…

Nothing.

Felkan felt like he'd just been punched in the gut and in the throat at the same time and he felt his knees weaken. If it weren't for Gardevoir's mental support he probably would have collapsed completely. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the faces of everyone else flash to him with horror in their expressions.

Felkan didn't say anything at all for half a minute, breathing raggedly and a hollow look appearing in his eyes before he finally managed to choke out, "H… how?"

"In a robbery," Oak grimaced sadly. "She was working in Sootopolis City, studying some mysterious red treasure that had been discovered in a cavern nearby. A group of thieves intent on stealing that treasure broke into the laboratory where she was and attacked. Your mother… tried to fend them off… keep them away… but… I'm afraid she was shot in the attempt. She… died instantly. No pain, little mess but… well… I'm sorry that I had to be the one to bring this to your attention but… you had the right to know."

Felkan said nothing. He stared blankly at a nearby wall for another ten seconds or so, as if he was still trying to process what had just been said. Then Gardevoir stepped around him and embraced him closely, pulling him closer to her with her slender arms. Slowly, like a zombie, Felkan returned the hug and a moment later they both vanished. Gardevoir had teleported them away.

The room was left in an awkward silence before Oak sighed and said, "You better go invisible again, all of you. I'll lead you out. Make sure… make sure he's alright, will you? He's a good person really but he hasn't had much going for him in his life apart from his Pokémon."

"We'll do our best," Aayla promised solemnly as Renamon lifted the perception filter once again and the Eon twins shifted out of sight too.

"And good luck with your quest," Oak added quietly, as he guided them outside once again.

* * *

I debated as to whether Felkan and his mother should meet up again and hash things out a little bit, but in the end I felt that having her die beforehand would make things more interesting in future and give the characters a few more opportunities. Besides, this coincides with my plans for another character who will be appearing in the future who will also have a couple of family issues. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter everybody even if it was, once again, a lot of talking about the quest rather than actual quest stuff. And we will see Felkan's other Pokémon again in the next chapter, but I felt that having them all around for this conversation would interfere with it a great deal.

If anyone has any questions about the future of the story, I will be happy to answer them. And also, thanks for everyone's suggestions as to the Unova legendaries from the last chapter. There were many different ideas and theories and I'll have to dwell on them all a little bit before I come up with the final plan.

* * *

Next time…

Now with a goal in mind, the group must begin their journey. Their first objective is the Seafoam Islands in search of the elusive Articuno. However, in order to reach them, they obviously have to cross the sea and, with a little help from Milotic, they set out across the waves to begin their long adventure, unaware that things are going to be more dangerous than they originally foresaw.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 14 : Voyage**


	14. Voyage

Hello everybody. So sorry for the delay to this chapter but once again, mitigating circumstances conspired to keep me away from my keyboard as much as possible. A combination of increased work hours, the trip to London I mentioned before and a sudden and unexpected holiday to Dublin that we literally booked the day before we went and I found myself increasingly frustrated at my lack of writing time. But, at last, I am back with this next instalment of the saga. Once again, there is no action here. But… well, I don't want to ruin anything. Read on people, and I hope you enjoy what you read nevertheless.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 14:- Voyage**

* * *

Pallet Town stood just north of the ocean, above the strip of beach the waves constantly lapped at, pulling their way slowly up the coastline as the tide swept slowly in. The beach at Pallet Town didn't get many visitors – there were other, larger beaches for tourists to occupy and the little town was not exactly known for its tourism. Which was why, when Latios and Latias led the rest of the group down to the beach, they found it to be empty.

Mostly.

Felkan was there, waiting for them, but as they approached he seemed to refuse to acknowledge their presence. Actually he seemed to be ignoring everybody, even his own Pokémon. All twelve of them were now out in the open once again by this point, and were crowded around the pile of boulders which Felkan was sitting on, staring blankly out towards the ocean with a rather dead look in his eyes.

The Tamers, Digimon and Aayla had been relatively silent on their journey down. Even Rika, who still didn't like Felkan very much and had been given very little reason to like him so far, at least in her view, had felt twangs of sympathy for him as they contemplated what Oak had said about the death of his mother. She alone of them knew what it was like to lose a parent – her father. But her father had not died, he had merely left and she had never heard from him again. Even now that she was quite a famous person thanks to her being a Tamer she had heard nothing from her father, but she still held out the hope that one day they would find each other again.

Felkan had no hope. Both of his parents were dead now. He was nineteen, barely university age back in their own world, and he had no family left. None that he knew of anyway. Jeri would have been able to relate better than any of them, but even she still had blood family left. Felkan didn't. No siblings either, and if he had any cousins then he probably hadn't met them before.

Despite Felkan's dislike of humanity and of them in general, all of them felt pity for him. Pity for everything that had happened to him in life. He had been far less fortunate than they had. Suzie couldn't imagine a life without either of her parents, or her brothers or sisters. Ai and Mako even more so. And Aayla – well… she had never met her parents. And her uncle had been a manipulative bastard who tried to sell her into slavery and then control her. What did you say to someone in Felkan's situation?

The Pokémon looked up when they approached, some of them giving them brief nods and others just staring blankly before looking away again. No doubt all of them had been given the same news, probably by Gardevoir, and they were in a similar quandary. They didn't know what to say, what to do, about this new piece of news.

Lucario was standing on lookout duty, using his aura senses to detect if anyone was getting close enough to spot them. The arriving group approached him first and Aayla murmured, "How is he doing?"

Lucario shook his head and turned to look back at his trainer. "Not well, I'm afraid. He hasn't moved since he released us from our Balls. He's just sat there and stared out to sea, to the horizon. Even his facial expression hasn't changed. His emotions are muddled – he's not sure _what_ he's meant to be thinking at this point. He's even shutting Gardevoir out, and he _never_ does that. _Ever_."

Gardevoir did have a rather distressed look on her face, it was true. She was sitting next to Felkan with an arm around his shoulders, but she looked just as much at a loss as to what to do next as everyone else.

"Can you sense any of the individual emotions in him?" Aayla asked.

"There is some grief in there," Lucario nodded. "But that grief is coupled with confusion, uncertainty, like he's not even sure if he should be feeling grief. There's anger too – a good deal of that. And some guilt, which is also combined with confusion. All negative emotions straining inside him for dominance over one another. It seems to have created a sort of impasse inside him."

"Then… what do we do?" Suzie asked, biting her lip.

"I do not know," Lucario sighed. "But perhaps it might be better to let him dwell on the situation a little bit himself. Let him try and sort out his own emotions first."

Aayla nodded. "His mind, his rules," she agreed.

"Aren't we going to try and help him?" Ai asked.

"Yes," Aayla nodded. "But not straight away. He's just been hit hard with a terrible piece of news. Give him some time to adjust to it first. Helping a confused mind will only make it more confused."

"Sound advice," Renamon agreed. "Come on."

The group moved over to the rest of their adventure party. It was startling how quickly they had adjusted to the fact that all these strange creatures were now a part of their group, but it was not really that new to any of them at this point. They had all been part of a strange motley crew in times past and they still were as it is."

"What kept you so long?" Charizard asked gruffly, in what was probably a feeble attempt to act nonchalant and keep the mood up.

"Nothing," Terriermon replied, for once not particularly in the mood for joking around. "What's going on here?"

"Not much," Glaceon sighed. "Except I feel like I'm melting a little bit. Beaches have never really agreed with me. Is there a plan?"

"A plan?" Impmon muttered. "Yeah right. There's a plan certainly, but beyond 'head towards those islands that Professor Oak mentioned and hope we find a big blue bird there' not much of one."

"And now we have a very large barrier standing in the way," Luxray added, staring out towards the ocean, which lay out before them like a sheet of water that stretched from horizon to horizon on three points of the compass. "I am not much for swimming, I'm afraid."

"None of us are. Except Milotic," Scyther nodded towards the largest member of the party. Milotic was the only one there who looked like she was remotely enjoying herself at the moment, but even she was solemn and quiet. She was, however, lying in the surf and allowing it to lap over her body as she hunkered her coils down close to the sand, closing her eyes as she allowed the cool waters to flow around her.

"She looks content," Rika observed.

"Of course she does," Houndoom snorted. "This is the first time in five years that Milotic has felt the ocean. She may have had a big lake for swimming around in back at Mount Silver but she's loves the sea more than anything else. The same cannot be said for me. Fire types and water do _not_ mix."

"You can say that again," Charizard nodded, shuddering as he instinctively lifted his tail-flame higher and stepped away from the surf, even though he was nowhere near it already.

"Well, sad to say, none of us are really ocean-goers either," Renamon sighed. "We've all done some underwater sightseeing with some rebreathers that Aayla designed for us but we've certainly never swum long distance before."

"Aayla and I have," Terriermon chuckled. "But somehow I doubt that Aayla holding my feet while I fly along and allowing her to mimic water-skiing will particularly help this time around. Just how far away are these islands anyway."

"Far," commented Latios dryly. "Latias and I have flown near it a couple of times. Kanto is a big place and the Seafoam Islands are very far away from here. We could get there easily enough – we can levitate without much difficulty. But for you guys, there might be a problem. Flying will be an issue, and neither Latias, Milotic or myself can carry you all over there."

"Well, we have to think of something," Henry muttered. "Is there a boat around here we could charter?"

"You got any experience with sailing, kid?" Scyther chuckled wryly.

"Not much, no," Henry admitted.

Felkan finally seemed to have started paying attention to the conversation that was going on nearby. He glanced down at the group, wrinkling his nose and scowling when he noted their presence. He felt Gardevoir's arm holding him close, and he realised his own arm was around her waist. She was all he had left of his old life before he became a trainer now – all that was left of the time before he set out on his journey with a Treecko and a Kirlia, and he was practically holding onto her like a lifeline.

His mind was still a blur as it tried to figure out things about what it had just learned regarding his mother and her death, but he snapped out of his stupor long enough to call down to, "Milotic!"

The beautiful sea-serpent looked up at the sound of her name and reared out of the surf, water slopping down her sides. "Yes, Felkan?" she asked.

"You reckon you can find us a ride across the sea?" Felkan called. "Some locals who might be willing to help?"

Milotic nodded, since she was physically unable to shrug. "I'll give it a go," she said. "I've never been here before, but I'll see what I can find."

"Thanks," Felkan gave her a vague, but forced, smile and nodded in return. Milotic turned and slithered deeper into the waves, gracefully arcing her long neck until her head disappeared under the water, the rest of her body following on after her until her four-scaled tail flicked into the air and she disappeared.

"Is it possible that some wild ocean-going Pokémon would be willing to help us out?" Lopmon asked, looking out to where Milotic had vanished.

"Of course," scoffed Latias. "For the most part, Pokémon are quite friendly creatures. There are many exceptions of course, but as a general rule we are nice guys."

"So we've noticed," Aayla chuckled. "There are others that would not be so willing to trust us as you guys seem to."

"I can name one such person close by," Impmon muttered, too quietly for the person in question to hear him. This remark earned him a couple of hard stares from the other Pokémon around, but none of them denied it. They knew he was right. Still, a glaring Garchomp was quite a terrifying spectacle and Impmon immediately clamped his mouth shut.

Up on the rocks, now that Felkan seemed to have at least partially come out of his funk, Gardevoir took the opportunity to try and get a word in. She didn't bother asking him if he was okay – she knew full well that he wasn't. But she said "I know that there is a part of you that is feeling guilty about what you just learned Felkan, but you know that you cannot blame yourself for your mother's death. It, quite literally, had nothing to do with you whatsoever. It was completely unrelated to your disappearance and to us in any way."

"I know that," Felkan grimaced. "And I know that saying I should have been there for her is as pointless as blaming myself. She was barely there for me herself after all and I never knew where she was ninety-five percent of the time, if that, anyway. So why do I still feel vaguely responsible for this?"

"She's your family," Gardevoir replied simply. "And if anything I have come to understand about you humans is correct then it is your natural instinct is to try and blame someone. But it should not be you."

"You're right," Felkan nodded, clenching his fists tightly. "You're absolutely right. It was those criminals, those _humans_, who did this. Oak said that she was shot. Not hit with a stray Hyper Beam or something – shot! Guns might be a rarity but they are definitely only a human thing. I told you that humans cannot be trusted, Gardevoir, did I not? This is what they do! They invaded the place where my mother was working and for what? To steal something precious for their own personal gain, that's what. And my mother, she worked for her own gain too – that's why she was never there for me. She was always focused on her work. Humans are selfish creatures. They always will be."

Gardevoir's lip tightened and she fell silent. She didn't bother to argue with him, but it was at times like this that she felt her heart wrench the most. She had no doubt that if it were not for her continued support – as well as that of the others but her in particular – Felkan would have broken down a long time ago. But it was at times like this that she was also shown just how far he had gone from the Felkan that she had known and loved so dearly. That love had not abated in the slightest, but she desperately wanted Felkan to see that he was far too judgemental, way too consumed by bitterness.

And unfortunately, frustratingly, that seemed to be the one thing that she seemed to be unable to do. Felkan listened to her advice and words on every other subject but this. He valued her input more than anybody else's. But when it came to this subject, it was like a stone wall suddenly appeared around his brain. And with this most recent piece of news, that wall had just grown a couple of stories taller and a couple of yards thicker.

Gardevoir had long since vowed to do everything she could to break that wall into rubble and make Felkan see sense. But she needed help. She felt her eyes almost unconsciously turn to look at the Digimon and their human and Twi'lek friends. Them. It would have to be them. Her trying to convince Felkan now would be pointless, hence why she didn't bother. She'd heard all his arguments before. And to be honest her contact with humans other than Felkan himself was just as limited as his had been.

The Digimon were different though. They had probably seen the best and worst of humanity in their time. If there was anyone who might be able to change Felkan's mind, it was probably them.

"Hey Felkan!" Henry called, stepping up towards the bottom of the rocks. "Look… I… I just wanted to… to say… er… about what we learned earlier…"

Felkan rounded on him before he could get any further with such ferocity that Henry took several steps back. "Save it!" he snapped. "I don't need or want to hear anything you have to say for yourself. Especially about this. Got it!"

Gardevoir winced. One way or another she would help fix Felkan's attitude – get him back to the way he had been. Close contact with these humans would help, but right now the tensions between them were too high. Henry lapsed into silence. Gardevoir he felt sorry for Felkan, but didn't really know what to do about it. Rika, on the other hand, didn't like him. That was clear. Felkan's attitude annoyed her greatly, and though she knew where he was coming from her own pity was greatly lessened. Ai and Mako were scared of him and Suzie couldn't seem to make up her mind as to what to think about him.

And Felkan quite clearly wasn't going to listen to them. Aayla perhaps, but she was quite close to human herself.

It was the Digimon she needed to get the help of. And quickly, before more of Felkan's bitterness could build up with this new information.

She was about to reach out and contact them when Milotic suddenly fountained out of the water nearby, making most of the group jump in surprise as the water sloshed around her. The Tender Pokémon's eyes were twinkling and there was a smile quite clearly evident on her pointed face.

"That was quick," remarked Terriermon. "Are you sure you went anywhere?"

Milotic chuckled. "I can swim very fast when I want to," she informed the bunny as she slithered further into the shallows.

"Did you find anything?" Felkan asked.

"Oh yes," Milotic beamed. "It couldn't have gotten more convenient actually. We have our rides."

And behind her, more creatures began to rise out of the water, creatures that the newcomers did not recognise, but everybody else did. They were definitely Pokémon adapted to ocean life and each one had peaceful and kind expressions on their large faces. Their necks were long and blue, their draconic heads with a single blunt horn sticking out the top and small curled projections out the back like ears. Four large blue flippers and a short tail emerged out from a large grey shell that adorned their main torsos, covering their backs, stomachs and sides like giant turtles, but with short projections dotted at various points across the back. They smiled at the group on the beach, while Milotic looked triumphant.

This time Felkan smiled a genuine smile, momentarily forgetting his emotional torment. "Oh, you're a wonder, Milotic," he said. "You always did make friends easily."

"Thank you," Milotic smiled modestly. "But you know, Lapras are one of the friendliest ocean-going Pokémon there are anyway so it wasn't exactly difficult. They agreed to help us almost immediately. I haven't even told them why we want to go there yet."

They were indeed Lapras – five of them, and they seemed to float on top of the water as if they had suddenly been filled with air. The Lapras closest to Milotic grinned and replied with a female voice, "Well, how could we refuse? We don't get Milotic around these parts anymore. We were eager to meet the rest of your companions."

"And there are some of them that I don't recognise," another Lapras said, this one a male.

"Lapras, huh?" Terriermon noted. "Well, that _is_ convenient. Nice big shells to sit on _and_ you float. Awesome."

"Why thank you," the female Lapras smiled. "Our kind were and occasionally still are used as ferries between islands before humans invented boats to carry them instead. We aim to please. Now then, all aboard and let's be on our way. It's a long way to the Seafoam Islands and I got the impression from your Milotic friend that you were in a hurry."

"We are," Aayla nodded, stepping forwards. "If you could get us there, we would be exceedingly grateful."

"Then there is not a moment to waste," the Lapras said cheerfully. "Hop on and we'll get going."

"Alright!" Terriermon grinned, leaping into the air and soaring over to land on the head of one of the five Lapras. "All aboard the Lapras Express. Passengers with sea-sickness should note the barfing is not permitted on board the shell. If barfing on the shell takes place, the perpetrator must give the Lapras a thorough waxing upon arrival."

Terriermon's narration might have been silly, but it did its job, breaking a good deal of the tension that had built up over the group in recent minutes. As one, the large gathering began to move forwards, heading towards the lapping surf and the waiting Lapras.

All except one.

Charizard coughed and said, "Er… excuse me Felkan but, I think I would prefer to sit this one out. Water… doesn't exactly agree with me." He glanced pointedly over his shoulder at the flickering tip of his tail.

"Oh yeah, I remember," Impmon stated as he took this in. "Doesn't your kind die if your tail-flame goes out?"

Charizard grimaced, but nodded. "Yes. It is unfortunate, but true. Our tail-flames represent our current health. That," he jerked a thumb at said flame. "Indicates that I am in my prime and fit and strong. But of course, water does not do it any favours."

"Isn't that kinda a flawed system?" Impmon asked bluntly. "What happens when it rains?"

Charizard snorted. "You think that a rain-shower could put my tail-flame out? Heck no. That flame is powered by my inner strength. A measly thing like rain doesn't do a thing to it. It's also immune to being put out by other Pokémon's water attacks. In fact, I could immerse my tail flame in that ocean and it still probably wouldn't go out for at least two minutes. And then when I pulled it out it would replenish itself quickly provided there was some part of it left. It's much more of a problem for my lower stages than it is for a Charizard like me. But still, I would rather not risk it. I'd prefer to sit it out in my Pokeball this time."

Felkan nodded. "Fair enough," he said. "Charizard, return." He quickly lifted the appropriate ball and absorbed Charizard back inside with the beam, before he turned and waded wordlessly into the surf. Gardevoir teleported herself neatly onto the back of a Lapras and Felkan made his way towards the same one. The rest of the Pokémon, except Latios and Latias, made their way out as well, clambering aboard the larger Pokémon and settling themselves down. Houndoom, who was also a Fire type, seemed to have little problem with the water in comparison, and he hopped across one of the broad backs of the Lapras group with ease.

Helping Ai and Mako along, as the two of them were not very experienced at swimming but were capable of doing it, the Digimon and Tamers all clambered aboard the same Lapras, and Aayla was right behind them when she stopped and frowned. To the Twi'lek, separating all of their little group aboard a single Lapras quite clearly showed her the divide that there still was in their group. She and Renamon shared a look and the fox nodded encouragingly, so Aayla changed trajectory and bounded smoothly onto the Lapras that held Lucario, Swellow, Glaceon and Sceptile.

"Are we all on?" one of the Lapras asked.

"I believe so," Aayla nodded, standing by its neck and balancing on its back with ease.

"Then let's go." And they did, the five Lapras turning slowly around and making their way out towards the open ocean, slowly at first but picking up speed as they went along. They seemed to be able to go quite fast for Pokémon who were barely using their flippers to propel themselves forwards. "If you don't mind we'll take the route to the Seafoam Islands via Cinnabar," the lead Lapras said. "It's a slightly longer journey but easier to navigate from the surface. Minimises the chance of bypassing the Islands and having to double back."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Aayla chuckled. "But please hurry. The sooner we get there the better. We have important business with one of the Seafoam Islands residents."

"Or at least we hope we do," Lopmon called across from their own Lapras. "Let's not forget that Professor Oak said that the one we seek might not even be there anymore. If it was ever there at all. It sounds pessimistic to say it, I suppose, but we should probably prepare for the worst."

There was a general murmur of agreement from most of the group.

* * *

Mako shuddered as he stared out at the massive ocean all around them, glancing back towards land which was already beginning to recede into the distance. "This is scary," he murmured quietly, shuddering and gripping one of the projections on the Lapras' shell. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all. What if we go so far out that we can't see land anymore?"

Impmon grimaced. "Hate to break it to ye, kiddo," he patted Mako on the shoulder with a gloved hand. "But that's pretty much exactly what we're going to do. We have to get to an island after all. Islands are sometimes a long way away from the rest of the land."

Mako looked like he was going to be sick, and he glanced over the side of the Lapras and into the pale blue water. Ai didn't look much better. Humans, especially kids, had a primordial fear of the unknown, and that fear was beginning to kick in for the both of them. The Lapras ride itself was surprisingly smooth, the large Pokémon breaking through the swells with ease and keeping themselves level so sea-sickness wasn't an issue. But the idea of there being no land for miles… it was already beginning to terrify the poor twins. And they had barely gone anywhere yet.

Plus, who knew what was lurking down there? Did they have sharks in this world? Did they have things that were even worse?

Renamon noticed their distress almost instantly and knelt down beside them. "Do not worry, you two," she smiled warmly, a look of confidence spreading over her face – she knew that the most important thing was to reassure the twins that there was nothing to fear and the best way to do that was to act fearless herself. "These Lapras seem to be sturdy Pokémon. I'm sure that they'll get us to where we need to go quickly enough. And there's no reason to fear the ocean as long as they're around."

"You really think so?" Ai asked.

"Absolutely," Renamon nodded. "And, if worse comes to worse, we will be more than capable of protecting you ourselves. And we have our own sea creature back-up do we not?" she nodded to the side, where Milotic had just flung her long body out of the water, arcing gracefully over the surface before falling back down with a great, wet slap. She was like a big dolphin and was clearly enjoying herself very much. "Does she look worried?"

"No, she doesn't," Ai observed.

"Well there you go then," Renamon smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

"You know, reassuring the kids is supposed to be my job," Impmon folded his arms and gave her a mock glare. Renamon chuckled and stood up, before turning around and locking eyes with Rika, then Terriermon. They were all thinking the same thing. They couldn't let the twins see it, but they too were feeling slightly uneasy.

Water was the one medium that the Digimon were next to useless in. Fighting on the ground was not a problem – they had done it all the time. Fighting in the air was equally easy. All of them had forms that were capable of taking out flying opponents swiftly and decisively, especially Terriermon in his Ultimate form. But water… water was a whole different ball game. None of them had aquatic forms in their Digivolution lines. If something did attack, the Digimon would be next to helpless to respond.

But they said nothing. They merely tried to look confident for the benefit of the twins and turned to watch the receding shoreline of Pallet Town behind them.

Latias swooped down from overhead and grinned cheekily, her voice echoing in the minds of all of them except the twins. _You guys need to relax. Your projecting practical forecfields of uneasiness. Nothing's going to go wrong. Lapras are quite sturdy Pokémon – everything will be fine._

_That's all well enough for you to say up there,_ Impmon pointed out a little shortly.

_I admit that we do not usually fly so low over the surface, _Latios said as he lowered himself down to fly alongside them. _But_ _Latias is right. As we said before, most Pokémon are friendly creatures, and there are few creatures in this ocean which are _not_ Pokémon._

_Perhaps,_ Renamon admitted. _But I would feel more comfortable if I knew what it was that we did have to look out for. Are there any Pokémon which _might_ be more than willing to give us grief? In general, I mean._

Both of the Eon twins looked at one another for a moment, before they both said the same thing at the same time:-

_Gyarados._

_Gyarados? _Terriermon blinked. _What are they? Some kind of cough drop?_

Latias sniggered, but then her face straightened and she said, _No, definitely not. Gyarados are large sea-serpent Pokémon, roughly about the same size as Milotic, except perhaps slightly larger. They have a reputation for being extremely bad-tempered, as in their anger gets the better of them for the smallest of reasons. And when they start rampaging, as they are prone to do, it can be incredibly difficult to stop them. They'll destroy everything in their path if they get the opportunity._

Henry grimaced. _And what are the odds of us encountering a Gyarados on this voyage?_

_They are not common Pokémon,_ reassured Latios. _And in any case, a Gyarados would probably be easy to deal with for some of us. Milotic is the exact opposite of a Gyarados – she has the ability to soothe incredible anger with relative ease, so if one did decide to rampage at us, she could calm it down quickly. They're not evil Pokémon, just perpetually angry, and with Milotic here that should be easy to deal with and they'll become calm as she is now. And if one does persist… well, they are extremely weak to Electric attacks, and several of Felkan's Pokémon have access to at least one electric attack. But that should be a last resort._

_Well, that's reassuring,_ Lopmon smiled. _Is there anything else that we should watch out for?_

_Not really,_ Latias shrugged. _Well, perhaps a bad-tempered Tentacruel might take a swipe at you if you provoked it and a Sharpedo might go for you if it thought it could take you but I doubt it would try. Sharpedo have very low defences and they can't really risk injury in a hunt, and the size of this group would convince them to try elsewhere._

_I'd just relax and enjoy the ride, if I were you,_ Latias flipped upside-down so she was floating just above their heads. _Our world is a wonderful one most of the time. Just try and appreciate it instead of worrying about it, I say. _

_That is your general attitude to most things,_ Latios muttered dryly.

_She's right though,_ Terriermon grinned, leaning back again the Lapras' horn and putting his small hands behind his head. "Think of this as a cruise," he added out loud. "Have fun while we can and then get serious when we get near our destination. Life slows down and gets dull if you're serious all the time."

"Or if you're serious at all, in your case," Henry threw in

"Oh, so unfair. You wound me," Terriermon placed a hand theatrically over his heart and his tongue lolled out. Even some of the other Pokémon noticed his behaviour and chuckled slightly.

Milotic surfaced next to them, a huge smile adorning her face. She was clearly taking Terriermon's words to heart as she undulated through the water and she said, "You know, maybe you guys should take a look down there. Under the water, I mean. It's been so long since I've been in the ocean that even I'm almost swept away by everything down there. It's beautiful. Vibrant. A picture-perfect example of what the natural parts of this world are like as a whole."

"I always did like SCUBA diving," Henry chuckled. "But I'm afraid that we don't really have the right equipment and I feel dunking our heads in might be a bit impractical."

"I could give it a go," Terriermon voiced. "Most of you could see what I was looking at through the link, if this lovely Lapras would be so kind as to dunk her own head in with me still here."

Aayla overheard him from the neighbouring Lapras and called across, "Then you'll be wanting this then, Terriermon!" She unhooked something from the back of her waist which had been hidden from view and lobbed it across at Terriermon. He caught it deftly with an ear and blinked when he saw it was Aayla's rebreather, which had been one of the few things she had been able to reproduce from her universe with the materials in the Human World.

"You had this with you the whole time?" he asked.

Aayla winked. "Never hurts to be prepared," she said. "Standard Jedi issue."

Terriermon grinned and fitted the device in his mouth, before tapping the Lapras on the head and saying, "Arih. Dwn pli."

The Lapras chuckled and said, "My pleasure," before lowering her head down into the waves while the rest of her stayed on top. As Terriermon was submerged with her he closed his eyes automatically, but after a moment or two he forced himself to open them. He turned to the side and saw Milotic, barrel-rolling through the water off to his left. She turned and gave him a wink of her own, before she motored ahead with kicks of her tail and Terriermon looked over the head of the Lapras to the ocean beyond.

He was immediately enraptured.

They were quite a way from the shore by this point but they were still in relatively shallow water, brightly lit by the high sun which pierced its bright rays through the clean and clear water. Terriermon could see the bottom with ease, where it was covered in an abundance of corals and sponges like an ordinary reef, but the other life was like nothing he had ever witnessed before. There were water Pokémon _everywhere_.

A shoal of brightly coloured Goldeen glided low over the tops of the coral, swimming serenely and almost lazily through the water at their leisure, passing by a couple of Shellder who were shuffling across a boulder to the best of their Bivalve ability, their tongues lolling out at they tried to make sense of where they were going. Three Chinchou moved slowly amongst the darker crevices of the reef, their bright yellow lights glowing and illuminating the way for them, but they backed away quickly when their foraging disturbed a group of Tentacool which swarmed out from where they had been hiding to pulsate off in many different directions.

The ocean around them was practically littered with dozens and dozens of Magikarp, which squirmed their way cluelessly through life, staring ahead of them with their wide eyes and wondering when they would evolve. A quartet of Poliwag was joyfully winding its way between the orange fish, possibly playing tag with each other and trying to use the other aquatic Pokémon for cover. A large Starmie came spinning through the water to briefly break up the game before it settled down on the reef with a group of smaller Staryu and watched the world go by around them without faces.

One of the Tentacool went over to investigate a small Qwilfish, which promptly got agitated and swelled up to the size of a large balloon, large spikes threatening anything that got too close and the Tentacool wisely decided not to bother this particular fish. A large number of Krabby were marching in single file sideways across the sea-bed in a crevice between the coral, their pincers clacking in time with one another as if they were trying to strike up a tune with them. A Barboach wriggled out of the mud in front of the lead Krabby and wriggled away, almost colliding with a large Gorebyss which was streaking its way through the water nearby, twirling in circles as it guarded what appeared to be a bunch of clams, which opened up a moment later to reveal that they too were Pokémon – Clamperl, to be exact.

Terriermon turned round to the other side towards the more open ocean and started when he saw a line of enormous Mantine winging their way effortlessly through the water and attempting to feed on passing nutrients, smaller and cuter looking Mantyke darting between the adults and trying to overturn one another and generally getting in the way like most kids do. A graceful Lumineon swam out from behind the back of the Mantine and regarded Terriermon for a moment before dismissing him and moving on, followed by a large Seaking which looked to Terriermon to be a bit lovesick for some reason.

Suddenly, right in front of Terriermon, a fish that had been attached to one of the Mantine, known as a Remoraid, detached itself and sank several metres, looking slightly surprised as its body began to glow. Terriermon watched in fascination as its now blazing body blew out and expanded into a new shape and when the light faded the newly formed Octillery scooted away through the water and towards the reef. It tried to settle on it, but the coral suddenly came to life beneath it, revealing it had tried to sit on a bunch of Corsola which were less than pleased with the arrangement and bounced up and down until he quickly jetted away again, passing over a gathering of Horsea which were floating just above the corals and socialising with one another.

Terriermon could feel in his head that all the others were appreciating what he was seeing too. _Oh my goodness,_ Henry was murmuring. _This is… wonderful. It's amazing._

_It's so vibrant,_ Rika agreed. _So full of life. There's creatures _everywhere._ And all living in close proximity to humans as well. This is, literally, just like what we always wanted back home._

_True,_ Renamon agreed. _I don't think the Digital World is this full of life in any part of it, even if it is full of life in general. It's just… teeming here. It's fantastic._

The Lapras lifted its head out of the water, carrying Terriermon up with it, and the bunny grinned as he plucked the rebreather out of his mouth and tossed it out over the waves, the small device altering its trajectory and zipping into Aayla's hand. The Twi'lek grinned and reclasped it to her belt.

"Any sign of anything dangerous down there?" Mako asked a little nervously.

"Nah," Terriermon grinned, lifting up his ears to let them drip-dry. "Everything was incredibly peaceful and serene. No sign of anything that would think about attacking these Lapras or Milotic. Everything's fine."

"See," Latias said as she hovered down lower. "What did I say? You don't need to worry about a thing. We'll reach the Seafoam Islands and convince Articuno to join us in no time, you mark my words. In the meantime though… TAG!" she suddenly planted her small hand on Terriermon's forehead beneath his horn and tipped him off the Lapras' head. Terriermon yelped and flared his ears, catching himself before he could drop into the water and powering himself upwards.

"Oh, I am going to get you for that," he said warningly, and rocketed up towards her. Latias shrieked and whirled about to zip away, Terriermon in hot pursuit. The others down below watched in amusement as the small bunny pursued the giggling dragonelle in several tight circles through the air, continually drawing closer and then falling behind. Those that knew Latias were more than aware that she could leave Terriermon behind in a second flat – both she and her brother were extremely fast. But she was clearly pacing herself for the sake of the game.

"Why is it?" Impmon asked. "That no matter where we go, we always encounter someone with an eagerness to play things like tag?"

"I guess it's a universal game," Lopmon remarked as they watched Latias and Terriermon slalom their way around the necks of the various Lapras, Terriermon shooting ahead to try and cut Latias off and failing when Latias switched trajectory and shot straight upwards.

Latios watched his sister with affection. Sometimes he wished that he himself could be a little bit more carefree. Latias was like a child at heart – she rarely took things seriously and was determined to have fun no matter where they were. It was like her job perhaps. As he watched her spinning and laughing and diving, he remembered the days when they were younger, when he himself had been less of a 'worrywart.' The two of them had had nonstop fun for centuries, but then a couple of humans had come dangerously close to catching them and Latios had switched tack, realising that one of them had to act seriously in order to look out for both of them.

He sighed, watching as Terriermon swooped down on his sister from above and attempted to catch her and, once again, failed. In some small way, Latios felt like he had been slightly replaced by this small Digimon. He was filling the role that he used to fill with his sister, and they were both clearly enjoying themselves. The two of them were so alike, so their newfound friendship was hardly a surprise but still… why had Uxie insisted that they needed to travel together? What was so important about their meeting that they had to go out on this ludicrous quest and…

"TAG!" Terriermon cried, bopping him on the forehead as both he and Latias zipped past. Latios blinked. He had not been paying attention and suddenly he was supposed to be a part of the game.

"Huh? What…? I…" he began to protest, but when he turned around, he saw that Latias was giving him her best puppy-dog-eye look. She looked like that most of the time anyway, but this time she was putting some real effort into it. Latios sighed. He always found it difficult to resist that look. And there were many others who would be watching out for danger at this moment so… oh, what the hell.

"You asked for it," he smirked, and shot forwards. Latias and Terriermon rolled aside and the game began anew, with Latios also pacing himself – as he was even faster than Latias – and whooshing around in pursuit of the other two creatures. As he passed over the head of the Lapras holding the other Digimon, he looked down and saw Lopmon grinning up at them and he thought, _Why not? Uxie said that I had to bond with her as well._

Lopmon yelled as a blue glow appeared around her body and she was hoisted into the air by some invisible force. Latios smirked as he carried Lopmon upwards with his psychic abilities and carefully tapped her on the back of the head and said, "Tag," before he also zipped away, leaving Lopmon in his wake. Lopmon caught herself with her ears and sighed, grinned and joined in herself, yelling, "No more powers from this point on, alright?"

* * *

As the game unfolded, Aayla smiled as she watched from down below. They might be on a serious mission, but she was glad that the others were still able to have fun. In a sense, it grounded them – it made it less likely that they would think too hard on the sheer impossibility of the task laid out before them. And odds are that they were going to need that soon.

Professor Oak's words about the elusiveness of all the Legendary Pokémon were still ringing in her ears. The wandering beasts, the time-travelling Celebi, the absent Ho-oh, the deep-sea Lugia and Kyogre, the missing Darkrai, and of course the mysterious Legendary nobody seemed to know anything about. It all seemed to pile up against each other. But at least they were able to enjoy the ride and bond with their sudden new team-mates.

Feeling that she should be doing a little bonding of her own, Aayla turned to her fellow passengers and said, "Hey Swellow, why don't you go and join them up there?"

Swellow ruffled his feathers. "Are you kidding? Over water? There's no decent thermals over water. I might be a fast bird with strong flight muscles but I can't fly effortlessly like Latios and Latias can. I'd prefer to keep my energy in reserve, just in case I end up needing it."

Aayla nodded. "That sounds wise to me. You Pokémon are all so fascinating. So different in so many ways and yet the same in many others, just like the Digimon. I'd love to know more about your world?"

Sceptile chuckled and sat up from where he had been relaxing in the sun. "Well, you're the oddity here," he observed. "To us, you are the fascinating one. I think I speak for all of us when I say that _we_ want to know more about _you_ and _your_ world. A lot of what you've said so far made little sense to us."

"Understandable, I suppose," Aayla nodded, with a chuckle. "I know I was fascinated by the Digital World when the Digimon appeared in my own dimension."

"And you still owe me that duel," Scyther called across from another Lapras.

Aayla laughed. "Indeed. But I don't think that the back of a Lapras is a very good place for a sword-fight."

"Too right," the Lapras muttered.

"But I did make another promise," Aayla observed, turning to Lucario, who was standing easily balanced on the Lapras just as she was. "And that was a promise to you… my Padawan," she chuckled. "Perhaps now, while we are adrift and currently relaxed as we are would be a good time to begin the exchange of ideas and abilities that we promised we would attempt."

Lucario pondered it for a moment, before nodding. "I agree," he said. "I too am fascinated by your world, but perhaps I can learn more about it at other times, like during preparations to settle down for the night. How should we begin? Will you attempt to show me some how to utilise some of your abilities first, or shall I try with you?"

"A Jedi's training is not instantaneous," Aayla remarked. "There are several stages that we have to go through before we can utilise certain powers. But since you say you have limited telekinetic skill already then perhaps the best place to start would be there, and helping you to improve it. Have you ever been taught by anyone before?"

Lucario shook his head. "All that I know I have taught myself through the basic knowledge passed down through our species. Perhaps I could be more powerful if I had a fully-fledged Aura Guardian to guide me, but perhaps you and your similar abilities will do the job perfectly well instead. How do we begin?"

"I think some basic meditation," Aayla smiled. "It seems appropriate, what with the relaxing sounds of the waves, and four powerful creatures playing tag above our heads."

Lucario nodded. "Good idea. It might also help us to sort out the difference between Aura and the Force in our heads."

"And its similarities," agreed Aayla, settling down and folding her legs, placing her hands on her knees. "And perhaps later we can try for some levitation. Like this."

"Wh-hey!" Glaceon suddenly cried out as he was lifted off the back of the Lapras and hovered there, flailing slightly. There was no psychic glow like there was when Latios had lifted Lopmon but Glaceon was definitely not doing this of his own volition. Several of the other nearby Pokémon chuckled as the fox-like Pokémon sighed and hung there for a while before Aayla place him back on the ground. "Why do I get the feeling I've just been drafted as a test dummy?" he muttered.

"Don't worry, Glaceon," Aayla laughed. "It's perfectly safe."

"It better be," Glaceon muttered.

* * *

And so the journey continued, with everyone getting a little more relaxed as time went on. It was difficult not to be relaxed considering the circumstances. Even if they were on a serious mission to locate a Legendary Pokémon and save two worlds, the gentle sound of the waves and the utter serenity that came from being carried by a group of Lapras seemed to spread an almost eerie sense of calm over the group. Even Ai and Mako settled down, even though they had long since lost sight of the shore and were still heading further out to sea.

Terriermon and Lopmon were eventually forced to stop their game of tag, losing energy as they had to keep flapping to stay aloft, but the two of them began to communicate with Latios and Latias a little more, sharing stories of their pasts.

Glaceon did indeed become a dummy for levitation testing, as Aayla attempted to coach Lucario into strengthening his mind and using it. The Aura Pokémon had extremely advanced sensing abilities but he had never really attempted to use his Aura to do much more physical than form an Aura Sphere. Not seriously anyway. But Aayla was a patient teacher, and Lucario a patient learner.

And everybody else, even the studiously alert Garchomp, who alternatively took to the air or settled back on the Lapras to keep a look-out, eventually began to relax, and watch Milotic as she played and splashed through the surface waters with pure unrestrained elation.

But there was one member of the group who was not soothed by the experience and paid absolutely no attention to anybody else and that, obviously, was Felkan. His mind was still raging, warring with itself about how the most recent blow to his brain was making him feel. His mother was dead, so his natural instinct was to get both sad and angry, but at the same time he had a growing feeling of resentment in his mind. Resentment directed at her, rather than her killers.

As always, Gardevoir was sitting next to him, her hands holding his arm tenderly as a constant reminder that she was there to support him and she could tell he acknowledged her presence with his mind, but he still didn't turn to look at her. He didn't turn to look at anybody. He just sat there, staring vaguely at his shadow and extremely warped reflection on the water surface. Every now and then the other Pokémon would look over at him, wondering if he was alright, but Gardevoir had no answer for them and Felkan didn't seem to have one either.

Eventually, Gardevoir decided that his mind had settled enough – had grasped the concept that his mother was no longer in this world enough – for action to be taken. His confusion was building still, but now he would be less likely to lash out at anybody attempting to console him, and perhaps he would be more likely to listen in return. She knew Felkan well and judged that now was the time.

She turned and sent a mental plea across to the four Digimon, who were on the Lapras at the far end of the row of five. All four of them looked up and turned to face her, their eyes meeting with hers and clearly seeing the hurt in them, as well as the worry and the hope. They knew what she was asking, and the three of them looked at each other for a moment, seeming to discuss something for a moment, before Lopmon lifted herself into the air and glided around the Lapras to settle down next to Felkan, gripping the Lapras' neck with one ear and hanging off it half-way up, so she was level with Felkan's head.

Lopmon was the best choice for this. Terriermon was the best at making jokes and comments designed to pick people up in a desperate situation. Renamon was the best at offering advice and guidance about how to cope with tough spots and about a person's own strengths. Impmon was the best and distracting people's attention away from a problem entirely. But when it came to sentimentality, Lopmon was the clear choice out of the four of them.

"Hey," she said.

Felkan jerked. He had not registered her presence and his head whipped around, eyes narrowing as he glared at the small brown bunny level with his head. "What do you want?" he growled, a little shortly.

"Nothing," Lopmon replied. "But I was wondering if _you_ wanted something. Like, perhaps to talk about what is clearly on your mind?"

"I don't need to talk to you," Felkan looked away.

"Maybe," Lopmon replied. "But I think that you do need to talk to somebody and it might as well be me. It might be an old saying to say that keeping things bottled up is not a good idea, but it's true nevertheless. I would like to help you if I can, but I can't unless you tell me what's preying on your mind."

Felkan looked resentful for a few moments, but eventually his expression softened a little bit. Lopmon was vaguely surprised. He didn't look angry now. He looked… lost. Yes, that was it – lost. He didn't really know what he was supposed to do next, where he was supposed to go from here. And Lopmon got the feeling that he hadn't for quite some time. But now more than ever.

"My mother's dead," Felkan muttered. "Isn't it natural to be sad when something like that happens."

"Perhaps," Lopmon nodded. "But I was under the impression that you didn't like other humans."

"I don't," Felkan growled. "And I never will again. But… but still… I just found out that my mother has been dead for several years and I never even knew about it."

"Do you miss her?" Lopmon asked.

"No," Felkan snorted. "Why would I? She was never there for me – not really? When I was growing up, she would only ever come back home to visit me for one weekend every month or so. And sometimes, especially when I grew older, she would even skip a month from time to time. Two days with my mother every month and barely a word in between. That's just twenty-four days every year that I even saw her. Sure, when she was there she was all kind and understanding and loving but she didn't know me. And I didn't know her. Not really."

"What about when you went on your Pokémon journey?" Lopmon asked. "It was age ten, right? How many times did you see her after that?"

"Twice," Felkan chuckled bitterly. "Once, when I ran into her by accident in Evergrande City and a second time when she was brought onto a news set with me to talk about me after I won the Sinnoh tournament and before… all this happened. I only saw or heard from my mother twice in four years. How sad is that? I got the feeling that she only came back to see me every so often out of some kind of obligation to me anyway. She told me she loved me, but how could I know that for sure when she was never around? Can you answer that, Digimon?"

Lopmon sighed. "You have had it rough," she said.

"You think?" Felkan said, deadpan.

"But still, now that you know your mother is dead, you feel like you should be sad, but you're also not sure why, right?" Lopmon guessed.

"Yes!" exploded Felkan suddenly, surging to his feet and leaving Gardevoir down on the ground. "Why? Why do I feel so upset by this? I barely knew my mother, and she barely knew me, and now that she's gone I just… I feel… guilty! Why do I feel guilty? Out of the fourteen years I lived before I left I probably spent a total maximum of one year with her in it. _If that_!"

"One year can still be a long time," Lopmon proffered.

"Not long enough," Felkan snarled. "Not for me. So why do I feel so upset by this news?"

"Because you are human," Lopmon reiterated. "Whether you like other humans or not is irrelevant – you are still one of them. It is not something to be ashamed of, but since you're human you are subject to the same emotions as everyone else. A close connection to your parents is a very common commodity in people. They brought you into this world after all, and that leaves a mark. Even if you didn't know your mother particularly well, even if she wasn't there for you when you needed her, you still cared about her. She never did anything to actively hurt you and destroy the feelings of love you feel after all, so the fact that you feel sad is perfectly normal."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Felkan muttered.

"Don't I?" Lopmon raised a brow. "I can tell you that in my time as a partner to Suzie I have seen both the best and the worst of humanity. Their emotional attachments are one of their best qualities, as well as their relationships to their family. I never knew my own parents. I'm not entirely sure that I _had_ any. But a human's relationship with their parents is a beautiful thing. Even one as botched as yours seems to be."

Felkan said nothing for several moments, but his fist had tightened over one of the projections on the Lapras' shell.

Eventually, he just said, "She was… my family."

"Yes," Lopmon nodded. "While your Pokémon might be your family as of now, your mother was your family by blood. It leaves a mark. You can try to deny that you loved her, but you did. And you know you did. You shouldn't need me to tell you that."

"Fine, alright," Felkan sighed. "I admit it, I did. Until Gardevoir came into my life, my mother's visits were the only things that I ever looked forward to. And… I did miss her when she left. So… so much." He clenched his teeth. He was _not_ about to break down in front of everyone. Not for any reason. He felt Gardevoir's hand slipping into his and clasped it tightly, mentally thanking her for her silent support. "And now I feel guilty too. Perhaps guilty that… I wasn't there to help her, maybe."

"From the sound of things, it's unlikely that you would have been there at the time of the robbery even if you hadn't gone into exile," Lopmon stated, a little bluntly. "There is no reason to feel guilty and I am sure that she would tell you that. But I can tell there's something else that's bothering you too, isn't there?"

"I wanted to know her more," Felkan looked up, his eyes filled with such a haunted look that Lopmon almost blanched. "I wanted her to be in my life more, but she never was. There are so many questions I would ask her. Such as, why did she choose her career over me after dad died? Why would she leave me with someone who just didn't care about me instead of finding me a proper home? Where was she all those times when I needed her?"

"You wanted to hash things out with her, didn't you?" Lopmon sighed. "Let her know how you really felt."

"I never did when she came over," Felkan nodded. "I didn't want anything to spoil the time that we did have together." He briefly wondered why he was suddenly pouring out his soul to this Lopmon, when he still resented her a little for dragging him out of the life he had led for the last five years and back into this troubling mission. But it seemed that once he had begun, he was unable to stop himself.

"Well," Lopmon smiled sadly. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss. I cannot really relate to it, having never lost one of my closest family members, but I have lost friends before, in battle. Good people all."

"Sorry to hear it," muttered Felkan, turning back to face the ocean.

"Thank you," Lopmon nodded. "Do you feel better?"

"A little," Felkan admitted, but then his free fist clenched down and his face twisted into a scowl. "But despite the problems I had with my mother, there's one more fact that sticks out quite clearly in my mind. It was humans who did this. Other humans who shot her dead for some pretty looking trinket or whatever it was they went to steal. Humans are the most selfish, destructive things on the planet. I will never trust them again. Not after this."

"You cannot think like that," Lopmon said sharply. "Please, Felkan, just listen to me. Humans are not the bad guys. Not all of them. In fact, not most of them."

"You would say that," Felkan said harshly. "After all, you follow that little human girl around everywhere. I can see where your loyalties would stand."

Lopmon felt a slight flare of irritation at him for that remark, but she didn't let it reach her face. Instead, she said, "You know, I am quite glad that you put it like that, because I think the same could be said of your own Pokémon. They've been mistreated and isolated by other humans just as much as you have in many cases. I can tell that Luxray and Houndoom haven't had the best of times with other humans. Milotic said she was abandoned by a spoilt girl. And we don't even need to get started on what happened with Absol. But despite their grievances with humans, they still follow you, don't they? You're human. They know it. You know it. But they do it anyway."

"That's different," Felkan protested.

"No, it isn't," Lopmon shook her head. "It's exactly the same. They say that there is an exception to every rule. But do you really believe… do you _really,_ _truly_ believe that _you_ are the exception in a rule of all humans are not to be trusted? Because you aren't. And if you think you do, that is quite an arrogant approach to things. However, I don't think that you really do. You are human. You are the same as other humans in so many ways, but your Pokémon's loyalties remain with you. They don't condemn you to the disapproval that you have given to other humans, do they?"

"Well… no, but…" Felkan started, but then he trailed off. He couldn't come up with a decent counter-argument.

"Humans have their flaws," Lopmon relented. "In fact, as far as I have seen, humans are an extremely flawed species in many ways. I have seen the bad things they are capable of, both in real life and on the news.

"In the world we come from, humans despoil everything they can't use, and a lot of the stuff they can. They're tearing down the natural world in many places, killing thousands of animals ever year, polluting their own environment with little thought to the future.

"And there are many who are evil and twisted in so many ways. We have suffered at their hands. There are those who murder, those who steal and loot and destroy. There are those who do unspeakably cruel things to other creatures, including other humans, just for 'a laugh,' as they put it. I would never be one to state that humans are saints. The ones who killed your mother are proof of that. And even the good humans are flawed. They give in easily to their fears and are too quick to follow the example of others. They do things which they know are wrong, but often mitigating circumstances makes them do it anyway. They are violent and careless and conceited, believing themselves superior over all other creatures."

Felkan was staring at Lopmon in disbelief. Lopmon had just outlined, in detail, just about everything that he hated about humans. To hear a creature that made it her life to protect them, if everything they said was true, say that about them, kept his attention and kept him listening, waiting for what she was going to say next.

"But…" Lopmon went on, as Felkan knew she would. "I have worked closely with the Tamers for many years now. I have seen the unlimited good that humans can do, all the best things that they are capable of. When the need arises, they are capable of incredible acts of selflessness, putting their lives on the line, risking everything, to save that which they love, to protect those that they care about. The Tamers have very little connection to the Digital World as compared to we Digimon, but they were more than willing to jump straight into the fight if it would save lives. They have incredible potential as a force for good in any world.

"Take my Tamer, for instance, as well as the others over there. When we found ourselves trapped in Aayla's world, they never once thought about backing out of the war we had landed in. They never once thought they were out of their depth and try to step away. Never. My Tamer Suzie risked her life to save a stranger she didn't even know, despite the fact that she was terrified out of her mind. She literally stood in front of the man holding the gun and put her body between him and his quarry. Can you honestly tell me that a person like that should not be trusted?"

Felkan had no answer to that. Not one that he wanted to give anyway. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but seemed quite at a loss about what he was supposed to say or think next.

"I can give you examples about the others too," Lopmon nodded. "Henry risked his life by entering a maze of tunnels beneath a city, where dark forces had planted an anti-matter bomb, which would make a nuclear device look like a match-head lighting in comparison, and even though he was being shot at by dangerous robots Henry still persevered and disarmed the thing.

"Ai and Mako plunged headfirst into a universe that was literally made by darkness and ruled by one of the most powerful evil beings anywhere to rescue Impmon when he was captured and taken there.

"And Rika charged straight into a firefight with several other people in order to provide a vital distraction that would allow other members of our team to slip into an enormous and fortified Senate Building unnoticed. Not to mention punched a slaver who had been capturing and selling Twi'lek slaves in the face. I reiterate – do they sound like they kind of people who are not worthy of being trusted."

Felkan said nothing for several more seconds, but then eventually he relented and muttered, "No."

Lopmon nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "And they certainly aren't alone. There are many humans out there who would do the same thing as them. Humans generally have good hearts, Felkan, even if they often do bad things. You might not have seen much of their good sides in your life, but that doesn't mean its not there. You've just been unfortunate, but perhaps with the Tamers here, that can change now can it not?

"Even those who tried to commit terrible acts are not above redemption. There's a man in our world called Yamaki who once tried to destroy the Digital World and every living creature in it. But then he realised what a terrible goal that was and completely changed tack, becoming pivotal in the destruction of a powerful entity called the D-Reaper which was threatening to swallow our world.

"Perhaps you should reflect on that a little bit, Felkan. I won't expect you to change your mind on humans on my word alone, but I ask that you at least give us a chance. We Digimon are not so different from your own Pokémon. Our Tamers are not so different from you. And Aayla… well, she's a Jedi. The day I see Aayla intentionally doing something bad is the day that potatoes sprout gills and go for a swim."

Felkan stared at the bunny Digimon in disbelief for several more seconds, before Lopmon smiled and said, "I hope that you feel better," before she launched herself into the air and wheeled around to head back to her main group. Felkan spotted most of them staring over at him and looked away. No doubt a lot of them had been listening to the conversation and were trying to gauge his thoughts.

And what were his thoughts?

Well, the fire in Felkan's belly over the death of his mother had been put out. It still smouldered of course, and it was likely to for some time – the death of a parent was always likely to stay with you for some time before you could completely put it behind you; even an estranged parent like Felkan's mother.

And he certainly still didn't trust humans, not even the Tamers, but he had to admit that his beliefs on them, which had been iron-shod for all the five years of his exile, had been shaken. If half the things that Lopmon had said were true, how come he had never seen that aspect of humanity? How come it had never happened to him? And how come the most heroic thing he had seen another human do was run into a burning building to save a child that was blatantly her own and who had been just beyond the front door.

"You've been unlucky, Felkan," Gardevoir said, finally getting up to stand next to him. "But Lopmon is right. I might not be able to sense emotions and intent to the ability of other Gardevoir thanks to my missing horn," she poked at the red line on her chest where it should have been. "But I can tell that those Tamers are good people. As are their companions. And where some humans are good, who's to say there are not more? Many more? Just because we haven't been around that aspect of humanity does not mean it doesn't exist."

Felkan said nothing for a full minute. But eventually he wrapped an arm around Gardevoir's shoulders and pulled her close. "Perhaps," he said. "Perhaps."

Gardevoir smiled, though she didn't let Felkan see it. She had been right. She could tell that Lopmon had successfully planted the seed of doubt in Felkan's mind. It would take more than that to make the seed sprout and spread but there was a chink in the wall around Felkan's mind now. Hopefully that chink would soon widen outwards and, if everything went the way Gardevoir hoped it would, eventually crumble the wall away entirely.

In the meantime, they too began to enjoy the peaceful sensation of surfing through the gentle swells of the ocean, and watching Milotic frolicking in the water nearby.

* * *

It was a long trip, but the Lapras did not seem to tire. The long swim seemed to put them under very little exertion, and they were still going strong several hours later, when the sun was beginning to sink down the sky, marking the fact that the first day of their adventure was drawing to a close.

Everything seemed to be going well for the group. Milotic was still surging through the water like she owned it, Latios and Latias were getting along famously with the bunny twins, and Lucario was already making progress with his telekinetic skills. Glaceon was not that happy right now, but Lucario was already able to hold him in the air for a full minute before being forced to put him down. He already had the focus and concentration needed to accomplish the task – he just needed to work on strengthening it. And the more that both he and Aayla delved into the training, the more they found Aura and the Force to be similar. In fact, they had yet to come across a notable difference between them.

The rest of the Pokémon were stretched out across the backs of their Lapras escorts, enjoying themselves while they could. Luxray, true to form, spent most of the day sleeping, and Houndoom kept himself amused by coming up with different ways of waking him up, like blowing smoke up his nostrils or whapping him on the head with his spaded tail. Swellow preened his feathers, while Scyther spent a considerable amount of time honing his blades. Sceptile was fanning out his tail and taking in the late afternoon sun, and Garchomp was standing tall keeping an eye on the horizon, trying to spot Cinnabar Island in the distance.

Absol, on the other hand, spent most of the time asleep as well. He had not had a lot of opportunity for sleep over the last couple of months, and he was catching up while he could. To look at the group right now, you would never know that they were on a mission to save the world. Let alone two.

Eventually…

"There it is!" Garchomp suddenly called. "I can see an island in the distance! Is that Cinnabar?"

"Indeed it is," one of the Lapras smiled as the rest of the group was roused and looked off into the distance at the faint lump on the horizon which was the island ahead. "Directly south of where we set off. The Seafoam Islands are directly to the east of them. We're over halfway there now."

"Good," Swellow chuckled, flapping his wings. "I don't think this sea air is good for my feathers."

There was some chuckling from around the group, but then Absol's eyes suddenly shot open from where he had been sleeping. His head jerked upwards so suddenly that his horn poked Garchomp in his side. His swift movement drew the attention of everyone instantly, and Gardevoir, Lucario and Aayla could all sense sudden trepidation within him.

"Absol?" Felkan asked. "What is it?"

"Something's wrong," Absol murmured, so quietly that they had to strain to hear him. "Something's… coming."

* * *

And down below, oblivious to the sudden change in Absol's behaviour, Milotic was curling her way through the water about fifty-metres down, still enjoying the freedom of being out in the open ocean again after so long. She had missed this more than she had imagined. She crooned as she spun in a slow circle, with her eyes closed, seemingly at peace with the world.

Then she opened her eyes.

She faltered, coming to a halt in the water as she squinted into the distance in the direction of the island. There appeared to be some sort of shadow in the clear, blue water. A large shadow, which appeared to be getting larger and large, almost as if it were coming closer and closer.

Milotic swam a bit nearer, still squinting, watching as the shadow took on a more distinct shape, and became less and less a shadow and more and more real. It was clearly some kind of creature. Long and serpentine with a wide tail and a large, distinct head. Another Milotic perhaps? No, it was larger than her, and it appeared to have fins on its body. A Gyarados maybe? Milotic felt uneasy. Gyarados were temperamental at best, and she needed to be ready to calm this one down if it started to get angry for any reason.

But as it drew nearer and therefore grew clearer, Milotic's eyes widened. It was _not_ a Gyarados. It was not any Pokémon that Milotic had ever seen before. It shared their long and legless body, with large pectoral fins about a third of the way down its length, and smaller ones another third down. Its body was green with a white underbelly and occasional red stripes. It tail ended in a large red spade and its head was massive and… yellow… with gaping draconic jaws and fin-like projections on either side.

And it was not alone. As it drew closer, Milotic suddenly realised there was more than one. There were at least six of them and with jaws agape, they were undulating straight towards her.

* * *

Well, I may not have mentioned its name, but I am pretty sure most of you can guess the identity of the creatures which Milotic just spotted. And also, Hehehe – I am evil. I told you that the action would not be long away, and it seems that the next chapter will see it at last begin. Of course, I mean the next chapter to feature the regular cast, because as with the last story the chapters which are multiples of five mean we toddle off back to the Digital World. So you have two wait a while longer before the results of this cliffhanger become apparent. Teehee.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as soon as I update TBAK, which hopefully won't be long away, then I'll hit the next chapter with everything I have. BBFN.

* * *

Next time…

Back in the other world, things are not heating up just yet. Rather, they are cooling down, because now the Tamers and their partners have to make their way across the harshest place in the entire Digital World. In search of the Royal Knights and answers to their questions, they must cross the Tundra Level.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 15 : Off on a New Adventure**


	15. Off on a New Adventure

Hullo everyone. Well, this chapter certainly came along a lot faster than the last chapter of my other story did, didn't it. It's been almost a month since I updated this story, and for that I am sorry, but, well, things got in the way. Anyway, now I am back with a vengeance and I hope that you can all put off the action scenes for one final chapter before the first one strikes hard. After that, they'll become much more frequent, I promise.

Read on and enjoy. Please. *sniffles*

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 15:- Off on a New Adventure**

* * *

Not everybody back in the Human World was looking forward to what they had to do next. In fact, none of them were. The idea of going to try for a meeting with the Royal Knights themselves was indeed something to get excited about, but the thought of crossing a snow-ridden Tundra Level to try and find it, even though they didn't actually know _where_ on the Tundra Level it even was, was something that made them all shudder.

Especially since they all knew it was likely that not far in the future they would be shuddering considerably more from the cold. It might be the Digital World they were heading into, but where there was snow, it was cold. Even there.

But the Tamers were all prepared to do what was necessary to stop the Digital World from being utterly destroyed. "Even if it means freezing our nuts off," Kazu had phrased it.

Jeri coughed.

Yamaki had been just as apprehensive about it as they had been when he heard about what they had in mind. The children had never had to handle anything like freezing cold temperatures before. Which was quite lucky actually – they had been fortunate that they had not been deposited in the middle of the Tundra Level by one of the Data Streams in the past. The head of HYPNOS felt responsible for the group of children, and he had no desire to see any one of them head into a dangerous place without a good reason.

Unfortunately, the Royal Knights were the only lead that the Tamers now had, considering what had been told to them by the two Sovereigns – Baihumon and Ebonwumon. Only they could wake up Fanglongmon, and only Fanglongmon could help restore the worlds back to the way they had been. And the only way to reach the Royal Knights, was to take their challenge and cross the Tundra Level.

There was no way around it. And thought Yamaki remained stubbornly reluctant, he eventually consented to allow them to go.

"But," he said, pulling off his sunglasses to fix his eyes on each of the Tamers individually. "Not yet. First, we should prepare you for the cold environment which we know you'll have to face. We don't have any specialist gear in the HYPNOS stores, but it shouldn't be too difficult for me to acquire some. Let me order in some equipment for you before you go."

"Is that necessary?" Takato asked. "We're kinda in a hurry. And I have a parka."

Yamaki gave him a look, which Ryo echoed. "Really, Takato?" the other Tamer asked. "You think a parka alone is going to be enough to protect you from the cold on the Tundra Level? Trust me – I've been there. It is far colder than anything a simple parka is going to protect you against. I think Yamaki is right. We're going to need to get the right stuff before we can even consider crossing it."

"This won't be like travelling across a desert," Yamaki confirmed. "Tiring and strenuous as that was, if you get too hot you can merely seek shade and stop for a while – perhaps take off a shirt if things get too much. It won't be so simple to protect from the cold. You'll have to be fully prepared. Don't worry though. It shouldn't take very long. You'd be surprised at how quickly a government organisation like us can get our hands on things."

The Tamers and remaining Digimon chuckled at that. Yamaki then paused and frowned at the Digimon themselves and said, "Though I'm not really sure if there's anything that we can do for you Digimon, I'm afraid. There's certainly no clothing company that caters to you."

"We'll be okay," Guilmon said. "Maybe."

"We shall stride nobly forth across the snow and protect our Tamers from come-what-may," Guardromon agreed. "Fear not for our own safety."

"The Tamers are the primary concern," agreed Elecmon. "Digimon are tough by nature. Surely we can come up with a way of keeping warm. If necessary, Jeri and I can biomerge to SaberLeomon and keep us both warm that way. That form has a nice, thick coat. We may be able to use it to keep everyone else nice and toasty at the same time."

Yamaki nodded and sighed. "I recommend that you all tell your parents what it is you're doing. I know that sometimes they can be reluctant to let you go…"

"Only sometimes?" Kazu muttered.

"…But they do deserve to know where their children are," Yamaki said pointedly. "I intend to be keeping in regular contact with the families of the others who crossed over into this other world and provide them with any updates we may hear, but the likelihood is that those updates may be few and far between. I would prefer it if news of all of _you_ was more forthcoming. Last thing I need is _all_ the parents without a clue what's happened to their children."

"We got it," nodded Kenta.

"I'll let you know when I have what you need," Yamaki had sighed. And the group had dispersed from there.

* * *

Reactions from the parents was mixed, but similar to normal, with a couple of differences. Some of the parents, most notably Takato and Jeri's, were beginning to get used to this sort of thing happening, and while the prospect of their children going out on their own was still terrifying, they were forced to remember that they were all now growing older. They were all now fifteen or older and, well, this was their life now.

Takato's parents let him go with comparatively little fuss this time, instructing him only to make sure he came back safely, and then asking Guilmon to do everything in his power to look after him, to which Guilmon readily agreed.

Jeri's father and stepmother were a little more resistant, but eventually they agreed as well. The most vehement protest came from Jeri's stepbrother, who was now old enough to realise what his older step-sister was getting herself into. But Jeri eventually managed to calm him down and Elecmon insisted that they would be alright.

Calumon also tagged along with Jeri and volunteered to come along as well. Jeri was reluctant to let him put himself in danger needlessly, but Calumon pointed out that he would probably just try and follow and get lost if they tried to leave him behind, so Jeri consented to let him come.

Ryo's family treated him with the same nonchalance as always, but by this point Ryo had stopped caring what they thought. The only reason he had consented to tell them was because of Yamaki's request.

Kazu and his mother had their usual enormous argument about all this, but Kazu actually managed to win with a surprisingly impassioned speech about the safety of all the Digimon and how he had a duty to protect them. Kazu's mother had rarely seen her son, who was usually a goofball, so committed to anything before and that had been a big part of convincing her to just let him get on with it.

And Kenta… well, his parents were more in-between. They were less reluctant that Kazu's family, but more reluctant than Takato and Jeri's. But ever since Kenta had become a Tamer, he had begun to grow a spine and grow as a person. He was now far more confident than he had ever been (though still not as much as the other Tamers), and he was more headstrong and ready to take on challenges. Considering he had been near a complete pansy to begin with, this was a good thing, and eventually they too gave their consent and their good wishes.

Each of the Tamers' families (except Ryo's), realised that day just how much they were getting used to their children having this near extra-terrestrial and danger-filled life. It scared all of them, but at the same time they knew just how important being a Tamer was to all of them. It went beyond just going about and having adventure. And it wasn't about the fame that they were increasingly getting either – most of them tried to avoid it. It was what made them who they were. And there was nothing they could do about it. So their only real option was supporting them. Being partnered with a Digimon made them happy.

And the loss of the Digital World would devastate them. And there was so much more at stake this time too.

* * *

Yamaki had managed to obtain what he needed to by mid-afternoon of the next day, calling in all of the remaining Tamers quickly. Since they intended to head straight to the Digital World as soon as they were done, they said goodbye to their families right then, making it quick but as meaningful as possible, before they headed out.

Yamaki kitted them out in thick mittens and jackets designed for used in the Antarctic, and presented each of them with a large full body-suit. "This is made of microfibre, which helps with resistance to the wind and the cold both, but is quite light at the same time, which will help if you have to travel through thick drifts."

"Sounds ideal," Ryo murmured, as he examine the one that was passed to him.

"Indeed," Yamaki nodded. "It also has a hood attached with a fabricated fur ruff around it which cuts wind and reduces frosting to protect the face. It's based on wolverine fur, believe it or not. It also has zips running the full length down the legs to ventilate them if necessary and…" he coughed at this last bit. "The back can be dropped to allow you to use the… figurative bathroom… without having to fully remove them either, which will be useful in a polar habitat."

Jeri went red at the thought. "Is… that really necessary?" she asked. "I mean, we don't need to eat in the Digital World. We might not even need to… you know… while we're there."

"Actually, we recommend that you _do_ eat while you're there," Yamaki added. "It will help to keep up your energy even if you are made up of data. Here, take these." He indicated several food bags standing nearby.

"What's in them?" Guilmon asked curiously, stepping forward to sniff them.

Yamaki chuckled. "Chocolate truffles, freeze-dried cheddar cheese and Zero bars. All of those things contain very little water and a lot of calories, meaning that they'll not freeze, taste good and provide you with energy even at low temperatures. There's also some Vitamin Mixes in there to keep up nutrition at the same time, and it will be important that you take them. And Guilmon, please try to refrain from scarfing them. Or even eating them at all unless necessary. That food will be needed for the Tamers, not just you."

Guilmon's ears drooped slightly. "Okay, I'll try."

"Good boy," Yamaki chuckled. "Now come on. Let me show you the boots, and then Shibumi would like to go through with you how to dig an ice hole just in case you need emergency shelter. We've provided you with extreme-weather tents and sleeping bags, but you might not have the opportunity to prepare those."

"The more he talks about this the more worried I'm getting," Takato murmured. "Wouldn't it be possible to just transport a helicopter into the Digital World and get a ride in that?"

"Wishful thinking there, Chumley," Kazu muttered darkly.

Eventually though, they were all kitted out, and each one of them has packed their things into very large rucksacks which weighed them down a little, but not too much considering the amount of stuff in them. Yamaki handed them a new communicator, supposedly and upgraded model to the last time which might be able to send signals in all but the harshest weather conditions and eventually said;

"I need hardly tell you kids that there is much riding on this. Not just the Digital World, but this other world of Pokémon and, to an extent, our own world. But… as apocalyptic as this situation may be… make sure that you yourselves stay alive. Look after one another. Work together. And come back safe, you hear."

"Aw, Yamaki. You _do_ care," Takato snickered.

"The amount of paperwork I would have to do if one of you perished would be such a hassle," Yamaki smirked. Takato smacked himself in the face.

"Alright then," Ryo nodded. "Guess we've got no more reason to stick around here. Shall we go?"

* * *

And it wasn't long before they were indeed on their way. This time they did not receive the usual farewell beside the portal. The Tamers travelled there on their own and vanished through into the Digital World before anybody could see them. Yamaki didn't want people to know just yet that the Tamers were all going on another mission. It would not be long before the public noticed they were missing again, and he would need time to come up with a cover story which was significantly less alarming than the truth. No need to cause any unnecessary panic at this moment in time.

And so, the five Tamers and the six Digimon moved off to their next adventure.

It started the way they usually did – with an enormous drop.

"WWWHHHAAAHHH!" Kazu screamed the loudest of the group as they all plummeted through the Digital Barrier and cascaded downwards like a proverbial rockslide towards the sand below. "WE REALLY NEED TO TRY AND FIND A LESS DEATH-DEFYING WAY OF GETTING HERE!"

"He does have a point," Ryo said calmly, as he fell head-first with folded arms and a serene expression. Moments later and Cyberdramon grabbed him from behind and righted him, bringing him to a halt and snagging the rucksacks of Jeri and Takato in his other hand. Elecmon managed to grab hold of Jeri but Guilmon plummeted past with a flailing tail and a yell of exhilaration, forcing Takato to act quickly and throw out a Hyperwing upgrade from his D-Arc. Guilmon quickly caught the air on his new wings and tumbled over and over joyfully.

MarineAngemon was desperately trying to pull Kenta upwards by his rucksack and failing dismally. Calumon soared down and joined him… and made no further impression whatsoever.

However, Guardromon then came by and hooked Kenta under one thick arm, before plummeting down and getting underneath Kazu, allowing his Tamer to land on him with a rather painful thunk.

"Yowch!" Kazu cried, rubbing his face. "Seriously? Why couldn't you grab me with your arm like you did with Kenta?"

"You told me that nobody else but you was allowed to ride on my head, Kazu," the robot reminded him. "So, I thought that I would 'cut out the middle-man' as they say on your world."

"Thanks… I guess," Kazu muttered, rubbing his nose. "So, where to now?"

"Beats men," Takato replied as Cyberdramon passed him to his other arm and tucked Jeri and him into his shoulders after Ryo had scrambled onto his back. "But boy, looking at this place never really gets old, does it? Especially from above."

And he was right. The skyline of the Digital World was becoming increasingly familiar to all of them, with its circuit-board-looking sky, rolling desert ground complete with bizarrely shaped rocks and the enormous orb and pink pillars that made up the Digital version of Earth floating above them. A few Data Streams could be seen in the distance, but none too near to them.

"Is it strange to anyone else that this is so familiar now?" Jeri asked. "I mean, I know we've all been here before but… well… it's strange that we should be here at all, if you follow me."

"It's no longer strange for me," Ryo said. "This is a fact of life now. Coming to the Digital World. It's been a while since I was last here of course but still… I couldn't imagine _not_ coming here every so often."

"What's the matter, Jeri?" asked Guilmon, hovering beside Cyberdramon with his glowing wings. "You don't like our world."

"No, it's not that," Jeri shrugged. "It's just that, every time I come here I can't help but wonder what I would have thought if I had known I'd be coming here when I was younger."

"Let's just hope that this isn't the _last_ time that you'll be coming to this world," Elecmon nodded. "We do have a mission right now. And we should probably start it before too long. We must assume that the others are already setting out on their own journey in the other world."

"Elecmon is right," Guardromon agreed. "We must locate the Tundra Level immediately, correct?"

"Where it?" MarineAngemon required of the perpetually growling Cyberdramon.

Cyberdramon snarled, sniffing the air slightly, but said nothing.

"Er… we do know which direction we're going in, don't we?" Kenta asked from Guardromon's arm.

"Of course," Ryo nodded. "The Digital World may have reformatted after the D-Reaper destroyed much of it, but its basic layout will have remained the same. Cyberdramon knows the Digital World extremely well. Just give him a moment to get his bearings."

"Well, that's a relief," Kenta chuckled. "For a moment there I thought we'd be wandering around lost like usual."

"Oh, there's still time," Ryo said dryly. "We don't know where on the Tundra Level the Royal Knights' castle actually is, after all."

"You had to go and remind me," Kenta sagged.

"Is there any chance we can play a game while we wait?" Calumon chipped in.

Takato was half-expecting Guilmon to agree, but the dinosaur turned to Calumon and said, "We can't play now, Calumon. This is important."

This sentence grabbed everyone's attention and the stared at the dinosaur Rookie in slight disbelief. Usually it took either the promise of food or the immediate presence of an enemy Digimon to distract Guilmon's attention away from having fun. But as they looked towards him now, they were rather taken aback to see a blazing fire in his eyes. Not an angry fire, but a fire of determination and purpose.

"We're going to find the Royal Knights," he said, more to himself than the others but loud enough so that they could hear him anyway. "Digimon like me when I biomerge with Takato. I didn't even know they existed before, but now… now it feels as if I've always known. Like I was _meant_ to know. I just… I have to find them. I have to meet them."

Takato was surprised. It wasn't as if Guilmon had never shown this sort of resolve before – there had been many instances where he had been focused on the objective. But they had mostly revolved around a battle situation. In most other cases, he got side-tracked quite easily. But there was almost a different vibe about him now. He wasn't just determined. He was as if nothing else mattered.

Not even bread.

Takato was semi-puzzled. The idea of meeting other Royal Knights was understandably going to be an appealing one for him… but _this_ appealing? It was new.

But Takato merely smiled and set, "You bet, Guilmon. We're going to find those Royal Knights and when we do, everything will be alright soon enough."

Guilmon turned and give Takato a toothy dinosaur grin and a wink.

Cyberdramon then growled and said, "This way," flexing his wings to catch the wind and soaring tightly around to shoot off across the desert without another word. Guilmon quickly motored after him and grabbed onto the larger Digimon's back before his Hyperwing modification could wear off and hitched a ride between his wings and Guardromon hurriedly followed on, Kazu adding a speed card to the comparatively slower robot to help him keep up.

* * *

Words were not exchanged much after that. There wasn't much to be said. Cyberdramon was the only one who seemed to know where he was going, and the others could only assume he was right. Besides, the only thing on each of their minds were worries about what lay ahead and what had become of the others who had left for the other world. Subjects that none of them really wanted to bring up for fear of worrying the others, and themselves, further.

Guilmon spent the entire trip staring over Cyberdramon's shoulder, dead-ahead, his golden eyes fixed on the horizon like he was trying to shoot lasers out of them. Takato kept glancing up at him throughout the journey, silently questioning this change in attitude. It was as if he was physically incapable of thinking of anything else, which was exceedingly rare for someone like Guilmon, who could be normally be totally distracted from his objective by an oddly shaped stick.

As to Guilmon himself… he couldn't really explain what he was feeling either. It was odd, like there was a smouldering sensation in the pit of his stomach and Guilmon simply couldn't shake, for some reason, an odd sense of nostalgia. But that made no sense to him whatsoever. Nostalgia? He barely knew what the word meant, but he knew enough to know that it was about something which had happened in the past.

And Guilmon had had nothing to do with the Royal Knights in the past, had he? Barring the fact that he fought alongside an UlforceVeedramon while fighting in the Dark Ocean. Other than that there was nothing in his memory about Royal Knights. He'd never associated with them. He'd been the partner to a Tamer his whole life – Takato had _created_ him, for crying out loud. And the feeling left Guilmon slightly confused.

But that just made him more determined than the feeling alone was making him – because maybe he would learn something that would make him less confused once he met the Royal Knights. It was imperative he reached them, and not just for the sake of the collapsing worlds.

But why?

And Guilmon felt something stirring in his gut, and it wasn't hunger. For once. Like a shift in his data structure… or as if something was moving inside him, but only in his subconscious. And for some reason, one word was forming in Guilmon's head, as if something was whispering in his ear, thought there was clearly nothing there.

_Home._

Home? Guilmon frowned. What was that supposed to mean? He had just _left_ home – the bakery where Takato also lived. And what was that voice? Though he had not heard it with his ears, it had not sounded like his own, but it _had_ sounded familiar. But he then felt the subconscious something still and go dark once more. His eyes narrowed. He would get answers. One way or another. And if the Royal Knights could provide them for him… then so be it.

It took most of the day, but eventually they managed it and they reached the edge of the Desert Zone. According to Ryo, they had been fortunate. Depending on where they had landed it could have taken anywhere up to three to four days of flying to reach the edge, although admittedly Cyberdramon was not going at full speed so that Guardromon could keep up.

The Digital World stretched out underneath them. Every time the Tamers saw it like this they were in awe of it. They could clearly see various different types of terrain at various distances around them, like the world's strangest jigsaw where none of the pieces fit together. The Forest Zone was distinguishable beneath them – a seemingly unending woodland about half a mile beneath the Desert Level. And below that, they could see ocean and off to the side the prairie. It was like a sheer drop below them, making it a very good thing that none of them suffered from vertigo.

"That way," Cyberdramon intoned, turning slightly until he was pointing towards a large level not that much further down than the Desert Level, but still a considerable distance away from it. As the Tamers and Digimon all glanced towards it, they could barely see anything from it. It looked… blurred… as if it was mostly covered in dense fog.

Or snow.

"That looks traveller-friendly," Jeri murmured sarcastically as they shot towards the distant level. "I can't see anything down there. Is that snow or hail or what?"

"I don't know what it is," Takato replied. "If it is snow then where is it coming from? There are no clouds… I think."

"This is the Digital World," Ryo chuckled humorlessly. "Stranger things have happened than snow with no clouds. Cyberdramon, head for the outskirts. Don't try and land somewhere further inland. We don't know what effect it will have or how fierce it is down there."

"But won't it be easier to find the Royal Knights' fortress if we land in the middle?" asked Guilmon.

"Not necessarily," Elecmon said. "Ryo has a point. If it's really harsh weather conditions down there then flying might be impossible. It won't be as bad at the edges, and the Tamers also need to change into their winter gear."

"Good point," conceded Guilmon, slight disappointment flaring within him.

"Well, here we go," Kazu slumped against Guardromon. "Into the freezer."

"I have a feeling that it will be far colder down there than your average household freezer," Guardromon said cheerfully.

"Goodie," Kazu sighed.

* * *

When the Digimon landed and the passengers disembarked, snow crunched underfoot. As the Tamers quickly unslung their packs and began digging out the cold-weather clothing that had been provided for them, Jeri picked up a lump of snow and held it in her palm before crushing it to see what would happen. It looked and felt and sounded like real snow, and yet it was made of computer data just as the rest of this world was.

Quite frankly it was amazing that it could feel so real. Heck, it _was_ real, but to feel the same as snow in her world. Yeah, that sounded better.

"Funny," MarineAngemon giggled, at the sight of all the Tamers in their wind and snow suits. "Look silly."

"He's got a point," Kazu said, testing one of the zips and pulling up his hood. "We all look like a bunch of nitwits in these things."

"At least you look warm," Ryo pointed out. "Which is kinda the point."

"Good thing we have these then," Takato shivered, pulling on a mitten. "It's cold enough right here on the edge. What's it going to be like in the middle?"

"Thank you for pointing out our pain," Elecmon rolled his eyes. "You might actually have an easier time than us for once. I'm already feeling a bracing cold through my fur."

"You alright, Guilmon?" Jeri turned to the lizard.

Guilmon nodded and said, "Mm-hm," carefully keeping his mouth closed.

Takato frowned and said, "Guilmon, what are you eating? Have you been at the truffles?"

"Nn," Guilmon shook his head. "Mn bnn dnn nmn."

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Kenta said. "And that's supposed to be our food, remember?"

"I said, 'I've been doing nothing,'" Guilmon replied, and as soon as he opened his mouth, what looked like a liquidised Pyro Sphere, or perhaps a Pyro Splat, fell out and fizzled in the snow. "I thought that this might be a good way of keeping myself warm," he added, forming another Pyro Sphere in his jaws and then chomping on it, holding it between his teeth proudly.

"Wow. That's quite clever," Takato grinned. "Who'd have thought Guilmon would think of that."

"Hmm!" Guilmon glared at his Tamer.

"Kidding, boy," Takato grinned. His gaze was drawn to the side and his smile faltered. "Though I don't think those guys will be holding out so well."

The group turned to look at Calumon and MarineAngemon. Despite the fact that the latter was a Mega level Digimon and therefore tougher than most, it was clear here that his tiny size and lack of protective fur was a disadvantage. He was shivering uncontrollably, wrapping his tiny arms together in an attempt to keep himself warm, and Calumon was not much better off.

"S-s-s-so c-c-c-c-c-cold," Calumon trembled. "This is n-n-n-not f-fun at all-l-l-l." He looked up piteously and said, "Do we r-r-r-r-really have to be here?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Jeri nodded, scooping up Calumon and cuddling him close in her arms, trying to protect him with the folds of microfibre like a sort of quilt. "But don't worry. We won't let anything happen to you here."

"T-t-t-thank you J-J-Jeri," Calumon shuddered like a lamb in her grip. He already looked like a tiny little snowman against the white backdrop.

MarineAngemon, on the other hand, zipped over to his own Tamer and plunged himself deep into Kenta's pocket, burying himself at the bottom as much as he could, which was quite far down since it was a large pocket. He could feel instant relief almost immediately, as the pocket was slightly lined with faux fur.

"You alright in there, MarineAngemon?" Kenta asked with concern.

"Cosy," the Mega replied. "Better."

"That's a relief," the bespectacled Tamer sighed. He then looked up and across the arctic wasteland of the Digital World, the edge of the entire level only about ten feet behind him and said, "Well, I guess there's nothing else for us to do but get going, right? But how do we find the Royal Knight's fortress in all of this?"

"Two ways," Ryo grinned, though it had a slightly dry edge to it. "Either we chance across it randomly or we can hope that there are some convenient signposts. Shall we go?" Without waiting for an answer, he began to step forwards, his heavy ski boots sinking into the snow with each step he took, and already the snow was beginning to build up past his ankles. The others followed, grim lines etched across their faces and they mulled on what lay ahead.

This was a journey that none of them had been looking forward to.

* * *

An hour later, and the group was still walking.

Whatever they had been imagining their journey to be like was absolutely nothing like the real thing.

The real thing was much… _much_ worse.

It had taken them only about twenty minutes before they had entered the heavy snowstorm, but they had pressed on regardless. Now, they were in the middle of a full-scale blizzard, and that blizzard was showing no signs of letting up. It was the exact opposite of hell, but it was a hell in its own right.

At least the clothing which had been provided by Yamaki seemed to be doing its job. The heavy winds which buffeted them still tried to force them back, but they still managed to prevent the wind itself from lashing at the Tamers' skin and piercing them with the cold. And, for the most part, they were still relatively warm, although that was becoming less so the more that they moved on. Each of them was already munching slowly on a truffle, trying to savour the taste and keep up their strength.

The snow pummelled and punched at them much harder than snow should be able to and every step forwards felt like a battle in its own right. Though their faces were protected from all sides except the front, they were still receiving a beating in the face and each of their noses was feeling a little worse for wear. And they could barely see anything in any direction which they looked by this point. There was nothing but white and grey everywhere beyond the Tamers themselves. And any tracks they left behind were filled in rather quickly by the snow they were wading through.

Wading would be quite an accurate word at this point, for there were places where the snow drifts grew up to the chests of the Tamers. If they had tried to come here when they had first came to the Digital World it would have come above their heads, and they thanked the stars that they were all still growing.

The Digimon were making themselves as useful as they could. Guilmon and Guardromon were taking the lead. The dinosaur had abandoned his previous attempt to keep himself warm with the Pyro Sphere in his mouth and was now using them on the snow in front of him to melt some of it away and weaken its integrity, allowing Guardromon to force a path through with his hefty bulk and clear a path for the Tamers themselves.

Elecmon had digivolved to Leomon at this point, and he and Cyberdramon were also pushing their way through the snow, but on either side of the group of humans, widening out the path which Guardromon was attempting to make, preventing the towering snow walls on either side of it from collapsing inwards and smothering the Tamers and also using their bodies to physically shield them from the wind and snow as much as possible.

But despite their hardy nature, even they were beginning to show signs of fatigue at this and signs that the cold was getting to them. Leomon was currently wishing he was his icy counterpart, because he was sure that his mane was freezing over and becoming icicles and in this form he was just as unprotected from the weather as the Tamers would be if they were not wearing their coats. That was the disadvantage of wearing only trousers. But as the snow buffeted at him, he merely raised a heavy arm to shield his eyes and growled, forcing himself on.

Cyberdramon had icicles forming on his wings by this point, but if the Ultimate-level dragon had any complaints about this, he neither voiced them nor even showed that it was bothering him, though if you looked carefully at him, you could see he was breathing much more heavily than normal.

Guardromon had a thick layer of frost forming over his metallic body at the moment, which made his robotic movements more sluggish than normal, but he bore it all without complaint, stoically attempting to force his way through the snow, which continuously tried to fall in on top of him as a result.

And Guilmon was feeling low on energy himself. He knew that food could perk him up, but for once he didn't even consider the possibility of sneaking himself a truffle or a piece of cheese. Plus, his focus on finding the Royal Knights had not yet ebbed, and so he was still attacking the snow with as much vigour as he could muster, but the cold was beginning to get to him, making his claws feel numb.

Only MarineAngemon, snug in the pocket, was completely shielded from all of this.

"Lucky Digimon," Kenta murmured as he pushed himself onwards, stumbling into Jeri as the girl was pushed back slightly by a gust of snow-filled wind. "I wish I could just curl up in someone's pocket."

"You'd need a big pocket!" Kazu cried over the wind. "Seriously though… what were the Royal Knight's thinking, placing their stronghold in the middle of all of this?"

"It's a test!" Takato shouted back. "Remember what the Sovereigns said?"

"Yeah, but did it ever occur to them that someday some people who might not be able to pass that test would need to talk to them? Like, say, us?"

"I guess not," Jeri replied, holding up a hand to shield her eyes and clutching Calumon tighter to her. "How're you holding up there, Calumon?"

"Still quite c-cold," Calumon whimpered. "And I can't feel my toes."

"You don't _have_ toes," Leomon pointed out, levering a chunk of snow that was trying to collapse inwards away with his sword.

"Oh yeah," Calumon said. "I forgot."

"Ryo!" Takato shouted. "I don't know how much longer we can keep going like this."

"Me neither," Ryo shouted back. "But we should press on for as long as we can. We need to judge when to try and build that snow cave which we were taught about earlier, so we should stop soon before we run out of energy! But not yet. For now… we keep going?"

"It will soon be dark," Cyberdramon said suddenly. "We spent too long getting here to spend much time here."

"Cyberdramon has a point," Leomon nodded. "We should try and make a shelter _before_ night sets in. It will be less easy to see what we're doing, even if we _were_ provided with torches."

"Fair point!" Ryo agreed. "How long do you…?" he was interrupted by a sudden maelstrom of wind which slammed into him and Takato, knocking them over and sending them sprawling. Jeri almost slipped as she pulled to a halt and Kazu and Kenta quickly tried to help the two of them up, which wasn't easy.

"It appears that this snowstorm will only get worse the further into it we go," Guardromon called from the front. "It might be wise to wait for it to pass before we continue much further."

Kazu grinned. "Isn't my partner the best? Look at him up there, ploughing us a way through. He's completely immune to the snow."

"Actually Kazu, I believe that my circuitry is slowly freezing over and if I continue for much longer I may short-circuit," Guardromon replied. "But there is no victory without sacrifice right?"

"WHAT!?" Kazu cried. "Are you nuts? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was under the impression that we weren't going to stop until you humans were ready," Guardromon replied gallantly.

"There's a limit!" Kazu cried. "Seriously guys, I think we should probably stop after all."

Ryo nodded reluctantly. "I wish I knew how far we'd gotten, but it's impossible to tell in this white-out. How long has it been since we set off Cyberdramon?"

"About an hour and ten minutes," Cyberdramon replied gruffly.

"Alright," Ryo nodded. "How much longer would you estimate you can keep going before you short out, Guardromon."

"Half an hour at maximum, Ryo," Guardromon called back. "And about twenty-five minutes minimum, though I am pretty sure that I can hold out for the maximum limit."

"And how are the rest of you Digimon holding out?" Takato called over the wind.

"I can't feel the tip of my tail," Guilmon cried. "Is that bad?"

"Yes," nodded Takato. "That is bad." He stumbled forwards and grabbed Guilmon's tail with his mittens. "We've gotta warm it up before it gets frostbite. Can Digimon even _get_ frostbite?"

"What's frostbite? Sounds tasty," Calumon shivered.

"It's not, believe me," Ryo grimaced. "Okay, I say we keep going for another five to ten minutes or so, and try and find a reasonably sheltered place for a snow cave. If we don't find one then we'll have to make do after ten minutes. It might take us another five to ten to hollow out something for all of us so that should have us all in with plenty of time to spare, okay?"

"That sounds like we're stretching it a bit thin to me!" Kenta's voice was muffled as he pulled the hood over his nose. "How much longer will it be before one of us catches something out here? Last thing we need is a fever."

"He has a point," Leomon nodded.

"Fine, just five minutes then," Ryo said. "Come on, let's make the most of it."

And so the Digimon ploughed on, with Leomon and Cyberdramon joining the other two up at the front to force their way through the snow quicker while the Tamers followed on behind, sticking as close as possible for maximum shelter. There was a lot of gritted teeth against the wind as there was a loss of feeling in the tips of some of their noses, and all the while the wind and the snow seemed to be picking up in intensity rather than losing it.

Then, just as Ryo was about to call a halt and propose digging a snow cave, Guilmon slashed and burned his way through another drift of snow and stepped through the gap he'd made, whereupon the ground sagged under his feet. Startled, Guilmon looked down, right before the snow gave out under his weight and with a cry he dropped out of sight. Takato, still clinging to the tip of his partner's tail, yelped as he was pulled flat on his stomach and slid down after him.

"Takato! Guilmon!" Jeri cried in horror, dashing forwards. The Digimon stepped aside to allow the Tamers through to the spot where they had disappeared, throwing cautionary arms out to stop them from getting too close. But they couldn't see anything except darkness down below them.

"Takato!" Jeri cried, fighting back the urge to let stressed tears fall out, as they would probably freeze before they reached her chin. "Takato, can you hear me? Are you alright? Guilmon? Hello?"

She almost let out a cry of relief when a faint, echoing voice – barely distinguishable against the wind – said, "Hey, it's Takato. Yeah, we're both fine. Didn't fall into a crevice or anything. But you're not going to believe our luck. I think we've fallen into somebody's house. There's a large ice cave down here with some vague bits of furniture and everything."

"The slide down was quite fun too," Guilmon chuckled up as well.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Kazu cried. "Let's get down there?"

"Wait a minute. Wouldn't that be breaking and entering?" Jeri gasped. "We can't do that."

"Jeri, right now we need shelter and if there's a fully prepared house down there then we couldn't ask for anything more convenient," Ryo pointed out. "We can worry about breaking and entering where we aren't in a situation where staying outside would be a terrible idea."

Jeri hesitated, then shrugged. "Fair enough," she nodded, before settling down and slipping down into the hole. One by one the Tamers followed as the remaining large Digimon moved the snow outwards further to expose the rest of the hole.

"That's going to be a tight fit," Guardromon sighed slightly as Kenta slipped down after the others.

"Not for us," Leomon chuckled, as he de-digivolved to Elecmon and hopped down as well, Cyberdramon following his example and becoming Monodramon.

Guardromon folded his arms as the purple dragon slipped down the hole. "It's at times like this where I wish I could become a Rookie level at will as well. As a Hagurumon I know I could fit down there, but nope. Apparently I have to stay as a Champion." He sighed. "Well, here goes nothing."

And he stepped carefully to the edge of the hole, trying one last time to gauge if he could fit down there. But he needn't have bothered, because the hole suddenly widened when the edge gave way under his heavy weight and he plummeted down with a yell, the wheel on his front scraping the edge of the tunnel all the way down as he _just_ managed to slip through.

He popped out the other side like a cork from the neck of a bottle and slammed across the room on his back, crashing into the table and ending up almost upside down next to the icy wall at the back. Fortunately, everybody else had had the sense to get out of the way. Guardromon sat up, eyes spinning and saying, "Whoa, what a rush."

Most of the others were examining their now partially-ruined surroundings while Kenta pulled MarineAngemon out of his pocket. "I do not believe it," the Tamer moaned. "All of us are suffering out in the snow and the little guy goes and falls asleep. Wake up!"

He poked the dozing Mega, who rolled over in his palm and sniffled, "Waffles."

"It's quite nice in here actually," Jeri smiled, looking around the place. The wall were mostly made of ice or extremely compact snow and the roof seemed sturdy enough to stop the snow up top from causing a collapse. It was about the size of an average bedroom, leaving little space now that Guardromon had joined them in there, but at least there was no lashing wind and pelting snow down here. If anything it was pleasantly warm, despite the fact they were sitting on ice. There appeared to be two entrances, including the one they just came in and a significantly less steep entrance that stretched away through the snow like a rising tunnel.

Besides the table, which had miraculously survived its clash with Guardromon, there was a single chair, a small shelf covered in what looked like interestingly shaped pebbles rather than anything useful and a small hollow in the corner which looked like it was used as a sleeping area, though there were no blankets or pillows or anything like that.

There was nothing else there, except for some vaguely scratched pictures carved into the ice walls which didn't seem to picture anything distinguishable.

As Ryo put the table back where it belonged, he looked up and said, "Well, finding this place was well-timed. Good job, Guilmon."

"Hehe, thanks," Guilmon grinned. "I thought that bit of snow smelled funny."

"It was a complete coincidence you found this place and you know it," Takato swatted his partner's shoulder playfully. Then he looked up and said, "I wonder who lives here."

"It could be abandoned," Kazu suggested, and there was an obviously hopeful tone in his voice at that. "And if it's not… I really hope that whoever lives here doesn't object to a bunch of unexpected visitors dropping in. Literally."

"It might make things a bit awkward," Ryo chuckled. "But judging by the size of this place I would say that nothing too large could live or have lived here. Whatever the case, we'll stay in here to rest and recharge and we'll wait to see if the blizzard lifts. Let's hope it does soon. I would rather not spend the rest of our time traipsing across the Tundra Zone to be a repeat of what we just went through."

"Yes, and the odds of stumbling across a place like this again are exceedingly low," Guardromon agreed.

"It was exceedingly low to find just the one," Elecmon remarked.

"Well, while we're here," Ryo nodded, pulling off his mittens and placing them on the table. "Make sure that anything wet is dried before we leave if possible. Remember what we were told – it isn't snow that kills people in polar regions – it's water, because water freezes and forms ices on you."

"Where would we be without the scientists down at HYPNOS to research this stuff for us?" Jeri murmured as she did the same thing.

"Probably frozen solid by this point," Monodramon raised a hand and gave a beaky grin.

Just then, everything went completely dark and there were yelps all around the room as they were suddenly plunged into complete blackness. There was the sound of scuffling as everyone tried to push themselves up against a wall and so keep their bearings.

"What happened?" Takato cried. "What happened to the light?"

"Night must have fallen outside," Elecmon said calmly. "The only light in here before was the natural light coming through from outside and that was faint as it was thanks to the snowstorm. Looks like we're going to have to get used to the darkness. I don't think that lighting a fire in an ice cave is going to be a very good idea."

"Wonderful," Jeri sighed. "I'm warning all of you now, no groping blindly in the darkness. If anybody touches something that they shouldn't then they _will_ be getting a slap upside the head."

"From Jeri and me as soon as I find them," Takato agreed.

"Jeez, chill already," Kenta sighed. "You really think that we would be stupid enough to do something like that. Come on – give us some credit, would you?"

"Sorry," Jeri shrugged, though nobody saw it. "So, what now?"

"Rest," Monodramon declared. "You're going to need your strength for tomorrow, aren't you?"

"True," Ryo nodded. "I guess someone should try and stay awake if they can though, just in case whoever owns this place returns."

"I'll do it," Guilmon volunteered. "I don't feel all that tired anyway for some reason. I feel like I could do a hundred push-ups or something."

"Now that, I would like to see," snickered Kazu. "Too bad the lights are out."

The group settled down to sleep shortly after that. In the comparative snugness of the ice cave as opposed to the Tundra Level outside they found sleep came surprisingly easy to them. And although all of them would probably vehemently deny it later on, each of them drew closer to either each other or to their Digimon, penguin-style, until all five of them were sleeping side-by-side in the darkness, the sleeping Digimon curled up at their feet. Even Guardromon, who didn't actually need to sleep, went into a semi-comatose state to help his systems repair themselves, as if he was on recharge.

Guilmon sat next to the entrance and tried to contain his frustration. He knew that going out there in the darkness and the snowstorm would be almost suicidal to anyone who didn't know what they were doing, and possibly most people who did, but at the same time he felt that he should be _doing_ something more than this. He felt that he should be up and travelling, forcing himself on until he found the Royal Knights' fortress and meeting with the powerful Mega Digimon at last.

He felt like hopping from foot to foot he could barely stop himself. Morning couldn't come soon enough for him, and the end of the blizzard would hopefully be sooner than that. It was beyond irritating that he just had to sit here now.

But Guilmon still couldn't for the life of him explain what was causing such a drive. But whatever it was, it was that drive which meant that he was not currently sleepy.

As his eyes adjusted slightly to the gloom, he sighed and began to draw little patterns in the snow, which had built up on the ground slightly since they had uncovered the hole, sighing discontentedly and listening to the wind.

* * *

It wasn't long after that that Guilmon head a shuffling noise. At first Guilmon thought it was one of the Tamers shifting in their sleep, but after it went on another couple of times, Guilmon froze, listening hard. Whatever it was, it was coming from above, and the end of the tunnel which they had all slid down.

Guilmon squinted up the tunnel, but it wound around enough that he couldn't see the other end. But he could definitely smell something above them. He felt his hackles raise upwards. A threat? An enemy? He was prepared for either and an ever-so faint growl began to rise in his throat as he prepared for battle.

"You, in there!" cried a voice from above – a voice that sounded like somebody who was normally polite trying to sound tough and not really getting it right. "I don't know who you are, but if you think that you can get into my home and stay there then you've got another thing coming. Now get out here so I can… I can… grind you into the snow. Yes, that is what I will do."

"Hello?" Guilmon called up in his usual childish tone. "Who's there?"

"Who… who's there?" repeated the other. "I should be the one asking that of you considering you are in my house at the moment. Now begone, before I come in there and… and… feast upon your data."

"Er…" Guilmon said, after a moment, looking towards the others who were still all sound asleep and looked as though they were going to stay that way for some time. He then called back up. "It's alright. We're friends, you know. You can trust us. We're just looking for a place to hide until the heavy snow stops and then we'll leave, I promise. Who are you?"

There was silence for a couple of moments, and then the voice tremulously said, "You're… not going to kill me?"

"No, we don't do that kind of thing," Guilmon chuckled. "There are Tamers in here, you know."

"Ah," the voice said. "Well… I suppose that's a good thing then. But you never can tell – you've got to be careful these days. Still, you don't sound like a killer. Alright, I'm coming down."

Guilmon stepped back and watched as a small figure suddenly descended down the chute and landed on his feet with practiced ease, looking up to stare Guilmon in the face. Guilmon was mildly surprised to see that it was another dinosaur, with a broad snout, small limbs and sharp teeth and claws but not many other distinguishing features.

"Ooh, wow," Guilmon grinned, cocking his head. "An actual Agumon."

The Digimon snorted. "SnowAgumon, actually," he sighed. "Look, my skin is not orange, it is white. See." He pointed at his arm and nose, and Guilmon could see, despite the poor light conditions, that it was indeed white.

"Why is it that regular Agumon get all the publicity anyway?" the SnowAgumon sighed as he inspected his claws. "I guess it must be because of all their cool digivolutions. After all, when was the last time you heard of a SnowWarGreymon. Never, that's when." It snorted through its nose and then added, "So, care to tell me what a bunch of humans and their Digimon partners are doing in my house. I assume those _are_ humans if they're supposed to be Tamers."

"Yeah, they're humans," Guilmon nodded. "And actually, I kinda fell in. We were pushing our way through the snow during that blizzard and the floor collapsed underneath me and suddenly I was in here. Everyone needed shelter so they followed me in. We only want to stop off here until everyone's alright and the storm's over."

"I figured as much," SnowAgumon said dryly. "I came home to find a snowpath cleared all the way up to my quick entrance, which was also wider than in had been before. I'd say you were lucky. Even I don't go out when the storms are at their worst, and I'm built for this place. You ought to be more careful in future."

"We will," Guilmon nodded brightly.

The SnowAgumon then frowned and added, "What are you doing here anyway? We don't get a lot of visitors here for obvious reasons."

"Actually, we're trying to find the fortress of the Royal Knights," Guilmon grinned. Hey, it wasn't as if their quest was a secret one. "We've got some things we need to discuss with them. It is quite important."

SnowAgumon looked mildly impressed. "That's a long journey. The Royal Knight's palace is quite some distance from here. It's almost slap-bang in the middle of the level actually."

"Then you know where it is?" Guilmon asked excitedly.

SnowAgumon nodded. "Yes, I do. I've seen it several times. From a distance of course – there are other trials around it designed to test potential visitors and I've never had the nerve to get closer and try and test myself. But yes, I know where it is and how to get there."

"Can you give us directions then?" Guilmon asked.

The other Digimon scoffed. "Directions? On the Tundra Level? There are practically no landmarks for miles. You need an internal map in your head to get anywhere on this level," he tapped his skull. "That's how I'm able to find my way back home even when my house is covered in ten feet of snow."

"Oh. Well, can you lead us there then?" Guilmon asked hopefully.

SnowAgumon stared at him for several moments before he chuckled and said, "You really are quite demanding, aren't you?"

"I have to get there," Guilmon said firmly. "It's like something inside me is pushing me to get there. And there's the more important bit where we ask the Royal Knights for help in saving the world."

"Oh, it's one of _those_ quests, is it?" SnowAgumon smirked. Then he shrugged and said, "Well, I suppose I could be of some use if it comes to it. But it's a long way and I'd rather not go for a wander. Tell you what though. When you've all rested up I'll take you to the village not far from here. I prefer to live alone, and it'll get you all out of my house and there should be someone there who's willing to take you."

"There's a village?" Guilmon blinked, surprised. "Isn't it hard to live in places like this? How do you build the huts?"

SnowAgumon laughed. "It's not that kind of village. It's more a community of Digimon that live in this cave system set in the side of a cliff than a literal village. But we call it a village for the sake of argument. That's where I was today. I prefer living alone, but I make regular trips out to meet everybody. They're a friendly bunch. Someone ought to be able to help."

Guilmon grinned. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem," SnowAgumon said. Then his eyes narrowed and he said, "What happened to my table?"

* * *

And, far away, across the dimensional barrier, a group of beings were currently in deep thought, as they sat in their usual circle and pondered the mystery they had just learned. The bustling night-life of Coruscant flashed by as they did so, busy as it was during the day-time and totally unaware of the situation which had just been brought before the Jedi High Council.

Only a year had passed since the end of the Clone Wars, and there was much of the Galaxy that was still settling from the awful conflict, but the Council itself was doing fairly well in the grand scheme of things. It had lost four of its members in the final struggle, but the four Jedi who had been called in as their replacements had gotten used to their new position by this point, and they were all working hard to assist Chancellor Organa's Senate in re-building the Republic even now.

But this… this was an internal Jedi affair.

"You're absolutely sure that there is no mistake, Admiral?" Obi-Wan Kenobi asked, his steady eyes fixed on the hologram in the middle of the room as he rubbed his beard thoughtfully – the usual pose he took when he was deeply considering his next move.

"Completely certain, Master Kenobi," Admiral Yularen's hologram nodded. "We've referenced the signal with all known databases within the Republic files. It took several hours to go through them all before we could even find a match, and then we double checked it just to be sure. Unless there's been some extreme meddling with the archives the likes of which I have never seen before then it is indeed the truth."

"We may not have time to doubt the accountability of the evidence," Master Plo Koon the Kel Dor pointed out. "It is, after all, a distress call. While I would not recommend rushing into a situation like this too quickly, we cannot afford to be too slow either, on the off-chance that this is genuine."

"Could a Jedi have managed to find and activate an old console to cause this?" the Lannik Even Piell voiced up.

"It sounds doubtful to me," said Luminara Unduli – one of the four Council members who had been appointed at the end of the Clone Wars and the former Master of Barriss Offee. "There certainly isn't any Jedi out in that region as far as we know, is there?"

"Certainly not," Mace Windu agreed. "However, this wouldn't be the first time that a Jedi had gone somewhere without jurisdiction from us and landed themselves in trouble. Your own Padawan, Master Unduli, has become a team-mate of the two people who used to do that most often."

"Yes, and Anakin and Ahsoka probably would be doing it just as often now if they still had as many missions as before," Obi-Wan chuckled.

"That is true, I suppose," Luminara conceded. "But to be so far out there, so far from anywhere… why in the Galaxy would anyone need to go there, even against our orders?"

"Perhaps they discovered a lead on Gizor Delso," Kit Fisto the Nautolan suggested. "It would certainly be a good hiding place for that troublesome Geonosian. It's very remote."

"Too remote," Shaak Ti the Togruta grimaced. "It wouldn't really be in keeping of Delso's aims to be so far away from anywhere else. He might be trying to hide, but if he's also trying to resurrect the Separatists then choosing a base so far away would be inconvenient."

There were nodded heads from around the Council room. None of them really considered Gizor Delso much of a threat. He was just a minor irritant who couldn't let go of everything that the Geonosians had fought for in the Clone Wars. He was a fanatic. Even the majority of the Geonosians themselves were beginning to express interest in joining the Republic, meaning that he only had a small band of followers. Wherever he was hiding, they were willing to bet that it wouldn't be all that difficult to put a stop to him once they found it.

It was highly unlikely that whatever was causing this situation was linked to that situation in any way.

Eventually, Master Yoda spoke up. "Not in possession of any facts, we are," he mused. "Taking wild guesses, we are, for that is all that we can do at this stage. No information to go on, we have. Sitting here and debating on theories, no good, it would do us."

"What do you propose, Master Yoda?" asked Agen Kolar the Zabrak and another of the newer additions after his former Master, Eeth Koth, had perished.

Yoda sighed wearily, and turned to Obi-Wan. "Called for them, have you?"

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm pretty sure that they will be here shortly."

"Good," Yoda nodded. "Know what we are getting into, we do not. Perhaps best, it would be, to send a smaller task-force to investigate first. If serious the situation is, back-up we can send." He closed his eyes tightly and said, "And sense, I do, something unsettling about all this."

"Unsettling in what kind of way, Master Yoda?" Mace asked.

"An upheaval in the Force, there is," Yoda looked at his fellow Master gravely, before shutting his eyes and attuning with the Force. "Greater than usual disturbances, but also more distant, as if shielded from us, it is. Faint, it is, but at the same time, great, it is."

"What could cause such an upheaval?" the human Adi Gallia asked, with a worried frown on her face.

"Know, I do not," Yoda sighed. "But whatever the case may be, disturbing, it is. Sense a darkness, I do. Similar to Sith, and yet not the same. A different kind of darkness, it is, but beyond that, discerned, it cannot be."

"Could be a new threat to the galaxy, Master Yoda?" asked Kit. The whole Council was at rapt attention now. When Yoda sensed something like this, it always paid to listen to him, and they all knew that from experience. His connection with the Force ran deeper than any of theirs, even Mace Windu's.

"Unclear again, that is," Yoda replied. "But one more detail, I can see. Whatever it may be, straining against something, it appears to be. Kept in line, it is, but by what and how, I cannot tell." He opened his eyes again at last and said, "A task force, we must send, regardless of any potential danger, to investigate this and, if necessary, put a stop to it."

"So that's why you asked for them," Obi-Wan nodded. "Well, they'll be thrilled to get a new mission. I honestly thought that one of them would crack and demand one last month. I'm impressed that they held out for so long."

It was at that point that the Council doors opened and the group that Obi-Wan was talking about walked in. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it had been though – everyone on the Council had guessed who was being alluded by this point.

"Evening, Masters," Anakin Skywalker said as he stepped forward with his two shorter team-mates. "You called?"

"Indeed we did," Mace Windu nodded. "We have a bit of a situation at the moment and we were rather hoping that the three of you would be prepared to take on another mission to investigate."

"Another mission?" the former Chosen One smirked, folding his arms. "Well, it's about time. Peace might be great and all, but it's been a while before I could let off a little steam."

"You? What about me?" Ahsoka Tano asked. "I haven't got half the experience training in the last year than I got in two months of the Clone Wars. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we ended it, but still, it feels like my training has slowed to a crawl."

"That crawl…" Barriss Offee chuckled with folded arms, "is the regular pace that things happen for Jedi Padawans, Ahsoka. I should know – I was a Padawan for years before the Clone Wars started. Who knows – I might still be a Padawan now if it hadn't happened."

"Oh, I doubt that, Barriss," Luminara smiled from her seat. "You were close to reaching Knighthood before the Clone Wars started anyway."

"Thank you, Master," Barriss smiled back. "Anyway, it's true that we haven't had a mission for a while now. Even I was beginning to get antsy. I believe I might have been infected with the action-vibe that these two give off all the time."

"Action-vibe?" snorted Anakin. "Is that what you call it?"

"No, not my precious Padawan," Luminara gasped. "Look what you've done to her, you fiends. You've turned her into an actionmonger just like yourselves."

"Actionmonger?" Ahsoka laughed. "Is that a word?"

"It is now," Anakin grinned. "And action-vibe is now a genuine Force power."

"Good lord, it's been more than a year now since he left and still Terriermon's sense of humour seems to live on in all of you," Mace sighed and he place two fingers to his forehead. "Is there no stopping it's spread?"

All three of the younger Jedi opened their mouths to say something, but Mace lifted a hand to cut them off and added, "Whatever you do, do not use the word that I think you are about to use, or I shall be forced to do something drastic."

The team glanced at each other for a moment. "Sounds fun," said Ahsoka, and then all three of them added;

"Momentai."

Mace sighed and leaned back against his chair, defeated. There were chuckles from all around the council room at this behaviour. In the past they would have probably considered it unbecoming of most Jedi to behave in such a relaxed and jocular manner as these three were currently doing, but they were not like that now. All of them missed the Digimon in their own way, and they felt that the behaviour of the team which had fought alongside them was just another part of the legacy that they had left behind. And that legacy had been truly spectacular in size. After all, they had changed so much in their six months of stay in their universe.

"Good, it is, to hear that you still seek the fun out of life," Yoda said with a reassuring smile to the three of them. Then his expression turned darker and he said, "But for now, a more serious face, you may need. News, there is. Troubling news. And news which help us with, you may."

The grins vanished from the faces of all three and they nodded. "Alright then," Anakin immediately took charge. "What kind of situation?"

"Perhaps it would be best if we let Admiral Yularen explain it," Obi-Wan nodded towards the hologram.

Yularen nodded back and stated, "Earlier today we received a coded alert through our communications network, Master Skywalker. Captain Rex and the other clones hastened to trace the signal and discovered that it was a Jedi distress signal that was coming from deep in the Chrelythiumn system."

"Chrelythiumn?" Ahsoka blinked. "I don't think I've ever even heard of that system before. Where is it?"

"If my memory serves," Barriss muttered. "It's in Wild Space. And I mean _deep_ in Wild Space, as if there's practically no civilised planets anywhere. It's perhaps one of the most unexplored places in the Galaxy simply because it's so far from anywhere. I don't even know why it has a name since nobody goes there."

"Knight Offee is correct," Mace nodded. "It is indeed a remote section of space."

"The only reason we're near it at all is because we were scanning among some of the more remote systems for any signs of Gizor Delso and his followers," Yularen agreed. "And we're still a long way from the Chrelythiumn system."

"Well, whatever the case, if there is a Jedi there then there's no question that we have to go a-rescuing, right," Anakin said.

"That is not the whole situation though," Yularen added. "It took us a long time to find a match for the signal in question to even recognise it as a Jedi beacon. And that's because this signal code and wavelength have not been used for over two-thousand years."

There was solid silence for a moment while this was processed

"Two-thousand?" breathed Ahsoka. "That… is a very long time away."

"That's even before the New Sith Empire was formed, wasn't it?" Anakin frowned. "Two-thousand years ago was when the Inter-Sith Wars were drawing to an end, wasn't it? That period of Galactic history lasted almost two-thousand years itself, before the New Sith Wars, which lasted another thousand."

"Indeed," nodded Mace. "That's part of what worries us. Back then there were thousands of Sith, and they were far more open than Sidious or Dooku were. It was a time of strife for thousands of years, and were it not for increasing in-fighting between the Sith, it is entirely possible that they would have defeated the Republic completely. The Clone Wars paled in comparison to the kinds of atrocities and struggles that happened back then."

"Yikes," Ahsoka muttered. "Makes me glad I was born in this millennium."

"Indeed," Yularen nodded. "And that's why it took us so long to track down its wavelength. Its extraordinarily old."

"And you fear a Sith trap?" Anakin asked of the council. "The Sith are extinct now, aren't they?"

"Believed that before, we did," Yoda pointed out. "And wrong, we were. Brought balance to the Force, you may have done, Skywalker, but a precarious thing, balance is. Balance requires two sides. Extinct, the Sith may be, but darkness exists still. One cannot exist without the other. But if try to claim supremacy again, that darkness does, forced to stop it again, we will be."

"We don't really believe it possible that this could be the work of the Sith," Mace added. "But we should take all precautions. If this is a trap, we cannot walk into it blindly. We must be prepared. But there is some sort of darkness involved, of that we are sure. And that is why we would like you, Anakin, and the rest of your team, to head out to the Chrelythiumn system effective immediately and discover the source of this distress call. If it is indeed a friendly, do what you can to help. If not… do what you must to stop it."

Anakin nodded, grim-faced. Was it possible that his mission as Chosen One was not yet over. His face stretched out in a horrible grimace. He wished that Aayla and the Digimon were here – he would that his team were complete if it wasn't over. But who knew what they were doing at this moment, wherever they were in the omniverse.

"We'll need back-up on standby," Anakin stated. "Just in case things go sour and we find ourselves outmatched."

"And you shall have it," Obi-Wan nodded, getting to his feet. "I will be accompanying you on this particular venture, Anakin. Your old flagship and fleet of the 501st happens to be closest to the area in question, so we will rendezvous with them there above the co-ordinates of the signal. I will have the fleets of Commanders Cody and Bly on stand-by to give us aid and pull us out if things get… messy."

Anakin felt a slight grin spreading on his face again as Obi-Wan walked over and they bumped fists – another gesture which they had taken to using after the appearance of the Digimon and the Tamers. "Hey, it'll be just like old times then, huh?" he said.

"Yes – me trying to catch up to you as you bring all sorts of trouble down on our heads," Obi-Wan nodded. "Exactly like old times. Especially since we don't know what we'll find at the end of the line."

"Yeah, but this time you have us tagging along with you," Barriss voiced.

"Oh, we'll do more than tag along," Ahsoka grinned at her best friend. "We'll show these old-timers a thing or two, won't we?"

"Old timer?" Anakin spluttered. "I'm only a year older than Barriss."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Come on, you three," he said, taking Anakin and Ahsoka by a shoulder each and steering them towards the door. "Let's get going."

"May the Force be with you," Mace called after them.

"Hmm," Yoda hummed as the door closed behind them. "Tells me it will be, something does," he said quietly. "If not in the way we expect."

* * *

And, plunging deep into the bowels of Wild Space, past the _Resolute_ cruiser which was prepared to go even deeper, past several empty planets and mountains of space debris, into the heart of the Chrelythiumn system, past the walls of an enormous diamond-shaped monolith hanging in space, down to the planet on the other side, and at the top of an massive tower which jutted out like one giant spike out of the earth, something stirred.

A pair of eyes, with bright green irises against black rather than white, opened.

A voice, which sounded like it had a lower, echoing voice underneath it, spoke.

"He is coming."

* * *

Well, this chapter still took me longer than I was intending it to take, but I think that I am getting back into the swing of writing once again, so soon things should turn out quicker. Still, this chapter was more interesting to write than I originally thought it would be. I wasn't actually planning to include that bit about the Star Wars universe until I had started writing it, but I thought it might be better to progress the Star Wars story a little bit more first. The Star Wars universe, as a whole, will feature extremely little compared to the Digital and Pokemon worlds, but what happens in it during this brief stint will strongly affect what happens in the others.

Cya soon.

* * *

Next time…

In the Pokémon World, the first signs of the collapsing worlds are coming to light, and now the adventurers find themselves under attack from beneath the waves. With only one water-going person on their team, things look grim quite quickly and Milotic finds herself in a tough situation indeed.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 16 : Scaly Marvel**


	16. Scaly Marvel

Hullo everybody. I am back again and this time I think I am here to stay. My assignment took longer than I thought it would, so it was probably a good thing that I got started on it early, but then unfortunately I found myself enveloped by other things, including a slight lack of motivation since its generally my reviews that spur me on and I hadn't received any for a few days. Plus, there were a couple of people that badmouthed Felkan quite a bit and that really put me down a little. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter now that I've churned it out at last. Be warned, it has a couple of surprise guests in it. Geehee.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 16:- Scaly Marvel**

* * *

Milotic had encountered many different kinds of Pokémon on her journeys with her trainer. She had fought against a number of them in battles with other trainers, encountered others in the wild or watched her other friends fighting against them instead. But she'd never encountered any Pokémon that looked like the creatures motoring towards her right now.

They certainly weren't Gyarados, and the only other Pokémon they even remotely resembled might be Huntail, but that was only in body shape. Everything else was different, including size, colour, head shape and tail tip.

Quite frankly, she didn't have a clue what they were.

And now six of them were heading straight for her.

She bunched her coils behind her warily, unsure what to do. As a rule, most Pokémon individuals of a particular species were quite similar to one another, but since she didn't know what these guys were, she didn't know what demeanours they would have. But the enormous jaws, hooked teeth and fierce eyes were not particularly encouraging.

Nevertheless, Milotic had no intention of lashing out or resorting to violence unless absolutely necessary, so she decided to call out to these newcomers as they sailed through the water towards her.

"Greetings," she put a friendly smile on her serene face. "I don't believe I've ever encountered creatures such as you before. I am Milotic. What kind of Pokémon are all of you?"

The creatures pulled to a halt in front of her, all of them bunched together and glaring at her with blazing eyes. They hissed at her, coils bunching and unfurling behind them agitatedly, and Milotic could tell pretty quickly that this was not a social meeting. She noticed once again the emptiness of the water around them. It was true that large stretches of the open oceans often contained very little Pokémon life, or life of any kind really, but this emptiness was almost eerie.

It didn't feel the emptiness of simply nothing being there at the time.

It felt like the emptiness of everything having vacated the area as quickly as they could.

"What are you supposed to be?" one of the creatures suddenly asked aggressively.

Milotic blinked, frowning in confusion. She'd just introduced herself, hadn't she? She cleared her throat and said, "I am a Milotic. I don't have any other name than that. Who are you?"

The six of them just continued to glare, before the same one as spoke before snarled and replied with, "Answer me, you imbecile! Don't just make loud, squeaking noises and play dumb with us. I know that you can understand us."

Milotic blinked. These creatures couldn't understand what she was saying? But all Pokémon could understand one another, regardless of what particular dialect they used. Why couldn't these ones…

And then it hit her with a jolt. They had not been speaking any Pokémon language. They were speaking to her in the same language as humans. And like most humans, they couldn't understand her in turn.

They were not Pokémon at all.

Which meant… that they had to be…

Oh crap…

Milotic was at a loss. What was going on? What was she supposed to do now?

The creature continued. "Was it you? Was it you who is responsible for bringing us to this strange place? Where are we, who are you and what have you done to us?"

"Nothing," Milotic replied instinctively. "I have done nothing. This is not my doing."

"I told you to stop making strange noises like that," came the replying snarl. "If you won't talk to us, then we'll make you talk." And with blinding speed that startled Milotic, he thrust himself through the water, jaws agape and teeth aimed for her face.

Milotic twisted in the water at the last second as the creatures jaws snapped shut inches from her face. Acting quickly, the Tender Pokémon thrashed her coils upwards and bashed the creature in the bottom of the jaw, knocking its head upwards and motoring her tail, powering away with flicks of her fanned tail. The creature was not injured by the attack and snarled as Milotic twisted back to face them.

"Get it!" he ordered. "We'll get the truth out of it soon enough."

Milotic blanched as all six of the creatures suddenly surged towards her. Her eyes flicked upwards to the distant silhouettes of the Lapras on the surface, where she knew the rest of her companions to be. She needed to keep the attention of these creatures off her friends for as long as possible, and she had not time to cast her calming aura over them. They were coming at her fast and would be on her in a split second. No time at all.

No choice now. Milotic grimaced as she realised she was going to have to fight her way out of this. At least until she could find a way to calm them down.

It had been a long time since Milotic had been in any kind of battle.

But with these dangerous creatures so close to her family, she was not going to hold back. Not this time. She kicked her tail and shot away, deliberately drawing them away from the Lapras as they surged towards her. _Okay, Milotic,_ she thought to herself, as she went. _Let's see if any of that training paid off, shall we?_

Two of the not-Pokémon (and Milotic was fairly sure she knew what they were now, to an extent), were in hot pursuit, closing in on her tail with teeth gnashing. Milotic glanced behind her and saw them coming, eyes narrowing as she picked out the closest one. The creature closed on her rapidly and with a furious snap it lunged, its sharp teeth connecting with her tail. It yelped and pulled back, for Milotic's tail had suddenly solidified until it had almost metallic properties. Swinging back around, Milotic delivered a gut-busting Iron Tail to the creature's neck, catching it off guard and knocking it for a loop.

The second one motored around its comrade's coils and tried to strike at Milotic's own neck, but Milotic rotated in a tight corkscrew in the water and surged to connect with a powerful Twister, crashing into the creature head-on and driving it backwards with a grunt of surprise. Milotic followed up quickly, mustering a sphere of condensed water before her and hurling the Water Pulse forwards to impact into face, flinging it backwards with a dazed expression.

But two more were closing on her flanks, and Milotic twirled down in the water and hurled herself towards the bottom. The two creatures narrowly avoided crashing into one another and twisted to follow, coiling around each other as they sped after her. This presented her with a relatively easy target, and Milotic curled back around to unleash her attack upwards, summoning water around her and powering upwards with a destructive Waterfall, ramming both of them in the nose and knocking them to the side, allowing her to slip through them and motor towards the surface.

"So it can fight after all," another of the creatures leered as it lashed out of nowhere in front of her. "Well, take this! **ICE BLAST!"** It opened its yellow-armoured jaws and unleashed a huge stream of frozen water down towards Milotic like a spear. Milotic's eyes narrowed and she opened her own mouth, countering the strike with her own Ice Beam. The two jets crashed into each other and briefly pushed each other back until they exploded with a flurry of ice shards.

That was when the sixth opponent chose to make its appearance and crashing into Milotic's flank head-first. Milotic grunted as she was thrown backwards, the creature wrapping itself around her own serpentine body and latching its teeth at the base of her neck. Milotic let loose a plaintive yelp and kicked her tail, wrapping her own coils around him in turn and attempting a Wrap attack as his teeth sank deeper into her.

But her grip on her opponent seemed to do little to stop him as he wrenched his head, tearing at Milotic's flesh. She wailed at the pain and desperately tried to free herself as the two fought their way closer to the surface. The other creatures began to close in around them, slightly battered but none the worse for wear after Milotic's strikes, closing in on their quarry.

Thinking quickly, Milotic freed her tail from her adversaries grip and surrounded it with a purple aura, striking at the creature's flank with a Dragon Tail. The creature let loose a cry of surprise when it felt itself repelled from her like an opposing magnet, his teeth tearing out of her as he was flung back, allowing Milotic to slip out of his grip, teeth gritted against the pain in her neck.

"Argh," the creature cried in frustration. "Get her! She's wounded now. It's only a matter of time until… what the…"

All the creatures pulled to a halt as Milotic was suddenly surrounded in a blazing white aura, eyes closing as if in meditation. They watched, astounded, as the tear-marks in Milotic's neck suddenly began to heal over, the skin pulling itself back together until there was no sign that she had even been bitten except for the remnants of her blood in the water.

"What…?" one of them gasped. "What _are_ you? That's not fair."

Milotic's eyes opened. She couldn't help but allow herself a small smirk. Knowing she wouldn't understand them, she nevertheless said, "Actually I think you'll find that Recover is a perfectly legitimate move according to the League Rules."

"Swarm her," one of them cried. "We'll get her to talk sooner or later." And all six surged forwards once again.

Milotic now found herself surrounded, but she wasn't going to be let that get her down so easily. She whirled towards the closest opponent and stared into his eyes, her own eyes flashing brightly. The creature suddenly pulled to a halt, looking dizzy, and started beating itself in the head with its tail. Milotic powered towards while it was still under the effects of her Confuse Ray and crashed into it with a full-on Iron Head, ramming it aside and plunging deeper into the water.

"Damn it!" roared one of them. "Attack!" And each of the five others opened their jaws and roared **"ICE BLAST!"** at the same time, hurling down five identical icy projectiles towards her. Milotic glanced over her shoulder, knowing that she couldn't counter all of them at once, so she decided to face them head on, spinning around in the water. First, she was briefly surrounded in a cube of yellow light as she activated her Light Screen, then she was once again surrounded by an aura of energy, this time purple in colour.

All five attacks rammed into her, the Light Screen cube appearing again and taking the brunt of the attacks. Nevertheless, Milotic grimaced as all five of them pushed her backwards, but her attackers were stunned when their attacks were duplicated and reflected back, crashing into each of them with ruthless abandon. Milotic grimaced, battered from her assault, but her Mirror Coat had done its job, and the creatures had been hit with double the force that each had inflicted on her, which was the equivalent of an ordinary attack since the Light Screen had halved that damage anyway.

Milotic quickly attempted to use Recover again to regain her health, but the attacker she had earlier confused seemed to have snapped out of it and threw himself in from the side. **"ICE WINDER!"** he cried and spun in the water, letting off a large helix of ice that closed in on Milotic and struck her in the side, bowling her coil over coil in the water until she actually crashed into the bottom, kicking up sand as she tried to right herself.

Thinking her beaten, the creature closed in for a close-range attack, and was therefore very surprised when Milotic suddenly fired a Dragon Pulse at him. The attack struck him square in the open mouth and carried him upwards with a howl of pain, throwing him up through the water where he hung, stunned and with smoking jaws.

"Sorry," Milotic grimaced as she healed herself over again with another Recover. She looked more than healthy after that last attack anyway, which was understandable considering Light Screen was still in effect and she was naturally resistant to Ice anyway, but she was taking no chances, because the remaining creatures were closing towards her again now and they were out for blood.

"Annoying little pest!" one declared as it attempted to ram her into the seabed. With a huge writhing motion, Milotic twisted her coils out of the way and allowed it to crash there headfirst, delivering a humiliating smack to its jaw with her tail before she swept away, sticking close to the seabed so they couldn't surprise her from below. Three others swept down around her and closed in, but Milotic dodged the first by undulating suddenly upwards, flung another Water Pulse at the second to knock it off course and span through the water to graze under the third.

The third attempted to spin around and latch onto her with its teeth as she passed, but Milotic was prepared and unleashed her next attack in its face. The creature howled as it was suddenly struck with boiling water, spinning away with jaws blistered and raw. Again, Milotic felt sorry for her adversary, but she had little time to think about it because the next creature struck her from above and drove her back into the seafloor. Milotic twisted, trying to avoid being snared in its coils once again but its tail lashed around her neck held on.

Milotic grimaced as the creature wheeled around, jaws open wide. She could see the icy energy gathering in its mouth as it prepared to discharge a point-blank attack into her face.

Thinking quickly, Milotic's eyes locked onto her opponent's and red rings began to exude from their depths. The creature faltered, unsure, and then Milotic grinned and muttered, "Have a nice nap," as she felt the creature's own coils slacken on her while its eyes began to droop. Nodding off completely, the creature went limp and sank towards the bottom, freeing Milotic in the process.

Not many people even realised that Milotic could learn Hypnosis.

But the rest of them were pressing back in once more so Milotic motored around and shot away once more, but in doing so she spotted something which almost made her stop short. The creature she had hit with a Dragon Pulse earlier was staring upwards, towards the surface, a snarl clearly evident on its features. Milotic's eyes widened when she saw what it was looking at – the five Lapras silhouettes on the surface.

"No, wait!" Milotic cried, but the creature ignored her and whooshed upwards. Milotic swore, which was _very_ unlike her, and this time she found herself being the one in pursuit as she rocketed after it. Up until now she had been pulling her punches, so to speak, hoping that they would leave her alone after a while. But if they were planning on threatening her friends, she was not going to hold back any longer.

* * *

"Something's happening! Something's happening!" Absol cried, dashing round in tight circles on the back of his Lapras. This was how he normally reacted to an imminent danger he was sensing, and everybody was on high alert. They knew better than to take anything Absol said lightly. "I can feel it! It's coming closer."

"Any information as to what it might be, Absol?" Felkan called across earnestly. "What are we looking for?"

"I don't know. It feels weird. It feels… alien in nature. I can't distinguish anything."

Gardevoir's head suddenly shot up and she cried, "Below! Milotic just sent me a message. She says she's being attacked by six strange creatures she's never seen before, and one of them is heading right for us."

Aayla bounded up towards the neck of her Lapras and said, "Quick! Take evasive action!"

"Evasive action!" Lapras cried. "We're not built for evasive action!" Nevertheless all five of them suddenly split up, paddling forwards for all they were worth, while those who were flight-capable took to the air. One of the Lapras plunged its head into the water to look around, immediately pulling it back up and shouting, "Incoming! On the far left!"

The Lapras in question was the one carrying the Digimon and the Tamers. Ai and Mako shrieked and grabbed each other and everyone else grasped the projections on the Lapras' shell, bracing for impact, while the Lapras itself motored forwards for all it was worth. Aayla's head whipped around as she was soaked by sea-foam, locking eyes briefly with Renamon and nodding as she called on the Force, seizing all of the Tamers with her telekinetic abilities and lifting them out of the way. Gardevoir materialised next to her and added her help, drawing them away from the targeted Lapras.

When the creature erupted out of the water it missed its intended target on the Lapras' shell and erupted out of the water with a roar, ramming into the Lapras' back fin instead. The Lapras cried out and tipped forwards, flailing wildly, while Renamon and Impmon were flung off its back and catapulted into the air. Latios and Latias swung down and seized them with their own Psychic abilities to pull them out of harm's way before they could hit the water.

Moments later, Milotic burst out of the water herself and cannoned into the creature at the base of its jaws with a full-powered Iron Head, smacking it backwards and sending them both crashing back into the waves, which promptly began boiling and frothing as the two of them wrestled with each other, coil against coil, trying to gain a purchase on each other and slamming each other with their tails simultaneously.

"What is that?" Glaceon cried, as the creature reared up, snapping at Milotic's face before she blew it backwards with another Dragon Pulse.

"That's no Pokémon I have ever heard of," Lucario agreed.

"It's not a Pokémon!" Terriermon cried as he swooped low over the group. "What the heck is that doing here in this world?"

"That's a Digimon?" Luxray asked, alarmed.

"Yes," Lopmon called. "Seadramon. Champion-level Digimon. Powerful coils, lethal bite and it uses attacks like Ice Blast and Ice Winder."

"Ice?" Garchomp suddenly shuddered. "Not good."

"Look out below!" Gardevoir cried. "Milotic says that four others are coming up after her."

Sure enough, moments later, two more Seadramon burst from the surf nearby and let off roars of fury at the group. A fourth shot upwards from beneath Milotic and rammed her with its armoured head, knocking the wrestling duo aside. Then the final one appeared, fountaining out of the ocean right in front of one of the Lapras.

The Lapras which was carrying Aayla, Gardevoir, Sceptile and Lucario.

Said Lapras squealed in fear and tried to throw herself backwards and away from the large enemy and that spelled disaster for its passengers. As it reared, all of them immediately fell backwards towards the water. Aayla and Gardevoir both lost their grip on the still airborne Tamers, who yelled as they crashed towards the water. Terriermon and Lopmon swooped in and caught their respective Tamers, while Latios and Latias both hurriedly latched onto Rika and the twins and lifted them back up before they could hit the waves.

Gardevoir successfully managed to Teleport herself away and land back next to Felkan, but Aayla, Sceptile and Lucario all went tumbling into the water.

"Sceptile! Lucario!" Felkan roared, running to the edge of his Lapras' shell but unable to do anything else beyond that.

"Aayla!" echoed Rika, watching the spot where their Twi'lek friend had vanished beneath the surface.

The Seadramon responsible bore down on the frightened Lapras, who was quite clearly not a fighter in any sense of the word. But before it could hit its target, Garchomp ploughed into its side with a full-power Dragon Rush, the vicious blue aura blazing around his body in the shape of a traditional Dragon. The Seadramon was taken off guard by this and such was the force of the attack that it was literally flung backwards, its body almost clearing the water as it crashed over and backwards.

The other Seadramon mostly seemed to be ignoring the Lapras. Enraged as they were, they were attempting to focus on Milotic and were surging across the surface towards the violently thrashing fight. Milotic reared upwards hurriedly, smacking one she was entangled with away with another Dragon Tail, before turning to glower at the three others.

"You won't get past me," she declared, though the Seadramon couldn't understand what she was saying. "And you won't be hurting my friends," she added, water swirling around her viciously before rising up in an enormous tidal wave out of nowhere, Milotic riding the top like a true professional. The Surf attack crashed down on top of the Seadramon like a wall, stunning them momentarily as they sank beneath the surface and settled back down easily, panting slightly and attempting to rest for a few seconds after her exertions.

But the Seadramon were not done with her yet and the one she had been fighting before burst out behind her and sank its fangs into the back of her neck, while another burst up and clouted her in the face with its tail before bearing down on her and grabbing her flank in its own mouth.

"Milotic, no!" Felkan shouted, watching as the two Seadramon attempted to bear her back below the surface, ignoring Milotic's writhing attempts to break loose and her wails of pain. All three crashed down the surface, fighting and thrashing, while the other three active Seadramon rose up again nearby, dazed and very much bruised from the beating that they had so far received, but also very much not done yet.

One of these Seadramon began to prepare an Ice Blast attack, deciding that while Milotic was occupied, it would go for the creatures on their Lapras mounts. Gardevoir acted quickly and teleported to the fore, raising a Protect barrier as the Seadramon unleashed its attack, taking the assault easily.

"Guys, we need to form a counter-strike," Terriermon shouted as he settled Henry down on top of another Lapras.

"What about the others?" Glaceon shouted. "What happened to the guys under the water?"

The Seadramon firing the attack growled in annoyance and piled on more power, attempting to break through Gardevoir's Protect through sheer force, though the Embrace Pokémon held firm. And then, suddenly, part of Glaceon's question was answered when Aayla erupted out of the water right in front of the Seadramon to perform a spectacular spinning kick to the Seadramon's chin, slamming its mouth shut instantly.

And since the Seadramon was still firing its attack at the time, it suddenly found its own head engulfed in an icy block and it collapsed back into the water.

Impmon whooped. "Way to go, Aayla!" he cried, as the Twi'lek fell back into the surf, pulling the rebreather from her waist and fitting it into her mouth as she did so. Moments later, Sceptile burst to the surface, coughing as he grabbed onto the fin of a Lapras to keep himself up, while Lucario exploded upwards with a burst of power and an Aura Sphere in each hand, twisting in the air as he lobbed them at the remaining Seadramon.

This time they were more wise to the attacks and managed to dodge by crashing back beneath the surface. Lucario landed back on the Lapras, who was apologising profusely about dropping them in the first place.

Milotic was struggling now, still trying to push off her two attackers and not really succeeding, as they were immobilising her body with their own coils and trying to keep her still as they bit at her. But, shortly afterwards, Aayla appeared once more, pulsing out of the water with a blast of the Force and landing a hefty kick straight to the eye of one of the two Seadramon, which howled and released its grip, slackening its grip enough to allow Milotic to form another Twister and shove the other one away. The Tender Pokémon turned and allowed Aayla to land on top of her head, before cruising around and heading towards the group on the Lapras.

"Is everybody okay?" she asked, using Recover again to try and heal her wounds, though she was now beginning to tire and it was therefore more difficult.

"Yeah, I think so," Sceptile griped as he clambered back aboard the Lapras. "Are they gone?"

"No," Milotic shook her head. "Not yet."

As if to confirm what she was saying, two Seadramon beneath the water suddenly seized her by the tail and with a yell, Milotic was dragged down underneath the water. Aayla flipped off her head at the last minute and landed back on another Lapras, turning around to look at the stream of bubbles that indicated the struggle going on down below.

"Felkan," Luxray cried, looking towards their trainer. "What do we do? We can't help Milotic like this. We're not water fighters like she is."

"But she's outnumbered on her own," agreed Sceptile, shaking himself slightly to try and dry off. "What do we do now?"

But Felkan didn't look like he had a clue. He had frozen up, fear for Milotic's safety clearly etched on his face, but his brain completely frozen. He didn't have the faintest idea what he was meant to do now. Every instinct that he used to have as a Pokémon trainer seemed to have bled out of him during his years of isolation, and now he was in a panic.

But his Pokémon were all looking to him for guidance. Why? Why didn't they get that he didn't have a clue?

"We can't fight in water either," fretted Lopmon. "Only Aayla has experience at water combat out of all of us."

"And I intend to use it," Aayla nodded, her eyes snapping open. She stood tall and immediately seized control of the situation. "Everyone, we can't fight like this. We don't have enough places to stand and the Seadramon remain a threat from below. Head for Cinnabar Island as quickly as you can. You'll have better purchase there and more space, so if we can bring the fight into the shallows you'll have a better chance of helping and the Seadramon will have less shallow water to turn to. Milotic and I will keep them off your tails and try and lure them closer to the Island. Try not to kill them if you can, but if you must then you must. Take the Tamers and Felkan to the island first. Make sure they're safe."

"Hey, General Secura's back," Terriermon teased.

"Oh, shut up," Aayla replied, fitting the rebreather in her mouth once again. "Gh!" she added, before plunging back into the depths once more.

The Lapras immediately decided that her words were wise and motored off in the direction of the island. "Will they be alright?" Ai asked, from Latias' back.

"They'll be fine," Latias nodded smoothly. "Milotic's a tricky customer and I reckon your Aayla knows what she's doing. We'd better go."

"Felkan, come on," Garchomp lowered himself down. "Climb on. We need to get you out of here."

"No! Not yet!" Felkan cried desperately. "I can't leave Milotic in danger. I just can't. I have to help her. But…" he stammered, trying desperately to think. He just didn't know _how._

_Yes, you do,_ insisted Gardevoir's voice privately in his head. Felkan turned to look at her earnest face and she forcefully added. _You know us better than anyone, Felkan. You might not have been a trainer for a while but you know our strengths. These guys are right – there's little you can do from up here. But there is something that you can do to help give Milotic an edge._

_How? _Felkan asked desperately.

_Don't panic, Felkan. Don't think of this as a fight to the death. Treat it like a Pokémon battle without rules. What would you do to give Milotic a hand?_

Felkan froze, but only for a moment, before his eyes shot open and he cried, "Gardevoir, you're a wonder! Send a message to Milotic. Houndoom!" he cried, whirling around. "Get ready! I have something for you to do!"

The canine's head snapped around and a slightly sadistic looking grin appeared on his face. "I think I've guessed at it," he nodded. "I'll be ready."

"What's going on?" Henry asked, confused. "We're meant to be heading for sure."

"Watch and learn, Tamer," Luxray chuckled. "Watch and learn."

Moments later, Milotic burst out of the water nearby and shot through the surface towards the group, closely followed by a pair of livid Seadramon. She gave Felkan a nod as she swung around moments later, lifting herself out of the water entirely to hover above the surface, body bunching around her as she faced the incoming Seadramon.

"Now, Houndoom!" Felkan cried. "Will-o-wisp! Milotic, use Aqua Ring!"

Both Pokémon nodded in unison, and several water droplets collected out of nowhere around Milotic, combining together until they made three watery circles around her large form before dissipating moments later as if nothing had happened at all. Meanwhile, Houndoom had several balls of light blue fire materialise around his head, before he reared up and, with a howl, launched them right at Milotic.

"What are you doing?" Rika cried in alarm, right as the fireballs crashed into Milotic's back. There was no visible damage after the assault but Milotic's body suddenly began to glow with a slightly red tinge.

Milotic smirked as the Seadramon caught up with her and lunged for her with jaws agape. But this time Milotic didn't even attempt to dodge them as they anchored their teeth around her. There were distinguishable gasps from the Tamers and the Digimon as they looked on in shock.

But that shock promptly changed to bewilderment when the Seadramon suddenly screeched and reared backwards, sporting several broken teeth. Milotic's body shone in the sun and she seemed to be almost completely undamaged by either of the two's attacks.

"This just got a little more interesting," she said, before her body was briefly coated in flames out of nowhere and then the water rings reappeared to counteract it, before she unleashed a furious jet of water from her mouth and smashed the two Seadramon back beneath the surface with a solid Hydro Pump attack. Upending herself, she cried, "Get to the shore!" as she plunged back in after them.

"Er…" Rika blinked. "Seriously, what just happened?"

"Milotic have a unique special ability called Marvel Scale," Luxray chuckled. "Their defence is exponentially raised if they are burned, poisoned or paralysed. Houndoom just used his Will-o-wisp to burn her. Now those things will have a hard time inflicting damage on her, you mark my words."

"You burned your own Pokémon?" Henry cried in shock, looking over at Felkan.

"I gave her an advantage. Better than poison or paralysis," Felkan said without looking at him. "And you really think I would burn her without giving her measures to counteract it. The water will help soothe the burn and Milotic's Aqua Ring will heal the damage that the burn tries to take from her. Plus, she knows Refresh, so she could cure that burn any time she likes. But she won't until the fight is over."

All the Tamers looked at one another in complete confusion. This method of battle was unlike any of them had ever experienced before, and they weren't sure what to make of it. In Henry's view, deliberately inflicting your own partner with any kind of damage just sounded wrong in his head, but Felkan seemed to have taken Milotic's welfare into account at the same time. It was a lot to get around.

They resolved to think about it later as they headed for shore, and they followed the progress of the fight with the mind-link.

* * *

For Aayla was definitely making her presence known against the Seadramon. She was a whirlwind of motion in the water, bunching up the Force behind her to propel her through the water as if she was attached to a jetpack in the air. She slewed straight through the open jaws of a Seadramon that snapped down behind her inches from her feet and swerved upwards to avoid the gnashing teeth of another before doubling back on herself and kicking it in the head with extreme force. The first Seadramon swept its tail down to try and swipe her but Aayla propelled herself away, causing the first Seadramon to smack the second in the head instead.

Aayla swerved around, kicking her legs hard for added benefit as she swept beneath the two of them and into the path of a third, barrel-rolling to one side to sweep past its head and narrowly miss its jaws, seizing one of its fins in a hand and gripping on hard as the Seadramon lashed its body to try and swipe her, but only ended up carrying her with it further down. Timing the swings to perfection, Aayla released her grip and allowed herself to be catapulted upwards before bringing her hands together forcefully and pulsing a large amount of sea-water down to smack into the Seadramon like a wall.

The first and second bore down on her again, streaking through the water and eager to claim their prize. Aayla swung around to face them, bubbles blowing out of the rebreather in her mouth. She knew that if she used her lightsabers, she could probably do some serious damage to these relatively unarmoured Digimon, but she had no desire to do so. In all likelihood these were not even evil Digimon. But they _were_ lost in a strange world, and nobody deserved to die like that.

So Aayla prepared to keep distracting them and did just that, bursting forwards and shooting straight between them before they could react. Both tried to lunge at her and ended up smacking their heads into one another, reeling backwards with cries of surprise, but as Aayla neared their tails, both of them swung viciously at her. Aayla flung herself downwards and avoided the first before flinging herself back up to mostly avoid the other, but it still crashed into her legs and sent her flipping backwards several dozen feet.

The Force suddenly screamed at her to move and Aayla obeyed instantly, firing herself away just as another Seadramon shot upwards from the depths and lashed at her with snapping teeth. It was the one that Milotic had put the sleep before, freshly woken from its nap and thoroughly annoyed. Now, all six Seadramon were up near the surface and despite the fact that each of them were showing various injuries, none of them were showing any signs of stopping.

As Aayla swung herself up and around and down and back up again in a full circle to drive herself into the underside of the surprised Seadramon's jaw, two others closed in on either side of her and opened their jaws. This time, instead of a full on blast of ice, they both began to fire numerous arrow-shaped shards of it right at her before they swung away and out of the crossfire.

Aayla reacted on instinct and drew her lightsabers, throwing herself into a whirl of motion as she compacted the water around her to aid rather than hinder her movements. Blades slashed through the icy arrows with ruthless and impeccable precision, meeting each one head on as Aayla span herself round and round, often upside-down, to slash them into harmlessness.

Annoyed that their tactic hadn't worked, three Seadramon began to close in on the submerged Twi'lek, who held her lightsabers ready even though she had no plans to use them. But before the Seadramon could act, another one was flung downwards from above to crash into one of the three, tangling their long serpentine bodies together in the process. Aayla looked up to see a faintly glowing Milotic duking it out with another Seadramon. The Seadramon was pounding at her with its tail, but this seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever, whereas when Milotic swatted him in the face with her own fan-like tail he went reeling.

Milotic spotted Aayla down below and swung herself down towards her, knowing that the two of them would be better off working together than separately. Aayla nodded to her, then underwater-backflipped to avoid the Seadramon that had been lancing right at her back. Sheathing her blades, Aayla seized the fin-like projections on either side of its yellow head and rode the Seadramon with ease, causing it to go bucking and writhing in an attempt to throw her off right before Milotic cannoned into him and shoved him downwards, Aayla releasing him and floating up beside Milotic.

The two of them found themselves facing the rest of the group, as they snarled and seemed to try and come up with their next move. Milotic turned to Aayla and said, speaking flawlessly despite being underwater, "Normally I'm averse to this sort of thing, but while we're here, let's see what we can do together."

Aayla couldn't answer beyond a nod but there wouldn't have been time for much more than that because it was at that moment that the Seadramon rushed in towards them. Aayla was oddly reminded of the first time that she and Renamon had fought side by side on Christophsis over a year and a half ago. This was her first fight alongside someone from yet another universe and it was still just as odd an experience as then. In fact, more so, since she was battling giant sea serpents _with_ a giant sea serpent.

The Twi'lek seized the base of Milotic's tail and the Pokémon quickly got the message and swung her with incredible force towards one of the Seadramon. Aayla span out of the catapult that forced her into and, with a wave of her hand, a surge of bubble rose up from nowhere and swarmed the Seadramon's face, obscuring its vision. The Seadramon faltered as Aayla blew through the bubbles and latched onto the Seadramon's left head-fin and jerked it to the side.

A combination of natural momentum and angry twisting to try and snap at her caused the Seadramon to veer off course and collide with another. Aayla inwardly smirked as she flung herself away and plunged down deeper as another one twisted towards her to try and snap her up, but Milotic's Iron Tail came slamming in and crashed into the side of its jaw, causing a howl of anguish as it tipped away.

Milotic skirted around Aayla and used her body to shield the Twi'lek from another incoming set of teeth, which scratched harmlessly against her hardened Marvel Scales. Milotic wrenched herself free and her body began to shine a brighter orange than before, white electric-like sparkles crackling over her long, slender form before she powered herself forwards and rammed the Seadramon with a bone-breaking Façade, powered up by the fact that she had a Burn. She had deliberately learned that move to take advantage of her ability and it worked. The Seadramon hung in the water, alive but out of commission for now.

Milotic turned around and saw two more surging towards her and preparing their Ice Blast attacks. But Aayla was with her still and the Twi'lek called on the Force and threw her arms upwards, causing the water beneath the two Seadramon to displace and surge upwards like a giant flying fist doing an uppercut and smashed them in the bellies, knocking the breath they had out of them. Milotic followed up with her own Ice Beam attack which washed over them and froze the water around them, encasing a large portion of their torsos in thick ice.

But another Seadramon was surging in from the side and had already unleashed an Ice Winder, the enormous helix of frozen water whirling towards both Milotic and Aayla. Aayla reacted quickly and flung herself forwards, with Milotic directly behind her. Aayla pulled ahead and shot straight through the middle of the attack, while Milotic spun herself into a Twister that connected with it and tore it apart while she followed.

The Seadramon stopped just to gape in surprise before Aayla span past its head to give it a hefty kick straight in the eye. Moments later, Milotic's Twister slammed into it below the neck and blew it backwards, followed by Milotic herself as she slammed an Iron Head into its gut. As it rolled away, stunned, Aayla seized one of the long hair-like tendrils that flowed from Milotic's head and pulled herself in until she was holding both like a pair of reigns and placed her feet on the back of Milotic's head to anchor her in place.

Calling on the Force once more, Aayla manipulated the water around both of them and Milotic found herself pushed forwards towards the next two Seadramon at amazing speed. The two of them were just untangling themselves from where Aayla had made them collide earlier, but before they could do that the water around their heads suddenly shoved shifted and pushed their heads together with a terrific smack, also courtesy of Aayla, and then Milotic swung around and gave them a speed-boosted Dragon Tail at the same time.

To say the Seadramon were surprised was an understatement. As they all tried to collect themselves as best they could, all they could really think about was how humiliating and yet amazing this was. The six of them knew each other and had regarded one another as quite formidable in a fight, and yet here they were having their tails kicked by a sea-serpent quite a bit smaller than they were and something that looked like a human but wasn't. Each of them were covered in scrape and bruises by this point, but neither of the other two had a mark to show for the fight. Though, admittedly, the other sea-serpent had marks before, which had healed over by this point.

This was not on. At all!

"We have to work together!" one of them cried. "They are strong. But we can overwhelm them if we all attack together like they're doing to us. We'll make them pay for bringing us here!"

Aayla's eyes widened when she heard him say this.

_That's _what this was about? Was this why they had attacked Milotic and the rest in the first place?

Of course. That made sense. This wasn't a malignant bunch of evil Digimon. These guys had suddenly found themselves thrown into the Pokémon World through no fault of their own, in a strange ocean with strange creatures, and they had done two things straight away. Firstly, they had panicked, and secondly – in that panic – they had started attacking everything around them in search of someone to blame and send them back.

Aayla suddenly felt extremely sorry for them. She didn't know what it was like to feel like them but the Tamers and the Digimon did. They had been thrown into her world after all. She had been right not to use her sabers. She needed to find a way to end this fight peacefully.

But now the Seadramon were so angry that they were attacking to get their own back too by this point. And they all surged towards the two of them en masse like a wall of green and yellow.

"Time to go," Milotic turned round and shot the other way. "Gardevoir tells me that they've made it to the island now. Let's get moving. We can draw them in."

As the Seadramon followed wildly and Aayla held onto Milotic like a horse, the Twi'lek's mind raced. How could they go about stopping this? Weren't Milotic supposed to have powers to calm down angry and scared creatures. She probably hadn't had the opportunity to try it before she'd been thrown into the action, which had been non-stop ever since. But they needed to give it a go now.

But while Aayla's mind was racing, Milotic's attention was elsewhere. Because, as they drew closer and closer to the island, she had noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned to look while still swimming hard. What she saw made her eyes widen in surprise and there was a trace element of fear in her expression.

Because, in the distance and getting increasingly larger, was a dark shape. A _massive_ dark shape that was coming closer with every passing second, moving on a path to intercept the group at their current speed. The shape in question was easily as big as a Wailord, if not even bigger, and like the Seadramon it was quite clearly a shape that she had never experienced before. Out of the huge body came a long tail with an equally long and winding neck, four massive flippers at the places where the limbs would be on a land creature which were beating slowly to push it through the water. Two long fin-like projections were coming out of its shoulders and though it was still in the distance, Milotic could quite plainly see that its head had a large set of jaws.

Milotic put on more speed and she cried, "Hey, Aayla. We've got incoming from the side."

Aayla's head snapped around and her own eyes widened considerably as she spotted the humungous creature moving in towards them. It was becoming clearer with each passing second as it moved with amazing speed for something so vast and slow-looking.

But after a moment, she frowned in bewilderment.

_Hold on,_ she thought. _That one looks familiar. Where have I seen that before?_

_You haven't,_ came Renamon's amazed voice. _We have._

_Is it…_ Lopmon faltered. _It can't be. Is that really him? What is _he_ doing here?_

And Aayla knew then exactly what she was looking at.

A few moments later and the rapidly-closing creature, which Aayla could now see was almost completely white, opened its mouth and let out what might possibly have been the most heart-rending noise that Aayla had ever heard before. She immediately felt her body slacken as the mournful tune literally rolled over her and the rest of the underwater group, for the sound was washing out of the creatures mouth and pulsing through the water like a series of sound waves. Milotic suddenly slowed in the water when she heard the noise herself, her tense body slackening before she drew to a halt completely almost limp in the water.

The same could be said for the Seadramon, although their own reactions to the attack were slower than that of Aayla and Milotic's. At first they grew slower in the water, as if unsure of themselves, but they kept coming towards Milotic regardless, albeit getting slower with every passing second.

Milotic glanced over her shoulder at the slowing foe and decided to take the opportunity that she had been waiting for and turned around, letting off a plaintive cry of her own as her body glowed and began to pulse waves of her own into the water. This was not an attack, but now that Milotic's mind was suddenly clear and free of battle she could concentrate on generating the calming aura that her kind was so well known for. The soundwave from the stranger seemed to meld with Milotic's aura and sweep over and even through the group of Seadramon.

Suffice to say, it only took about five seconds from that point before the Seadramon were hanging in the water doing nothing. Aayla could literally see the anger, rage and frustration draining from their eyes, replaced by calm and slight bewilderment, and even perhaps a little shame.

All Aayla could really think of was, _Wow. That was fast. We could have done with something like this during the Clone Wars._

_Never mind that,_ Lopmon interjected. _What about him?_

Aayla turned to face the still rapidly approaching stranger, who was looming larger and larger. His bulk absolutely dwarfed that of even Milotic. He could easily rival the likes of MegaGargomon and Cherubimon in terms of size. But Aayla felt no fear in his presence, even though he had now stopped his strange sound-wave.

He drew up alongside them and looked down at the group a little balefully, eyeing them all like they were children that he had just been caught being naughty. The Seadramon all looked a little unnerved, but Milotic held her ground, staring up at the enormous creature in amazement.

When the creature spoke, it's voice was quite flat, like some kind of reptilian dry noise that came from the back of his throat. "Now then," he said, in plain English. "Would somebody like to explain to me what is going on here and where in the Digital World I am? This is not a part of the ocean that I recognise and I have spent most of my days traversing this level so I know my way around."

"We don't know where we are either," one of the Seadramon voiced up. "We found ourselves here earlier too. We were trying to make these people tell us what was going on? They must have brought us here or something."

"Is that so?" the much larger creature asked, turning its gaze upon Milotic and Aayla. "Why do you say that?"

The Seadramon speaker opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, before shutting it again fully. Aayla almost chuckled around her rebreather. She could see what was going on. Now that the Seadramon had a clear head and was thinking rationally it could quite clearly see that it had no evidence to suggest that either Milotic or Aayla were involved at all. In its panic it hadn't cared, but now it just looked confused.

The larger one shook its head. Clearly it was much more level-headed than these Seadramon. It then turned to Milotic and Aayla and said, "And who are you then? I have never encountered any Digimon like either of you."

"I would tell you, but you would not understand me," Milotic sighed.

The creature blinked. "What was that noise supposed to mean? Can you speak?"

"Yes," Milotic rolled her eyes. "But not to you."

The creature stared at her uncomprehendingly. Milotic shook her head and then turned around, making very definitive gestures with her head as she jerked it towards the direction of Cinnabar Island, moving off and doubling back on herself a couple of times with Aayla still clinging to her.

"I think she wants us to follow her," one of the Seadramon said.

"This makes me sound like a trained Lillipup," Milotic muttered, nodding her head vigorously as she did so. Then she set off straight towards Cinnabar without looking back and, after a few moments, the others followed her curiously.

* * *

It only took about a minute or so before the sea-floor began to rise dramatically, indicating rise of the sea mount that was the volcanic island of Cinnabar. Milotic followed the angle of the ground and rose upwards towards the surface until she broke through it with a surge of water droplets and headed in towards the shore. Aayla was still firmly positioned on her head, but now she sprang off with an enormous bound, plucking the rebreather from her mouth as she catapulted herself to land perfectly on the rocky shoreline.

The rest of the group had already positioned themselves there, the five Lapras milling in the shallows and out of the way while everyone else lined the banks. Even Charizard had been released from his Pokeball to be ready for this. But as Aayla stood up straight, she smiled and said, "Everyone can stand down now. I believe that the crisis has been averted."

"Yep," Milotic nodded. "Though I think that I would very much like an explanation as to what is going on myself," she added, as the six battered looking Seadramon rose slowly out of the water behind her. Moments later, the enormous newcomer broke the surface and rose up and up and up, towering over all present until half his torso had emerged from the water, his long neck arching over until he was looking almost directly downwards at the group on the shoreline.

The Pokémon could only gape at the size of him. "Whoa," Glaceon breathed. "Who the heck is this guy?"

"He's enormous," Scyther agreed, suddenly feeling quite small and powerless in comparison to this guy.

"Gigantic," added Swellow, resisting the urge to take several steps back.

But Terriermon only grinned and waved an ear. "Hey, Plesiomon! It's been a while."

The enormous creature turned to look over at him and when it spotted the Digimon and their Tamers his face split into a toothy grin. "Well, I'll be…" he said. "I should have known that you guys would be involved with something strange like this. But it is good to see several familiar faces."

"I can imagine," Renamon nodded. "But I hope you don't take it the wrong way when we say that seeing you here is not only a surprise, but extremely worrying."

"You know each other?" Felkan asked, folding his arms.

"Yeah, we do," Impmon nodded. "This is Plesiomon. He's among the more powerful inhabitants of the Digital World, one of the many servants of our four great Digimon Sovereigns. He's helped us to fight against some of our more powerful adversaries many times. But what the heck are you doing here?"

"I would quite like to know the answer to that myself," Plesiomon replied. "Because I do not currently have a clue." He frowned as he looked up. "I certainly don't recognise this island."

Now that Aayla turned to look at it, she could definitely see that Cinnabar Island was a mess. Professor Oak had said that the volcano had erupted only a few years ago and you could definitely tell that this was the case. In the distance she could see what had probably once been a village of some kind, but now most of the buildings which were still visible were either tilted or completely fallen over and half buried in what looked like solid rock. Aayla could just imagine it – that rock had once been lava which had washed over the buildings and pulled them down or melted through them before eventually cooling and solidifying to produce a solid layer. The whole island was, essentially, once big mound of oddly smoothed rock with a couple of signs of civilisation poking out of it somewhere, but nothing with nothing actually living in it.

"Not surprising," Henry chuckled humourlessly. "What exactly happened to you? And to you Seadramon as well? Do you remember anything?"

"Yes, we remember," one of the Seadramon nodded. "One minute we were swimming along as per normal and then suddenly this enormous… rip appeared out of nowhere next to us and we found ourselves getting sucked in, and then we were here."

"It was definitely not a Data Stream," another Seadramon added. "It had to be the work of some kind of Dark Digimon. That's why we attacked you guys. We thought that you were the ones to blame."

"Well you didn't really think that one through did you?" Houndoom scoffed.

"What?" one of the Seadramon frowned. "Why are you saying 'Houndoom' over and over again?"

Houndoom blinked.

"They cannot understand you," Aayla informed the Pokémon. "We might be able to, but they have not received the alterations to their minds that Uxie gave to us. They have been planted here by accident I'm afraid."

Plesiomon and the Seadramon looked confused, before Plesiomon said, "Oh. Could you be this Aayla Secura which I have been hearing about? I heard that you came into our world a year ago but I've never actually seen you before."

"I haven't made many trips to the Digital World," Aayla chuckled. "But yes, that is me. Nice to meet you Plesiomon."

"Now, if you don't mind, I have given you the question," Plesiomon added. "Now what is going on? The same thing that happened to the Seadramon here happened to me as well. One moment I'm in a familiar stretch of ocean, and the next I find myself here in a completely unfamiliar place. As I try to find out where I am, I notice some sort of fight going on under the water and use my Sorrow Blue attack to make the combatants lose the will to fight and now I am here. Where am I?"

"Well, first it might be better to tell you where you aren't," Terriermon said grimly. "You _aren't_ in the Digital World anymore."

Plesiomon stared blankly. "I'm not? Then this is the Human World?"

"Not really," Rika shook her head. "Humans do live here but this is a completely different universe. For ease of communication, let's just call this the Pokémon world."

"The what?"

"Alright, alright, we'll start at the beginning," Impmon said. "I really hate this part. How many more times during this little adventure of ours are we going to have to explain exactly what's going on, what we know, what we don't know and what we're trying to do about it?"

"Probably many, many times," Rika agreed.

"Hopefully not too many," Felkan pointed out. "This is supposed to be a covert mission after all. And Milotic, you did absolutely brilliantly out there. I'm proud of you. But you can use Refresh now and get rid of that Burn since the fight's over."

Milotic crooned, pleased with Felkan's praise before the faint glow that came from the Burn literally seemed to burst off her scales in hundreds of sparkles that dissipated into the air. "Thank you, Felkan," she said. "That means a lot."

The Tamers stared at Felkan for a moment. The difference in the way the trainer behaved towards them and his Pokémon was extraordinarily pronounced. It was like he was two different people, one cold and the other caring. They understood why that was the case, but it was still a little odd to see.

But they brushed that aside for now, and explained to Plesiomon and the faintly bemused Seadramon about the situation between the two worlds colliding, and how the Tamers were now attempting to fix it on both sides of the collapsing wall.

"It would be my guess," Aayla summarised. "That the two of you ended up falling through a tear in the universe which briefly opened up as a result of this collision, flinging you straight from one and into the other. According to what we know, the space-time continuum is collapsing, which means that literal rips in the fabric of both universes could occur and did if you are any indication."

"But this is a disaster," Plesiomon stated, rather needlessly. "All Digimon in our world would be wiped out if what you are stating will come to pass."

"And try not to forget about the Pokémon while you're at it," mumbled Charizard, not bothering to declare it fully since he wouldn't be understood anyway.

"We know that," Renamon nodded. "And rest assured that we will do everything in our power to stop it. We don't know how long we have left exactly but we do know that it won't happen for at least another couple of months."

"Two months is not very long in this context," Plesiomon pointed out.

"Indeed not," Aayla agreed. "And sad to say it, but your presence here adds a new layer to this disaster, Plesiomon. It is an obvious fact, and I had briefly considered it when I learned of the situation, but I will be honest when I say that I didn't dwell on it for long. I thought that the possibility of such things were slim. But if you are here now, only a day into the quest we have been set on as a result of a tear in space time… which could mean that you arrived here before _we_ did…then how many other examples of this are there going to be?"

There was dead silence at her words as everybody absorbed the full implications of what the Twi'lek was saying. "That… is a good point," Henry breathed.

"And a bad one," Aayla nodded. "We were lucky this time – all of you Digimon appeared in a location far away from human civilisations. But how many more times is a Digimon going to get sucked through the tearing world walls into this world. And where will they end up? Can you imagine a panicking Mega-level Digimon running rampant in a human city? There would be devastation. And what of the Digimon themselves? What if they land in an environment that they are not suited to at all? What if the humans decide to try and capture them or even kill them? And I am willing to bet that as we come closer to the actual collapse itself, this sort of thing will start happening more frequently too as the walls grow weaker than ever."

"And that's not all," Henry agreed. "It's not all one way, is it? If a Digimon can be sucked here from their world, then humans and Pokémon could be sucked through the other way into the Digital World. How many lost children will end up in an inhospitable world full of giant monsters larger than most Pokémon? How many innocent Pokémon themselves? This is even worse than I had initially grasped?"

"Do the Sovereigns know about this?" Plesiomon asked. "They might be able to take some measures to help."

"They should know by now," Aayla nodded. "I left my communication link with them with the other group of Tamers. I'm sure that they'll consider this sort of thing too. Unlike the Legendaries of this world the Sovereigns are not hard to contact. So, while the Digital World will have its fair share of problems from this, I think it is safe to suggest that this world is the one in greater trouble."

"You say that you need to find all of these special Pokémon in order to save the worlds?" Plesiomon pressed. "These Legendaries?"

"Yes. Companions of Latios and Latias there," Lopmon pointed to where the two Eon dragons were floating, still enthralled by the enormous Plesiomon, who reminded them of some strange combination between Kyogre, Lugia and Rayquaza.

"Perhaps I could be of some help?" Plesiomon asked. "Perhaps I could come with you on this mission to help you find them?"

"Er…" Impmon blinked.

"No offense, Plesiomon, but I don't think that would be plausible," Renamon stated. "Despite the danger to this world, we are attempting to be covert in what we're doing to help reduce unnecessary panic, and I think that if you came with us, you would definitely draw attention to us. Unlike the rest of we Digimon you cannot revert down to your smaller forms at will and back up again, and much of where we go will require us to travel over land."

"That is true," Terriermon raised a finger. "But remember what we were talking about before? About those Legendaries who live in the deep oceans and how difficult it might be to find them? Maybe Plesiomon can help and do that for us."

"I don't know," Lopmon said thoughtfully. "Uxie said that it specifically had to be us to do this, though I still cannot fathom why. He said that we had to be responsible for finding _all_ the Legendaries. Besides, I don't know if I like the idea of setting Plesiomon around the world's oceans alone. I know you can take care of yourself, Plesiomon, but still this is a strange world. There may be things that you don't know how to deal with here, and of course you could be spotted by humans. Plus, how would we stay in contact? How would Plesiomon be able to find us or tell us if he'd succeeded in finding a Legendary?"

"Good points there," Terriermon shrugged. "Well, it was just a suggestion."

"Well then what are we supposed to do with them?" Suzie asked.

The Pokémon and Felkan were all staying out of this for now, deciding that this was the business of the offworlders since they were talking about other offworlders. But one of the Seadramon objected vehemently and said, "Excuse me. Why do you decide what we are supposed to do? We don't take orders from humans like you Digimon do. We are our own people."

"They have a point," Aayla said. "We can hardly treat them like objects. They are people too."

"Nevertheless," Plesiomon added, turning to stare down at the Seadramon balefully, making it squirm. "You Seadramon have already scared away much of this world's inhabitants and attacked members of the Tamers' group – a group that the Sovereigns themselves hold in high regard and trust to carry out vital business for the Digital World, such as this. I think it would be best if you were to listen to them and do what they suggest. They are right. This situation is out of our flippers and they have far more experience at this. This is not the time to get indignant."

The Seadramon all nodded their heads respectfully to the much more powerful Digimon.

"Thank you, Plesiomon," smiled Henry.

Plesiomon nodded. "In truth, it is frustrating to hear that I cannot be of help in this situation. But if that is indeed the case, then I shall attempt to at least make sure I am not a burden to you. Is there any way of sending us back to the Digital World?"

"It's not like we can just open a Digi-port," Rika shrugged. "Travelling to the Digital World had never been easy for us. And the only person we know who could actively take you back now is Giratina and we have no way to contact him. So no, I'm afraid not."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Plesiomon asked.

The blank faces in front of him gave Plesiomon his answer.

"I see," he said. "Then this is a bit of a dilemma."

Felkan suddenly cleared his throat, drawing everybody's attention towards him. "I have a suggestion," he said. "Perhaps it is unlucky that we encountered these guys so early in this so-called quest. But there is a lucky aspect to it too. I happen to know of a place where these Digimon friends of yours could go that is relatively close to here, where they would not be bothered by many people and where you could, if you wanted, make periodic check-ups to see if they're okay. With this," he added, holding up the X-transceiver which he had received only earlier that day.

Henry blinked. "You're suggesting that we send these guys to Professor Oak?"

"Why not?" shrugged Felkan. "Professor Oak has an enormous reserve where he looks after trainers' Pokémon when they can't be on team with their trainer at the reserve. He should be more than capable of seeing to any needs of your friends here, though he might not have encountered anything quite like them before," he added, looking up at the enormous form of Plesiomon. "And the reserve is private so most people don't and can't get in there without his permission and I'm sure he'd be fascinated with these newcomers and more than willing to let the stay. And if you need to you can always contact him to ask how they are."

"You know what?" Aayla sent Felkan a grin. "That sounds ideal."

Felkan stared Aayla in the face a couple of seconds before he looked away, an unreadable expression on his face. Aayla could sense his emotions though. He was still feeling obligated not to get close or particularly friendly with them but there was some part of him that was pleased that he could help in some way.

Aayla knew Gardevoir could sense it too, and the Pokémon in question sent Aayla a grateful look in response. Even this small offering of a suggestion was some form of progress next to the bare-faced refusal to be helpful that Felkan had gone through last night. Perhaps Lopmon's words earlier had had some effect on him after all.

Plesiomon chuckled. "I must admit, there are times when I still miss your human foods," he said. "And now that I am no longer in the Digital World it will become necessary for us to start eating to survive. Very well. If we are to be hosted by a human until we can return to the Digital World then we shall do so. Where can we find this man?"

"That's a point," agreed Renamon. "How do we guide them to Oak's place? Should one of us accompany them back and then try to catch up with the rest of us?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Henry said. "That might be inconvenient."

"Lucario," Felkan turned and nodded to his Aura Pokémon. "Could you use your abilities to implant a map of the way into the heads of these Digimon? I'll contact Oak and let him know what's going on."

Lucario nodded and stepped forwards steadfastly, rising off the ground as Gardevoir used her Psychic abilities to lift him into the air until he was hovering just in front of Plesiomon's head. The jackal-like Pokémon closed his eyes and after a moment the strange projections that hung from the back of his head rose upwards until they stuck out to the sides and he placed a hand on Plesiomon's forehead. There was a brief blue surge from beneath his paw that swept around Plesiomon's head briefly before he removed it and said, "Done."

Plesiomon blinked. "How bizarre," he said. "It is as if I have known which direction to go all along."

"Fascinating," Aayla said as Gardevoir returned Lucario to the ground. "I certainly do not know of a Force-technique that can do that."

Plesiomon then nodded and said, "We will not keep you any longer then Tamers. I wish you and your companions well in your adventure and I pray to both Fanglongmon and this Arceus person that you succeed. You Seadramon come with me. We have a place to stay and we will stay there until such and when we're needed."

"Alright," said one of the Seadramon.

"And if it is any consolation, we apologise for attacking you," another added, directing it to all of them but focusing it mostly on Milotic.

Milotic knew a reply wouldn't be understood but she gave one anyway, "That's alright. You were not thinking clearly and there has been no lasting damage."

"She kicked your tails anyway," Garchomp snickered.

"See ya, Plesiomon," Suzie waved, as the Mega-level ocean going Digimon and the six Champions turned and began to make their way directly north, retracing the path the Tamers themselves had just taken and disappearing under the surface once again.

"Let's hope that most of the Digimon we come across if we encounter any others are like that Plesio-guy," Glaceon smiled. "He seemed nice enough."

"Yes, but unfortunately many Digimon are not like him," sighed Renamon. "Most are friendly nowadays. But certainly not all. And unfortunately the ones that aren't are often the stronger ones. Nevertheless, I have to say I am quite impressed with your abilities, Milotic. Seadramon might not be all that strong in comparison to many other Digimon but to handle that many at the same time is impressive nonetheless. It does give me hope for the future."

"Thank you," nodded Milotic, a little shyly. "But I thought Aayla was the impressive one. To have a creature built like a human do things like that to such big creatures was amazing."

"Thank you too," Aayla smiled. "You know. We may be very different groups, but I do believe that if we try, we can work together very well indeed."

"Amen to that," Milotic nodded.

* * *

The group decided not to continue with their journey after that. The sun was reaching setting point as it was and they all agreed that pressing on at night would be a bad idea. Even the Lapras admitted that they might pass the Seafoam Islands by accident at night as they were much more used to travelling in the day themselves. So, while the decaying remains of a volcanic eruption was hardly the most comfortable place to spend the night, that it what they did.

Some of them, however, couldn't resist the chance to explore before the sun went down, so while most of the group were settling down, Impmon had decided to go for a wander and was now traipsing up the side of the main volcano. Ai and Mako were following behind him, both quite out of breath by this point, but determined to keep up with him.

"Seriously you two, you didn't need to come," said Impmon as he waited for them to catch up again. "You've got a few more years before you should go climbing volcanoes."

"Yeah maybe," Ai panted. "But we thought we've gotta get used to doing stuff like this soon, right Mako?"

"Yeah," Mako agreed. "I mean, this is an adventure, so we've gotta do stuff like this at some point. This is like practice."

Impmon laughed. "You know Teradalets, most kids your age don't want to go throwing themselves into climbing mountains."

"We're not most kids though, right?" Mako asked.

"Got that right," Impmon nodded. "Still, might not be best to go too far," he added, turning around. "Sun's going down. Probably should head back now before…"

He stopped, blinked, and then squinted upwards at the volcano's slope. Ai and Mako frowned and then stepped up beside him to do the same. It took them several seconds to see what Impmon was looking at, and then they squinted at it too.

It was a long way off, but they could still quite plainly make out the large, russet-coloured, four-legged shape that was standing on a ledge near the top of the volcano. They couldn't make out that many details about it, but before they could comment on it the shape suddenly bounded outwards and barrelled down the distant slope and away from the until it reached the water's edge and then kept going.

To their astonishment, as it reached the water a thin stream of lava suddenly appeared in front of it hardened into land to create a literal path of rock which formed right before the creature put its feet down and crumbled them second it had passed by, allowing whatever it was to run across the surface of the water by creating a small piece of land right where it was putting its feet down and then leaving no evidence that it was ever there at all. And then it was gone, moving at blazing speed across the sea until it had vanished from sight within seconds.

"Wait a second?" Impmon blustered. "What the… could that have been?"

"Didn't that thing look a bit like one of those things from the old guy's computer?" Ai asked. "One of those three beast creatures?"

Impmon said nothing for a moment, before he cried, "Damn it! If that really was a Legendary Pokémon and it ran off before we could talk to it, I'm going to hit something!"

* * *

Heh. I thought it would be tantalising to put in that little bit at the end, and quite frustrating for some of the characters. They still have a long way to go at the moment, and it promises to be quite more wild than the story might have originally sounded. We have to wonder now what other kinds of Digimon might find themselves in the Pokémon World and what would become of them.

In any case, I thank you for your patience once again and I make the usual promise of trying to be faster in future. Let's see how I go with that, shall we? And that is pretty much the only role Plesiomon will have in this story, but I hope that you liked his brief appearance. Since MetalSeadramon showed up seemingly randomly in the last story I thought that Plesiomon deserved his turn.

* * *

Next time…

The journey to the Seafoam Islands continues the next day and the gang reach their destination easily enough. But, when they get there and begin their search for Articuno, they might find themselves in for a couple of surprises. And not particularly good ones either.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 17 : Fire and Ice**


	17. Fire and Ice

I am so sorry for yet another delay to this story folks. It's so hard to get things done when things pile up against you. First a heavy-duty assignment kept me busy for a while, then a uni trip to London kept me practically unable to find any sleep for three days let alone write anything, and then just when I think I am getting somewhere with my writing I make the mistake of going and buying "The Mark of Athena" which swallowed my time completely until I finished reading it. Well, here it is now anyway, and I hope that you like what you read.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 17:- Fire and Ice**

* * *

Even though the sun had been on the verge of setting when Impmon and the twins returned to the camp, many of the group immediately set out up the mountain to see if they could do any investigating themselves as to the identity of the strange creature which Impmon had sighted. They really needn't have bothered, for there were certainly no clues that had not already been given, and Impmon had not seen it clearly enough to make out too many details.

But when he presented the description of the four-legged being with the orange fur and the strange ability which had allowed him to run across the ocean to Latios and Latias, they had been more than forthcoming with their information.

"Oh yes," nodded Latios. "That certainly sounds like Entei. Especially that last bit. I can't think of any other Pokémon who can conjure lava to create land directly in front of him like that except for Heatran, and Heatran certainly cannot move at the speed that you described."

"Are you telling us that we really found our first Legendary and he slipped through our fingers before we could even get close?" Impmon cried indignantly.

"It seems so," Latios nodded sadly. "I'm afraid I have to apologise for this. I should have been searching the area around me with my mind to see if I could pick up any familiar mental signatures. But I was rather focused on what had just transpired with those ocean Digimon and, to be perfectly honest the thought of running into Entei so quickly never occurred to me. Otherwise I would have sensed him the moment we arrived on the island. Or the moment he did. Whichever came first."

"It's not your fault," Terriermon said cheerfully, trying to perk up everyone who were suddenly feeling irritated at this near miss. "You couldn't have known. But we can take it as a lesson and we can pay more attention to our surroundings than ever. Next time we run into that guy, we'll get him."

"He's right, brother," Latias patted his shoulder. "I didn't sense him either. But now we can be more vigilant. Let's take this as a I good sign that we realised something important so early in the mission, yeah?"

Latios sighed. "I suppose," he nodded. "You have a point. Still, the odds of coming across him like that are slim as it is. All three of the Legendary Beasts are roamers by nature so we may have to keep our minds open for them at all times. They could be anywhere - oceans aren't a barrier to any of them. Entei creates land to run across, Suicune just runs _on_ the water itself and Raikou can run _through the air._ We must make sure that this doesn't happen again."

"Well, look at you getting all leaderlike," Latias snickered. "Oh wait, that's just your usual over-serious self. My bad."

"Ha ha," Latios said blandly.

"I agree," Latias grinned. "It's funny, 'cause it's true."

"Sometimes I wonder how many of the words that come out of my mouth you actually listen to."

"About forty percent of them but so what? I get by. And I got it this time – watch out for passing Legendaries."

"What might Entei have even been doing here?" Lopmon asked. "I get that this is a remote place where nobody lives anymore but it seems a lot of hassle to run across an ocean to reach an island for only a short stay."

"Entei has an affiliation with volcanoes," replied Latios. "He can make a volcano erupt with the power of his roar alone, though of course he doesn't make a habit of that. I'm not sure why he chose to come here though. Maybe he was paying his respects to the people who died in the eruption because he couldn't get there in time to help. Maybe he just came to use it as a rest stop on a longer journey across the ocean. Who knows except him? And Uxie of course."

While the disappointment that they had missed their chance to speak with the first of the twenty-five Legendaries that they had to find, it did serve its purpose, as Latias said, to invigorate the group and make sure that they didn't miss chance number two. And with this in mind they settled down for the night, ready to begin tomorrow anew and hope that it was a bit less exciting than today had been. It had been a heck of a first day.

Felkan remained awake for some time after most of the others had retired. Thoughts of his mother were still crammed in his head, remembering the brief times that she had been there to see him. She remembered the first time that she had met Gardevoir, when she had been just a Ralts, and the look of pride in her eyes when she learned of how her son had saved and befriended the small Pokémon, even if she then went on to lecture him about not doing something so reckless again. A good memory. Most of his memories of his mother were good ones, he realised, but he had forgotten that due to his resentment of the fact that she was only there every so often.

She had been… a good person. A good human. Really.

He also looked across at Lopmon, where she was snoozing gently in Suzie's arms, remembering what the small Digimon had told her about the humans that he now had for company. He remembered the look of horror on Henry's face when he had made Houndoom deliberately Burn Milotic to give her an edge against the Seadramon. To him that was a simple tactic that was quite common in the Pokémon World, but he had to admit that it might not look like that in the eyes of someone who had not grown up around Pokémon. And the Tamers had seemed genuinely horrified at the prospect.

Perhaps Lopmon's words had been right. Maybe they were indeed trustworthy people.

Felkan pondered the idea briefly before he shook himself and forced himself to turn in. He was still too confused to give it too much serious thought. What he was thinking now went against everything he'd held firmly in his head for the last five years, so he resolved to leave for now and see where things went from here, though his mind had opened a little more. If only a bit.

But one thing that Lopmon had said wouldn't leave him alone. The part about he himself being a human. Of course he'd always known that, but he'd been determinedly not thinking of himself as a human for so long that it had become second-nature, but Lopmon was right. He was a human and he was _not_ the exception to the rule of all humans being untrustworthy. That would be ridiculous. But ever since the incident five years ago, Felkan just hadn't thought like that. His mind had always been on the same track.

He fell asleep eventually, but the confusion didn't leave him even in his dreams.

* * *

Eventually everybody woke again the following morning, and Felkan resolved to continue as before, keeping his distance from the Tamers and their companions and watching them out the corner of his eye, though this time he was doing it to see 'what they were like' rather than 'when they would pounce.'

He also had something else to say, as he addressed his assembled throng before they left the island. "Guys," he said. "I've been doing some thinking and in light of yesterday's attack, I think it might be better if all of you learned to spend the majority of our travels in your Pokéballs again. I know that none of you have spent longer than a few hours in your Pokéballs at a time over the last five years but I think it's time that ended. If we go near civilisation, as we probably will at some point in the future, having all of you out and about will attract attention, especially since no trainer is supposed to have more than six Pokémon at a time."

"But we want to look out for you," protested Luxray.

"I'll leave one or two of you out most of the time," Felkan assured him. "But it's also dangerous for all of you to be out at once. The attack by those Digimon proved that – Sceptile and Lucario were briefly made vulnerable when they could have been much safer in their Balls. And since we have to get used to it, I think now would be a good time to start."

The Pokémon could see the logic in this so they agreeing with varying degrees of reluctance. Felkan quickly examined the group and eventually recalled all of them except for Gardevoir, Milotic, Glaceon and Lucario, promising the others that he would alternate them every now and then. He then turned to Gardevoir and held up her own Pokéball.

"You need to do it too, I'm afraid," he said. "A Gardevoir without a chest-horn will definitely get people thinking."

Gardevoir nodded, but placed her hand on his arm and said, "Nevertheless, let's hope that in future we won't actually need to hide away."

Felkan grimaced but chuckled. "Your optimism is boundless," he said, and for the first time in over three years he recalled Gardevoir into her Ball.

"And just like that, the team has been reduced to by almost a half," chuckled Impmon.

"They'll be ready if they're needed," Felkan replied. "Apparently Pokémon are vaguely aware of what's going on outside their Balls, although Psychic and Ghost types have greater awareness than most."

"Or those with aura," remarked Lucario with a smirk.

"That too," Felkan nodded. "Milotic, how are you holding up after yesterday?"

"I am fine," Milotic smiled. "My Aqua Ring restored all the damage which I took yesterday and I'm fully rested up. I'd rather not have to fight a battle like that again today, but I'll be more than able to keep going if I need to."

"That's good," Felkan nodded. "I received a message on my X-transceiver his morning. Apparently those Digimon from yesterday have already arrived at Oak's place. Oak sounded ecstatic from what I could tell. Seems like he's going to be quite occupied in the future with your aquatic friends."

"He reminds me of your Dad, Henry," Terriermon snickered. "Can't resist sticking his nose into something nerdy."

"I would argue," Henry said. "Except that I know that you're description is very accurate."

"Dad's not _that_ bad," Suzie pouted.

"Yes, he is," said Lopmon, Impmon, Renamon, Rika and Aayla all at once. Suzie pouted.

"Are we waiting for something?" asked Felkan, looking up at the others. He couldn't help feeling slightly vulnerable with only three Pokémon out as compared to their large group but he tried to shake it off, not completely succeeding but doing well enough. "Let's get a move on. If we hurry then by the end of the day we might have a run-in with Articuno."

"Hopefully a more successful run-in than our encounter with Entei," Latios chuckled.

"Come along, Slowpokes," Latias giggled as she zipped overhead. "This is no time for standing around hoping you'll evolve into Slowbros. We've got a world to save."

"_Two_ worlds to save," Terriermon grinned as he took off after them.

The five Lapras were still waiting for them in the surf faithfully, ready to continue on their way. With nine of the twelve of Felkan's Pokémon stored in their Balls there was considerably more space aboard each one. Once everyone had picked a Lapras they headed off, Milotic taking to the water once again while the Eon dragons soared effortlessly overhead.

* * *

The journey was more silent this time as they moved swiftly over the surf. The atmosphere was a little more subdued as a result of the attack yesterday and the underlying extra gravity of their mission that came with it. Milotic was not frolicking in the water this time, but spent most of her time under the surface, searching for any sign of any more lost Digimon, while everyone else watched the skies above.

As the travelled, Henry turned to Rika, who he was sharing his Lapras with and said quietly, "You know, I can't stop thinking about what happened yesterday. You know, the bit where Felkan deliberately burned Milotic. It just seems so… wrong… to me. Is that really the kind of thing that happens in this world?"

"Maybe it is," Rika shrugged. "Maybe it's just him," she added unkindly. "But this isn't our world, Henry. Even if it is wrong it's not really our place to try and change anything, even if we are trying to save it."

Henry shook himself. "I know. I just really don't know what to think. I mean, it seemed that Felkan made sure to counter-balance the whole Burning thing but still… I would never give Terriermon a Modify Card that would give a detrimental effect to him."

"Nor I to Renamon," agreed Rika. "But maybe that's because we don't know how well either of them would handle it, or if there would be a way to reverse its effects. I guess Felkan knew full well exactly what to do, and that's why he was able to do it with seemingly no qualms about it."

"I thought you didn't think very highly of him."

"I don't," Rika said, a little sharply. She then sighed and said, "He's a complete jackass as far as I can see. I mean when we first met him he was unquestionably rude and aggressive towards us and he never says anything to us without glaring at us first. He doesn't like us and as far as I'm concerned the feeling is mutual. But… well… look at him now," she added with a nod.

When Henry turned to look towards the Lapras that Felkan, Glaceon and Lucario were sharing, he saw Felkan had placed his hand on Glaceon's head and was ruffling the tuft of fur on top affectionately while Glaceon was clearly enjoying the sensation. Lucario similarly appeared to be chuckling as he stood beside the Lapras' neck.

"You don't have to be a brainiac like you to realise that he definitely cares about the Pokémon he has," Rika said with a dry smirk. "He definitely doesn't care about us, but as far as I can make out he definitely loves them with all his heart. And I can see why, given what we know about him. He doesn't treat his partners badly at all, even if he does Burn them to give them an advantage. But that doesn't stop him from being a complete git to the rest of us." Although she didn't voice it aloud, Rika was also feeling quite uncomfortable about this, because Felkan kinda reminded her of herself back when she had first met Henry and Takato, except that she hadn't cared for Renamon either and she had been less mean to the other Tamers. Did that make him worse or better than she had been?

Henry nodded contemplatively. "We don't know him well enough yet to make a proper verdict. And I guess you're right about the burning thing. You reckon we should give him a chance?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But I think I'll start giving him a chance when he improves his attitude around us first."

Despite the things she didn't say, Henry seemed to pick up on it, because he said. "Takato and I gave you many chances when we first met. And I'm very glad of that. Because otherwise I might have had to look elsewhere for my human partner, and I know the result wouldn't be half as good."

"Henry Wong!" Rika gasped, trying desperately to stop her cheeks from colouring and subsequently failing. "It's not like you to be so brazen."

"I can't help it," Henry's smile changed to a smirk. "I guess that's your attitude seeping across our mind-link and into me. Don't ever change, Rika. Don't ever change."

Rika's cheeks were darker than her hair by this point, so of course Terriermon had to swoop in and ruin the moment with, "Ah, young love. You heard yourself, Henry. Be brazen. Show the gal you care."

"Excuse me? Gal?" Rika glared up at him. "What are you? A cowboy?"

"No, but I can be a gunslinger, if you like," Terriermon grinned. "Just let me digivolve and I'd be close enough."

There were chuckles all around at his statement, but unknown to them, Felkan was watching out the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of something inside him as Henry reached over to grasp Rika's hand firmly in his own, both of them looking a little embarrassed at doing it in front of everyone else but doing it nonetheless.

That twinge… was that… jealousy? Was he envious of the relationship that those two had?

He shook the feeling off quickly as he began. He didn't need a relationship with another human. He had his Pokémon. They were all he would ever need. But the thought of what it might be like continued to creep up on him all the rest of the journey, forcing him to keep shoving it back down. What would it be like, to have what those two had?

He would likely never know.

But unbeknownst to _him,_ Aayla had caught the little flare of emotion from him and was steadily watching him, sensing his train of thought even if she couldn't actually tell what he was thinking. She allowed herself a small smile. She herself had wondered what a relationship would be like on occasion, but she had resolved never to have one. That was one aspect of the Jedi Code that she would keep up for eternity. But Felkan wasn't held back by anything but his own resentment. He might find love one day.

And if they were still with him when that day happened, Aayla resolved to do what she could to help him. And she could sense through the mind-link that the Digimon, who all had partners themselves, were in too.

* * *

It was already around mid-afternoon by the time they arrived at the Seafoam Islands at last. It was easy to see why the Lapras had insisted on taking the indirect route to Cinnabar first. The islands were tiny. There were only two of them, each one only about five-hundred yards apart, and each of them was only about a half a mile across, which might seem relatively large but in the vastness of an ocean one-mile was just a blip and the Lapras might have easily missed something so tiny.

There was no foliage nor beaches on either of them. They appeared to be simple chunks of rock which were jutting out of the ocean, giving the place quite a cold and dreary look. Everything seemed to be rather lifeless and dead and neither island had any distinguishing features, except for the fact that from above they both looked more or less identical.

"These are the Seafoam Islands?" asked Impmon, frowning at the pair of rocky chunks as they grew nearer. "I was expecting something a bit…more. This is the place where one of the Legendary Pokémon is supposed to live?"

"I certainly doesn't look like much," Renamon agreed. "Yet apparently there are frequent sightings of Articuno here. Though it's hard to see why enough people would come here to have frequent sightings."

"Maybe there was one sighting and then lots of people followed because of that," Henry suggested. "Sounds like the sort of thing that people might do."

"The Seafoam Islands used to be a very popular destination for young people until the volcano erupted," one of the Lapras offered. "We would see boats and people in this area all the time, and they were almost always trainers seeking to expand their team of Pokémon."

"With an Articuno, no doubt," chuckled Lopmon.

"Well, yes, but that's not all. The Seafoam Islands are actually hollow, and though they stick out of the water separately they are joined beneath the surface. If you can enter the cave systems that run beneath it you can find lots of Pokémon living there. Most of them come in from the sea and use underwater passages to get in."

"Isn't wondering through a bunch of cave systems dangerous?" asked Henry.

"Yes," Felkan said. "But trainers do it anyway. Anything to be the best, after all."

"Of course," Henry said, deadpan.

"Anyway, since the volcano erupted there aren't nearly as many people coming here, since Cinnabar is considerably closer than any other major ports. Or was, before said port was destroyed," the Lapras continued.

"That's the good news," Renamon agreed. "The bad news is that Professor Oak said that Articuno sightings dropped after the volcano erupted. Is that solely because there were less people coming… or was it because there was also a distinct lack of Articuno here?"

"Only one way to find that out," Terriermon grinned. "Who's up for some exploring?"

The Lapras increased their speed and eventually pulled up beside a thin muddy shoreline right on the edge of the uprising which was effectively no more than a bank. As the Tamers disembarked, their feet sank slightly into the muck, eliciting grimaces from everybody.

But those grimaces soon disappeared and were replaced with mixed reactions when they saw the large, dark cavern in front of them which lead into the rock of the mountain. It was like a wide mouth set in the face of some great stone beast opening up to swallow them all into the darkness.

"We're meant to go in there?" Suzie asked nervously, taking a step closer to Henry almost unconsciously.

"I don't think so," Henry shook his head. "Isn't Articuno supposed to be a bird? Surely a bird would land on top of the island, not go inside a cave."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, kid," Latias said as she swooped down. "But there isn't anything on top of either one of the islands except for a few startled looking Wingull and a couple of Pelipper. We just checked."

"She's right," Latios nodded.

"Maybe Articuno's away for the moment. Fishing or something," suggested Rika.

"Could be," Latios agreed. "I'm casting about for her presence and I'm not sensing her at the moment. But that doesn't mean that she's not here. If she is in the caves somewhere then she could be out of our psychic range in the caverns below."

"Henry's got a point though," Lopmon stated. "Why would a large bird go inside a cave? I know I would much prefer open sky above me than a rocky roof."

"Those caves are no ordinary caves," stated one of the Lapras. "We've been in them a couple of times from beneath the water and the temperatures within are very low. Most of what isn't water is covered in a layer of ice."

"Ice caves?" Henry blanched. "That's even more dangerous."

"But it makes a point," Latios stated. "Articuno's an ice-type Legendary. She thrives in the cold. These islands might be an ideal place for her to reside if their filled with ice." He shuddered. "I really don't do very well with ice myself."

"Me neither," Latias grimaced.

"Looks like we have little alternative," Aayla stated as she bounded off the back of her Lapras and landed smoothly on a boulder rather than in the mud. "We'll have to go inside and have a look for Articuno ourselves."

Ai and Mako both shuffled on the spot nervously. "Do we have to?" Ai asked. "What if we slip and fall off a big drop in there or something?"

"What if we get lost in the darkness and can't find our way back up?" Mako trembled.

Aayla looked down at the kids with a sad smile. The two of them had been through a lot in their young lives but they still weren't ready to be traipsing through dangerous terrain like this it seemed. It was understandable. Aayla had been in ice cave systems before in her time as a Jedi of the Galactic Republic. They could be treacherous places indeed. Especially to the unprepared."

Eventually, as everyone debated their course of action, Felkan eventually said, "I might not be an official Pokémon trainer anymore, but I still feel obligated to point out that ten year old children enter these caves alone in their quest to become stronger. I don't give much of a damn about the Pokémon League, but I know that they wouldn't let people enter these caves if they were extremely dangerous. It would reflect badly on them if lots of trainers went in and got killed. If they think a place is too dangerous they cordon it off and don't let anyone in unless they have accomplished certain tasks. That's one of the things that made Mount Silver such a good hideout for us since that is one of those places."

"Well, I guess that is reassuring," Aayla smiled. "Alright then. I say that we delve in a little way and see what we can find. Suzie and Lopmon, I want you two to stay here. If we get lost then our mind-link to the two of you will help to guide us out. Ai and Mako, you can stay here too, if you like."

"No, no, that's okay," Mako said quickly. "We can come too, right Ai?"

Ai could tell that her brother was trying to prove himself to the more hardened veterans in some way, but as she felt the same herself she didn't bring it up and said, "Yeah. We'll come. We're… we're not scared at all."

Aayla chuckled. "Alright then." _But we keep a close eye on them_, she added mentally to everyone else who could hear her.

"You won't get lost," Felkan stated. "Not with Lucario here. That's one of the reasons I kept him out of his ball."

Lucario nodded. "My aura allows me to sense my environment for a large radius around myself. That means that I can effectively form a 3-D map in my head of the tunnels and passages in there long before I get to them and also means that I can remember my way out using that map if I need to. I will ensure we do not get lost."

Renamon smiled. "How convenient," she said.

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "But I still want Suzie and Lopmon on the outside just in case we decide to split up in there."

"You sure?" Suzie asked. "I don't want to be left out."

"You won't be," Henry reassured her. "You could be the most important person of all just by being here."

"OK. I'll stay," Suzie said immediately. Lopmon suppressed a giggle.

"I'll stay too," Milotic nodded. "I can keep an eye out for anybody coming this way from here."

Latios coughed and added, "I think it might be best if Latias and I stay outside as well. We'll get lethargic in an icy environment such as this, and we can continue to monitor the islands from above. Watch to see if Articuno enters or leaves while you're in there."

"Good thinking," said Felkan.

"Come on, let's go," Glaceon cried as he bounded forwards to the cave mouth. "This sounds like my kind of place. It's been ages since I've been in an ice cave."

Wordlessly, the group moved forward, with Latios, Latias, Milotic, Suzie, Lopmon and the five Lapras remaining behind to watch them go, Lopmon helping Suzie out of the mud and back onto one of the Lapras. Felkan hung back a little, letting the Tamers go first, though Glaceon bounded on ahead and into the cave. Aayla and Renamon moved in behind him, the former activating her lightsaber so they would be able to see in the darkness.

Ai and Mako seemed to go smaller as they entered the caves, but Impmon strolled between them, putting on an air of nonchalance to help bolster their confidence and was pleased to see it having some effect.

Aayla's lightsaber proved to be rather less needed that they had thought, though it was still very useful. It only took a couple of turns before they started to encounter the ice, and it seemed to sparkle, illuminating the area quite well and allowing them to see even without the aid of Aayla's blade, though she still held it aloft as she moved.

It seemed that Felkan's presumption had been right. Though the ground was encrusted with a thick layer of frost and ice was already beginning to encrust the walls, there didn't seem to be much in the way of deep chasms or sudden pitfalls and the ground was not overly slippy. Not for most of it anyway. They did encounter a rather large sheet of ice which they wisely skirted. No telling what would happen if they tried to cross that.

They began to notice the cold quite quickly too and Ai and Mako quickly began shivering, prompting Impmon to set his hand alight and hold it up so the twins could take some comfort from its warmth. Though perhaps the team would have realised that this wasn't so bad if they had known the kind of terrain that their team-mates back in the Digital World were had been trying to traverse at that moment.

Mostly the twisting alleyways and tunnels were relatively flat floored and there were not too many boulders or stalagmites in the way. Aayla and Renamon both wisely kept an eye out for any loose stalactites or icicles which might present a danger. You might think death from being skewered from above was the sort of thing that only happened in a Pixar or Dreamworks film, but nevertheless it was still quite a serious hazard.

If they came to a branch there were usually only two different paths that they could take and every now and then Aayla would make a small slash in the wall with her blade as an added precaution to try and lead them out if something went wrong.

As they walked, trying to find a more open area or a way down deeper into this stony, icy maze, Rika shivered slightly. Her breath was already coming out in little puffs of mist at the cold and she was wishing that she had brought a coat, but that wasn't the only thing that was causing her to feel a little off. The chill that seemed to be settling on her back and running up and down her spine didn't solely seem to be coming from the cold. And for some reason, Rika was feeling a slight sense of unease that she subconsciously knew had nothing to do with the potential danger of falling through the floor or something similar.

Almost without realising what she was doing she stopped and glanced behind her at the tunnels which they had just walked through. She wasn't sure why, but she felt she would be put more at ease if she just checked to make sure the coast was clear. She saw nothing but in the end that didn't make her feel better. The sense of unease over her was just the same as before.

"Something wrong?" Felkan asked, making Rika jump. While most of the group had wandered on, Felkan had noticed Rika's behaviour having been at the back with Lucario. The two of them stopped before they reached Rika and regarded her with expressions that Rika could not make out.

Rika felt a surge of annoyance with herself for looking nervous in front of this guy, who she still had very mixed feelings about. To try and cover it up she humphed and turned away sharply. "I don't have anything to say to you," she muttered, loud enough for Felkan to hear. "Try not to fall behind." And she quickly strode on, leaving the both of them standing there for a moment.

Felkan let off a low snort of mild amusement through his nose and then strode on to catch-up. Lucario followed, closing his eyes as he walked to tune in with his aura and visualise the passages that they had taken so far to make sure he could find the way back. He still managed to step around boulders and obstructions despite the fact that his eyes were clamped tightly shut.

But then something tweaked at his senses which caused him to turn around quite sharply, looking over his shoulder still with eyes closed. His jackal-like face folded into a frown as he searched the tunnels with his mind, but he could detect nothing out of the ordinary now. How strange.

"Lucario, what is it?" Felkan had noticed his Pokémon was no longer with them and turned back to look. Lucario merely moved to catch up and shook his head.

"Just making sure I have the route back mapped out," he said.

Felkan nodded and accepted the answer without question and they followed on, albeit with Lucario slightly more wary than before. Something felt a little out of place to the aura Pokémon, and he couldn't quite pick up on it.

* * *

Eventually the group came to something which made them stop and hesitate. "Oh goodie," Terriermon said dryly. "I was wondering when this would happen."

"Momentai," Renamon replied automatically. "Though I do have to agree with you."

They had reached what appeared to be a multiple crossroad, with many tunnels branching off in different directions from the one they had just left. There were no less than seven branches that wound away into the distance.

"Wonderful," Impmon grimaced. "Now what do we do? Which one of these tunnels should we take?"

"We can't split up, can we?" Henry asked. "We've already divided the group a little bit and I don't like the idea of some of us going out there alone. There aren't enough of us to cover all seven with more than two people."

"There could be in Felkan called out some of his other Pokémon," suggested Mako.

"No, Henry is right," said Aayla. "We can't split up more than necessary. I think it might be better if a couple of us went to explore just one tunnel while the rest stayed here to help guide them back. If we progress a short way and find nothing helpful we can always double back and try another."

"That might take some time," Renamon pointed out, considering Aayla's words. "But you're right that it might be better and safer than all splitting up down here."

"That's what I thought," Aayla nodded. "I'll go, so we have a light and we can communicate with you via our mind-link. Lucario, perhaps you could come with me. Your aura powers might be useful in discovering something at this stage."

Lucario nodded. "I shall gladly offer you any aid I can, Master Secura," he said formally, placing a hand on his chest just below the spike and lowering his head.

"Master Secura?" Aayla chuckled. "Nobody's called me that with it being some kind of joke for quite a while."

"It is an appropriate title," Lucario proferred.

"You flatter me," Aayla smiled. "Come on. Let's make this as quick as we can. We tunnel would suggest?"

"This one seems to lead the most downwards at the moment," Lucario pointed to the one second from the left.

Aayla nodded and set down after in, Lucario giving his trainer a nod before following. The rest of the group watched them go until they and Aayla's lightsaber were out of sight, though the Digimon capable of doing so monitored their progress through the mind-link.

"Aaw, why do we have to be left out?" Glaceon murmured, his ears drooping comically as he sat on the ground. "I love this place. I haven't been so cold in a long time. It's great."

"For you maybe," Felkan chuckled. "Imagine if you'd chosen to evolve into a Leafeon. You wouldn't be so comfortable then, would you?"

"Maybe I'd be mistaken for a girl less if I'd become a Leafeon," Glaceon shrugged.

"Who can tell?" Felkan shrugged. "But in any case I see little reason to just stand around here. Shall we head down another tunnel, Glaceon?"

Glaceon perked up. "Why not? It would be just like the old days, wouldn't it?"

"Something like that," Felkan chuckled. "Let's see what we can find."

"Hey, hold on," Henry turned to face the two of them as they made their way towards another branch of the seven tunnels. "Aayla said that we all had to stay here. You can't go off on your own."

"Not to put too fine a point on it," Felkan folded his arms. "But Aayla isn't my leader. She might yours but not ours. I've been in places like this before – I know what I'm doing."

"But we have to stick together," Henry insisted. "We're supposed to be acting like a team."

"A team?" Felkan raised a brow. "Your red-headed girlfriend's made it quite clear that she doesn't want to be on the same team as me."

Henry started to protest but stopped and glanced at Rika, who was pointedly looking in the other direction with a frown on her face. "Rika?" he asked, having missed the brief altercation between the two of them earlier.

Rika felt slightly self-conscious about her dismissive behaviour but she didn't want Felkan to know that, so she inevitably made the situation worse by saying, "Let him go if he wants to go, Henry. He didn't want to come on this quest in the first place. He's not one of us."

"Rika!" Henry protested, but Felkan merely shook his head and turned away without another word, Glaceon following him loyally. Henry turned around and said, "Wait, Felkan! We have to work together to find Articuno."

Felkan took out a Pokéball and opened it and the flash of light that erupted from it reformed into Gardevoir again. "We'll let you know if we find anything via telepathy. But if I'm not wanted then I would prefer to do things by myself."

"See ya, later!" Glaceon cried as they moved on.

Gardevoir turned and gave Rika a pained look, which showed that she knew exactly what had happened despite her time in her Ball. Rika winced under her gaze but said nothing and Gardevoir turned around and followed the other two into the tunnel.

"Rika, that wasn't very helpful," Renamon murmured when she assumed they were out of earshot.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" Ai asked, nervously.

"I think he can handle himself," Impmon replied. "He's got most of his team with him tucked away in those Ball devices. But we ain't splitting up the group any more than we already have. Still, what happened to you, Rika? I haven't seen you act that way around anyone since forever."

Rika said nothing, refusing to admit that Felkan was a slightly painful reminder of the way she used to be and that was one of the reasons she was reluctant to get near him, as well as the fact she just didn't like him.

"Rika," Renamon prompted.

Rika sighed and said, "He's not one of us anyway. He clearly doesn't want to be. He would probably have done that anyway even if I did want him around. Just leave it."

"He might not be one of us, but he's supposed to be," Terriermon stated. "He might not have been specifically chartered for this quest like the rest of us but he's here anyway so we should be working together with him, shouldn't we? Like we worked with Aayla and Bly closely as soon as we could when we found ourselves in their world."

"There's a difference," Rika said shortly. "Aayla and Bly wanted to work with us too. That guy doesn't. I don't like having him around. I keep feeling that he's going to try and stab us in the back. You know how he feels about us."

"Yeah, but ain't we supposed to be trying to change that?" Impmon asked.

"Maybe I'll start trying if I believe he can change," Rika said shortly and turned away, indicating the conversation was over. Renamon and Terriermon shared a glance. Both of them could tell that there was a reason Rika was acting so coldly and they both had a good guess on what that might be – his presence was making her remember things she didn't want to. But they said nothing, merely hoping that Lopmon's conversation with the Pokémon trainer yesterday might have had some effect to relieving this tension in the group in the future.

Just then, Rika felt a sudden fresh chill pass down her spine and she drew a breath sharply. And this time Renamon caught a similar sensation, less pronounced but she could sense that Rika felt it too through the mind-link. The two of them looked warily around at the dark tunnels, prompting the others to do the same.

"Is there something wrong?" Ai asked nervously.

Renamon glanced down and smiled reassuringly. "It's nothing. Just wondering if it would be possible for a large bird to find a place to roost in here," she lied, before she turned away with a frown.

There was something strangely off about this place. And Renamon couldn't figure out what it was.

* * *

As Aayla and Lucario descended deeper into the tunnels it began to get slightly darker and Aayla's lightsaber was joined by a faintly glowing Aura Sphere nestled in Lucario's palm to light the way before them. This was more for Aayla's benefit than Lucario's for he was still walking along with his eyes shut.

Aayla was uncomfortably reminded of the Geonosian tunnels, which had been one of the reasons why she had asked Suzie to be the one to remain behind. The young girl had had a very bad experience in those tunnels and though these ones were covered in ice it was still extremely similar in a lot of aspects.

"I now have a large portion of the tunnels ahead mapped out in my head," said Lucario. "I can sense a lot of the maze now, and it seems to be more winding than we first realised. It stretched on for quite some distance below us. We might have to delve much deeper before I can get the full layout in my head."

"This ability of yours is certainly a great tool," Aayla chuckled. "And can you sense any sign of our quarry? Any indication that Articuno might be somewhere in here?"

"None yet," Lucario shook his head. "But there is still much left I have yet to look into, I fear."

Aayla nodded silently and proceeded on, but before she could Lucario laid a paw on her arm. She looked back to find he had opened his eyes which were staring pointedly into her own.

"However," Lucario said heavily. "There is something else that's bothering me. I couldn't put my finger on it before, but it dawned on me when I had mapped out more of this place."

"What is it?" Aayla asked, warily.

"I have the ability to sense other life-forms," Lucario replied. "For some reason I cannot sense your Digimon friends unless I focus my attention specifically to them, but I should be able to pick up the signals of the native Pokémon just fine. At least the ones within my range. But that's the problem. I am not."

Aayla's breath caught in her throat. "The Lapras said that this place was once considered to be a haven for wild Pokémon."

"Yes," Lucario nodded. "But I have sensed none except for a few Zubat in the depths. There are no other Pokémon in these tunnels as far as I can make out. They have all gone. Vanished."

Aayla frowned, and found her grip on her lightsaber tightening. "Why might that be?"

"I don't know," Lucario shook his head.

"Can you sense anything else?"

Lucario chuckled. "Yes, actually. There is one other life-form I can sense in here."

"A threat?" Aayla asked.

"I very much doubt it."

* * *

Felkan was about to find out exactly what Lucario was talking about as he moved out through the tunnels, with Glaceon strolling nonchalantly out in front and Gardevoir by his side.

"I told you that those humans wouldn't want me around, Gardevoir," Felkan was saying. "And it seems I was proven right."

"That is only one, Felkan," Gardevoir replied succinctly. "Only one of a group of five. I can sense that the others are not as reluctant to accept your company as she."

"Maybe," Felkan shrugged. "But the others have doubts. I saw the horror on the look of the older boy, Henry, yesterday when I told Houndoom to Burn Milotic and activate her Marvel Scale. He doesn't approve of me either, even if he tries to hide it."

"And the kids?" Glaceon asked, looking over his shoulder. "They seem nice enough."

"I dunno what to make of them. But I think that they're scared of me. At least the two smaller ones are. That Suzie's the one that puzzles me most. I can't really tell what she thinks of me. But the twins – definitely scared."

"Well you can be a little overbearing to people who aren't used to you, Felkan," Gardevoir giggled.

"Oh, thanks," Felkan rolled his eyes. Glaceon snickered. "Still, the result is the same. They don't want me around either, and I'm quite happy to oblige them on that front."

"And the Digimon?" Gardevoir pressed.

Felkan said nothing to that. He really didn't have a clue what to think of the Digimon. Especially Lopmon, after the talk that they had had yesterday before the attack. But before he could dwell on it, Glaceon suddenly said, "Hey… there's a light up ahead."

Felkan and Gardevoir looked up and frowned when they saw that Glaceon was right. There was a faint light coming from the around the corner of the tunnel in front of them. Curiosity took over and served to increase Felkan's speed, spurring him straight towards the light, the two Pokémon following close behind. They rounded the corner and blinked at what they beheld.

They seemed to have stumbled upon some kind of large cavern with a relatively flat floor that had obviously been cleared of stalagmites and rocks and ice. The ceiling was high above their heads and cast in darkness, but around the room there appeared to be several fiery torches in brackets that had been haphazardly bashed into place. And on the floor, illuminated in the firelight, was a large rectangle of chalk lines that crossed the entire room.

"What in the…" Felkan breathed, stepping into the room, cautiously and moving up to the white rectangle, leaning down to rub his fingers against it to confirm if it was really chalk. It was. It hadn't been drawn very accurately, as the lines seemed to wobble around in places but it made a clear enough rectangle from one end of the room to the other.

"What is this place?" Glaceon asked, sniffing the air carefully.

"It appears to be…" Gardevoir muttered.

"…a stadium?" Felkan finished the sentence. And indeed it was. There were chalk boxes at either end of the rectangle where a trainer was supposed to stand. This was a stadium meant for Pokémon battling. "What in the world is a stadium doing in the middle of the Seafoam Islands?"

"Ah, a challenger!" a voice cried, making all three of them jump and whip around, Gardevoir cursing herself for not noticing they had company sooner.

Felkan started again when he saw the challenger was a human – an relatively elderly looking man with a curved walking stick that looked more like a staff, a white waistcoat over a red shirt, brown trousers and a white hat. For some reason he was wearing sunglasses despite the relative darkness of the cave, and he had a thick white moustache that stuck out either side of his face like a pair of handlebars.

Felkan backed away, instantly very wary of this man who hurried towards them, standing tall despite his obvious age. Who the heck was this guy and what was he doing here in the middle of nowhere next to a stadium? Felkan hadn't the faintest idea, so he decided to ask.

"Who are you?" he demanded, eyes narrowed and trying to analyse the man for any danger.

"Tc-hah!" the man waved his stick, coming to a stop about twenty feet away. "Who am I, young lad? Is that what you youngsters are like now – too busy haring off for adventure to keep up with the news or recognise the faces of important people? Why, I am Blaine of course. Surely you have heard of me."

Felkan frowned, trying to call the name out of the dredges of his memory. If this man had become famous after he had gone into exile there was no chance of that. But then his eyes widened and every nerve inside him yelled to run but he held his ground nevertheless. "Aren't you supposed to be a Gym Leader or something?" he asked.

"Ah, so you do know me," Blaine sniffed. "It's good to be remembered by somebody I suppose. Welcome to my Gym."

"Gym?" Felkan blinked, glancing at Gardevoir. He was grateful to see that she had placed her hands over her chest, hiding her missing horn. As far as Felkan was aware she was the only Gardevoir who didn't have one and that meant that people noticing would mean they would either recognise her as his Pokémon or assume she was an abused Pokémon. "This is a Gym?"

"Well, of course," Blaine declared, tapping his stick against the ground. "But I don't get challengers coming here very often. Still, I can hardly use my old Gym, can I? It was reduced to nothing but a hunk of rock after that volcano blew its top on Cinnabar. Forced me to set up residence here instead, but so few people come here nowadays. Are you alone, bucko? Usually when challengers do come they come in a batch?"

Felkan had absolutely no desire to stay here now. If Blaine was a Gym Leader that made him an important member of the Pokémon League. While Felkan had changed a great deal over his five years there was still a chance that Blaine would recognise him and that was the last thing he wanted, so he swiftly said, "Look, I'm not a challenger. I didn't have a clue you were even here. I'm just passing through so I'll just go now."

"That guy is scary," Glaceon muttered as Felkan tried to beat a hasty retreat back the way they'd come.

"Not a challenger," grumbled Blaine with a sigh. "Hmph. I suppose that means you're one of _those_ people, are you?"

Felkan hesitated, bemused. "_Those_ people?" he asked.

"Naturally," Blaine snorted derisively. "There's only one reason people come to the Seafoam Islands these days if it's not to challenge me to a Gym Battle. You must be here to search for the Legendary Articuno, right? Everybody who comes here goes on a hunt for that icy bird."

That got Felkan's attention. "Then you're saying it's here?" he asked.

Blaine made a scoffing noise. For someone who dressed like a gentleman he certainly didn't seem to act like one. "Why would you even want to go after that Legendary anyway? I've never been able to fathom it myself. If you want a Legendary Bird in your arsenal then the clear choice would be Moltres. I saw Moltres once, you know. When I was much younger. I got lost on a hiking expedition in the mountains and Moltres found me, and guided me to safety. Never seen it again after that but that's what inspired me to become a Fire-type trainer. And now look at me. You call this icy place the ideal environment for a Fire-type gym. The volcano was a much better setting than this, but now this is all I have left. I mean really, does it look like I…"

"No, it doesn't," Felkan interrupted. "But is Articuno here? Have you ever seen it yourself?"

"Seen it?" Blaine folded his arms. "So you admit that you are looking for it?"

Felkan gritted his teeth. This was the sort of situation he didn't want to find himself in – talking to a strange humans who could be a potential threat. But if this guy knew anything about Articuno then that meant he would have to find out. For the sake of the world at the very least. So he merely said, "Yeah, I guess I am. I… wanted to see how powerful my Glaceon would be against a Legendary Ice type."

"Don't draw attention to me," Glaceon muttered, but Blaine looked down at him nevertheless.

"Ah, so that's why you have your Glaceon out. She's certainly a sweet looking thing, but I wouldn't fancy its chances against a Legendary."

Glaceon suddenly exploded. "Did he just say I was a 'she?' Why does everybody always, _always_ think that I am a girl. Arceus, WHY DID I CHOOSE TO BECOME A GLACEON?"

"What's wrong with her?" Blaine asked, glancing closely at Glaceon.

"AAAAGHHH!"

Felkan coughed. "He's a male. He hates it when people assume he's a girl."

"Ah," Blaine said, looking uncomfortable. "Sorry, lad."

Glaceon gave him an evil look and fumed silently.

"Anyway, what do you know about Articuno?" Felkan pressed, shadows dancing across his face in the flickering firelight. "Does it live here? Have you ever seen it yourself?"

Blaine wrinkled his nose and then a slight leer appeared on his face. Felkan blinked but before he could do anything else, Blaine turned and strode away as best as he could while using a walking stick, heading to the other end of the cavern. Felkan's face twisted into a contemptuous look of disgust at this lack of helpfulness and watched him go, but just as he was about to turn and leave himself, Blaine reached the trainer's box at the other end of the chalk rectangle and spun around to face him.

"If you want to know," he chuckled. "Defeat me in a Pokémon battle? Then I'll tell you everything that you want to know. If not, then you can leave empty-handed like any other challenger."

Felkan bristled. "I'm not some young trainer running around trying to prove things to other people," he said. "I don't give a damn about Gym battles. And if you're not going to be helpful then I'll go on and find Articuno myself."

He turned to go but Gardevoir placed a hand on his arm to stop him, using her mind to speak with him. _Wait, Felkan,_ she said. _Maybe this might be quicker. This man could potentially confirm if Articuno even comes to this at all, or if it's all just rumours. If he's been here since the volcano blew then he'll have had plenty of opportunities to see Articuno for himself. If we're wasting our time here, he might be able to tell us._

"He wants to challenge me to a battle," Felkan reminded her quietly. "I don't want to get into this sort of thing with other humans right now. Besides, I haven't been in a Pokémon battle for over five years. Not since…"

…_Not since your championship victory at the Sinnoh conference,_ Gardevoir nodded. _I know. But we have a duty to find out what this guy knows. If it could help in the quest, then we've got to do it. And you're the only Pokémon trainer here._

Felkan said nothing for moment and then sighed. "Gardevoir, the situation's not that simple. I might be a trainer, but… I don't think I deserve to be one. I haven't had any battle practice for five years. I haven't even taken part in your training, which is kinda the key part of being a _trainer_ – you guys did all of that by yourselves. I haven't been a trainer for half a decade. Not really. I can't do battles anymore."

_You could start again._

"I don't even know all of the attacks that you guys learned during our five year break. You all knew about eight to ten attacks when I last battled with you. Now you all know around _thirty._ I can't do it, Gardevoir. I won't be able to keep up anymore. I won't know what to do. Besides, he's another human. We should get out of here while we can."

He tried to move off again but Gardevoir pulled him back, gently but firmly, fixing her eyes into his. _And you know why we did all of that training, don't you? Because we… I… all of us… _believe_ in _you. _We trained ourselves so hard for the day that you would take up the reigns once more, so that we would be ready for the time where you called us out to fight. We never lost our faith and we still have it now. We've been waiting for this moment for five years. I implore you, don't let it pass us by._

Felkan was about to protest further but the words lodged in his throat before he could say them. The lengths that his Pokémon had gone to in order to show their continued faith in him over the years had always touched him very much but now he felt horrendously guilty for never really acknowledging their efforts. In his own despair he had given the prospect of going out and being a proper trainer again up for lost, but his Pokémon had stayed faithful to him. Even Absol, who was still terrified of most humans. Felkan assumed that his lack of reaction to the Tamers had to do with their coming from another universe.

In the end, he sighed and said, "Why is it that I can never say 'no' to you for too long, Gardevoir?"

"Because you know that everything I try and do is for your own good?" Gardevoir asked innocently.

Felkan chuckled, then muttered. "Just remember – keep an eye on him, alright. He's a Gym Leader. I'm not going to go trusting him anytime soon."

Gardevoir nodded and Felkan turned around, inhaling through his nose deeply and striking out for the competitors box. His Pokémon followed. Blaine had a crooked grin on his face as he watched the three of them walk to the right place. "Finished with your little internal discussion over there?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Felkan said. "I'll battle you in exchange for any Articuno information that you may have if I win. Don't expect me to go easy on you," he added, to try and cover up his sudden nerves. He hadn't done this for so long that he couldn't help but worry about his performance.

"Good," Blaine grinned. "Do you have a Fire-type?"

"Yes," Felkan nodded.

"Well, since you wanted to test your Ice-type against an Ice-type Legendary, surely you can pit your Fire-type against a Fire-type Gym Leader," Blaine called, raising a Pokéball. "That ought to make this battle more interesting, don't you think."

"If you say so," Felkan murmured. He actually had two Fire-types, but he didn't want to bring that up because he didn't want to give away anything that might even slightly cause Blaine to suspect he had more Pokémon on him than he was meant to have. If this was to a case of fight fire with fire then he weighed his two options. Charizard was more powerful, but in an enclosed space like this he would be more limited than he could be. So, that left…

Felkan felt a tiny twinge of nostalgia and he plucked a Pokéball from the belt hidden beneath his shirt and enlarged it. "At the same time?" he asked.

Blaine nodded. "One on one battle. Now! Go, Rapidash!"

"Houndoom, do it!" Felkan cried, not really having time to think of something cooler to say. Both flung their Pokéballs out and with twin bursts of bright light the combatants emerged. As Houndoom materialised, so too did a large cream-coloured horse with a flaming mane and tail and a horn on its forehead that made it vaguely resemble a fiery unicorn.

"Oh, is it my turn to be outs…" Houndoom faltered when he took in their surroundings. "What the… Is this a battle? An actual battle?"

"Apparently," Felkan replied.

Houndoom looked blank for several moments and then a slightly sadistic leer appeared on his face. "Oh, this ought to be interesting," he said. "And may I just say, about time. I'm the first Pokémon you battle with after all this time? How nice."

"Let's just do this," Felkan said grimly. "And get that information on Articuno from this Gym Leader."

"Gym Leader?" Houndoom's leer widened. "All the better." Rapidash looked nervous at the expression on Houndoom's face, and Houndoom wasn't even using a Leer attack.

"An interesting choice," Blaine mused. "Fire might not work on a Houndoom if it has the Flash Fire ability. A very good choice. But don't count my Rapidash out just because of that. Let's test it's speed. Use Quick Attack!"

And suddenly Felkan's first Pokémon battle in years broke out, when the Rapidash hurtled forwards with such blinding speed that it left a yellow trail behind it. Houndoom had next to no time to react before he was slammed in the shoulder and sent spinning into the air by the larger Pokémon's weight, though he managed to twist himself around and land easily and oddly cat-like on all fours.

Felkan blanched, startled by the quick hit, and he realised just out of touch he was. In the old days he would have reacted quicker to that and maybe would have ordered something to counter but he just faltered now, already not sure exactly what to order Houndoom to do.

"Seems resilient," Blaine observed. "Use Quick Attack to get close and then use Tail Whip."

Felkan grimaced as the Rapidash spurted forwards again and hurriedly called, "Escape with Faint Attack!"

Houndoom obeyed immediately and threw himself straight at Rapidash, who span around to lash out with its tail, but Houndoom vanished into thin air like a wraith before the tail made contact.

"Use Agility!" Blaine cried and Rapidash hurtled away at blinding speed, but Houndoom still managed to appear at exactly the right place and ram the Rapidash surrounded by a dark aura. Rapidash let off a distressed whinny as it was sent rolling slightly but scrambled to its feet relatively quickly.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad, I guess," Felkan muttered. "Okay, let's try a Howl."

Houndoom raised his head and let off a blood-curling yowl to the roof. Howl was a move that raised the user's attack, but a Houndoom's cries were so terrifying that they had once been thought to belong to the Grim Reaper. Rapidash squealed in alarm and battered the air with its flailing hooves, trying to escape the noise.

"Gives me shivers when he does that," Glaceon shuddered.

"Counter with Growl and launch into a Fury Attack!" Blaine ordered.

Rapidash reluctantly turned back and let of a growling whinny that seemed meagre in comparison to Houndoom's own cries and then darted forward in a zig-zag pattern, lowering its horn in Houndoom's direction. Houndoom sneered at it and Felkan cried, "Get under its guard with Flame Charge."

Houndoom pawed the ground and surrounded himself with flames, before sprinting to intercept. The Rapidash was faster but Houndoom was a smaller target and the two of them crashed into each other, the former jabbing at the latter with its horn. But as Houndoom's Flame Charge connected, the flames seemed to merge with Rapidash's mane and were sucked away, absorbed like they were nothing.

"Ah," said Felkan.

"Yes," Blaine nodded. "My Rapidash does indeed have the Flash Fire ability. Use Fire Spin."

Rapidash sprang backwards and unleashed a spinning tornado of flames from its mouth which washed over Houndoom and enveloped him, trapping him inside. There was a second of a fiery column around Houndoom before the flames were suddenly drawn inwards, drawn into Houndoom's very skin before vanishing with a smoky _foof_, leaving Houndoom also undamaged.

"And so it seems does your Houndoom," Blaine observed. "I suspected as much but I decided to check. So much for a fire on fire battle. Neither of our Pokémon can be harmed by flames."

"Houndoom has other attacks," Felkan proffered, trying to remember what they were and stumbling over himself thinking.

"So does Rapidash," Blaine grinned. "Try for a Bounce."

Rapidash reared onto its hind legs and rocketed straight up into the air, narrowly missing hitting the ceiling before crashing down straight towards Houndoom hooves first. Felkan gritted his teeth. If fire wouldn't work… how the heck did he do this in the old days? He'd been so calm before but this time… he couldn't focus. He couldn't think.

And that was when he felt Gardevoir's hand on his shoulder. How long it had been there he didn't know, but he could feel her merging his mind with his. She offered no advice – this was not her battle after all – but she appeared to be projecting an air of calm and confidence into Felkan's mind, an incredibly soothing sensation of reassurance.

It worked. To a degree. Felkan was still unsure of himself, but it cleared his thoughts a little so he cried, "Sucker Punch." Houndoom exploded upwards so fast he was a black blur and crashed into the Rapidash's side, knocking it off-kilter and sending it flying away, slamming into the ground hooves-first and skidding away in a small cloud of dust.

"Very good," Blaine grunted. "Use Wild Charge and combine it with Agility."

Rapidash suddenly started to crackle with electricity until with a burst of yellow light was wreathed in it. Felkan cursed, knowing that a physical attack now would not work in deflecting an attack like that and Rapidash zipped forwards so fast there was no way to counter it at all. Houndoom was tossed into the air like a giant rag-doll, electricity coursing through his body and causing a yowl to rip from his mouth as he went tumbling towards Felkan and landed in a heap.

"Houndoom, are you okay?" Felkan cried.

Houndoom's eye opened and his grin re-appeared. He looked a little dazed but he scrambled to his feet, smoking slightly and he said, "Are you kidding? That attack hurt him more than it hurt me."

It was true that the Rapidash was wincing slightly from the blow, suffering the recoil damage of the choice of attack. Felkan quickly shouted, "Shadow Ball!" and Houndoom complied, conjuring a bright black ball of ethereal energy in front of its face before launching it at the Rapidash.

"Dodge that!" Blaine cried and the Rapidash hared away, Agility still in effect and the Ball missed by some distance. "And use Megahorn."

Felkan blanched at the call of such a powerful move and almost without thinking he cried, "Smog!" It was one of Houndoom's oldest moves, and therefore one he knew well, and Houndoom used it to great effect now, coughing up a huge blanket of horrible, black gas which suddenly blanketed the arena. As Rapidash hurtled forwards it ploughed into the smog and missed its target, pulling to halt and suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. It staggered, coughing and heaving, and unable to see a thing.

Felkan was about to take this window of opportunity to strike again when suddenly a Pokéball on his belt opened of its own accord. Felkan and the other Pokémon started when white light exploded outwards and formed itself into a wild-eyed Absol. Felkan's head snapped up to Blaine, but Houndoom's Smog had covered the whole field and cut off the view of both trainers, meaning Blaine couldn't see what was going on.

"Felkan," Absol hissed. "Trouble. Now!"

* * *

Back in the tunnel, those with access to the mind-link were discussing what they knew so far, which wasn't much, in their heads, with Terriermon quickly relaying things to Impmon, Ai and Mako – he had a bizarre talent for saying things while thinking something else, and making both of them relevant.

_That's what Lucario says,_ Aayla confirmed from her position some distance away. _Next to no life-forms anywhere, let alone the one that we're supposed to be looking for. And considering what the Lapras said, that worries me._

_The Lapras are saying it again, _Lopmon added from where she was still standing out on the beach with Suzie. _They say that whenever they've been in there before there are Pokémon almost everywhere. But you say there are none at all?_

_Very few, yes,_ Aayla murmured. _It doesn't sit well with either Lucario or me._

_The feeling is mutual,_ Renamon frowned. _What could have caused such a mass exodus from this place? Could it have been the volcanic eruption a few years ago?_

_Suzie,_ Henry said. _Ask the Lapras if they've been here at any point in the last two years._

A brief pause later and Suzie relayed, _They say that they were here about five months ago and went inside to have a look around, but it was just as full of Pokémon then as it ever was._

_That's not good,_ Terriermon grimaced. _That means that whatever happened to make it like this, it didn't happen very long ago. But as to what might have happened to make it like this, I haven't the foggiest idea._

_What's the betting that Articuno is _not_ one of the Pokémon that are still here?_ Rika threw in.

_Unfortunately, quite high,_ Aayla said.

_No sign of her up here,_ Latias' voice suddenly chipped in, making everybody jump.

_Jeez, will you stop doing that?_ Terriermon griped. _Every time you suddenly join in a conversation it scares the living bejesus out of me. Are you in our heads or not?_

_That's why I do it,_ Latias giggled. _'Cause it's fun. In all seriousness though, we haven't seen any sign of her coming in or leaving yet, though we haven't exactly been here very long._

_No, but there's more,_ Latios' voice was next, though everybody was prepared for it this time. _I decided to talk to a few of the Wingull on the rocks and when I could get them to stop blabbing about what an honour it was, they said that they haven't seen Articuno here for a long time. And they're fairly regular visitors since they make their nests on these islands. They say that doesn't necessarily mean that she's not here but that they haven't seen her._

_Well, that's encouraging,_ Rika muttered, still in a relatively sour mood after her altercation with Felkan. _Good to know we have very probably come out here for no reason._

_I wouldn't say _no_ reason,_ Renamon chided her. _We _did_ find Plesiomon and the Seadramon before someone else did so it wasn't a total waste. But we still don't know for sure. But going back to the main problem at the moment, where are all the Pokémon? Can the Wingull tell us that?_

_They say that they haven't seen anything out of the ordinary,_ Latios rattled off. _But that they never go in the caves anyway. They say they feel confined in there so they don't bother._

_Well, unfortunately that doesn't really help us,_ Aayla said. _Lucario does say that there is another human in these tunnels though._

_Another human?_ Henry blinked. _You sure?_

_He says he is very sure. He also says that he's currently in the middle of an altercation with Felkan. Is there some reason why he went off on his own?_

Rika flinched but said, _We couldn't stop him._

_Though admittedly we didn't try very hard not to,_ Terriermon shrugged. _And he's gone and met with another human, has he? That's not good. Hope he doesn't tear the other limb from limb._

_That's not funny, Terriermon,_ Lopmon objected. _He's not that bad. Still, somebody should go after him in case he does do something a bit out of line._

_I'll go, I guess,_ said Henry. He was about to say it would be better if Rika didn't go but he stopped himself. That would sound mean, even if it was true.

_No, let us come back first, _Aayla said. _Lucario will be able to lead us to him more easily._

_Um, guys,_ Suzie said, sounding a little apprehensive. _Milotic wants to add something. She says that just before she was attacked by the Seadramon yesterday, she noticed that there was a sudden lack of Pokémon in her area. As if they had all been… scared away._

A heavy silence followed those words, as everyone digested this new bit of information. Everybody automatically began to form the same thought in their head, and they could tell that they were all thinking along similar lines.

Suddenly, Aayla cried, _Lucario says he senses something coming your way!_

And then everything went wrong.

A suddenly frigid wind flowed across the group in the tunnels from seemingly out of nowhere, prompting all the Tamers to suddenly hunch over and wrap their arms around themselves on instinct alone. And that was why Henry didn't see anything coming. He only had a split second to look up and see a shape hurtle out of the tunnel he was standing in front of before something slammed into the side of his head and sent him spinning, crashing into a wall with a heavy thud and his head smacking against the icy wall.

He dropped like a stone and slumped to the ground.

_Henry!_ Suzie screamed, but nobody else had time to react to what had just happened because as Renamon spun around to face the threat huge claws were suddenly rammed into her abdomen, one of them piercing her stomach like a knife and ripping a scream from her mouth as it threw her backwards faster than she could blink and smashed her back into another wall so hard it splintered. She sagged and fell to the ground as the claws withdrew, clutching her stomach and gasping with pain.

Terriermon sprang to her defence automatically but before he got three inches a beam of white energy washed over him and in less than a second he was frozen solid in a large chunk of ice. Impmon yelled and flung the fireball still in his hand but the swift assailant whipped around and backhanded it back, forcing Impmon to jump backwards into a tunnel and seize the twins to pull them out of the way after him, but the assailant suddenly spun around and seized Rika in a pair of large, clawed hands. Rika screamed as she was dragged backwards into another tunnel.

"Rika!" Renamon yelled, pushing herself up and making to dash after her despite the wound in her stomach, but then she saw the silhouette of what it was that was holding her Tamer and she froze, eyes popping wide. Was its middle claw bright red with her blood? No… it was bright red anyway.

"You!" she gasped.

In her shock she was not fast enough to react as a clawed hand lashed out again, its arm seeming to elongate with the blow, and impacted with her face, tossing her backwards to smash painfully into another wall, and then slammed her again from the side with such force that she crashed into the ceiling above Ai, Mako and Impmon, the fist hammering her there with enough force to fracture the rock into chunks.

"No!" Rika cried watched as Renamon fell to the ground, unconscious and the ceiling above continued to fracture before it staved in completely, sending hundreds of kilograms of rock thundering down on top of her, Ai, Mako and Impmon, cutting them off from sight under the sudden rockslide. But she was powerless to resist as her captor knocked her out too with a sudden blow to the head and dragged her away into the darkness.

* * *

OH! It's been a while since I've been able to do a cliffhanger like that! Geehee! Loving it! You may now call me evil.

Anyway, I hoped to establish Felkan's relationship with the Tamers a little more in this chapter and what they felt about him in turn, because its important to capture a rocky relationship between characters from both perspectives rather than just the one. I also wanted to show you Felkan's first Pokémon battle in a while. As you could see, the Pokémon are quite capable, but the trainer currently has little confidence in himself. There won't be many Pokémon battles in this story, so I thought I would include one here to properly introduce the topic of Felkan thinking that he is not a capable trainer himself.

And then of course the ending. I think I dropped enough hints for most people to guess what the attacker might be. Heh. Well, cya soon. Hopefully.

* * *

Next time…

After the sudden and disastrous attack, a desperate search for the missing Rika is launched, while those who were injured in the battle are tended to. But who is it that has stolen Rika away? The answer is certainly not a pleasant one.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 18 : Frozen Claw**


	18. Frozen Claw

Hello everybody. It's me once again, here with the next chapter of the story. I won't bore you with the details of what happened during my time away from the keyboard, but suffice to say I have had quite a lot on. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter.

**Good story fan** – Thank you very much for the high praise, though it is Secret of the 327th, not 328th. Geehee. Anyway in regards to your question, yes I am afraid that Felkan's horrible experiences with other humans throughout his life really is just insanely bad luck. There has been no sinister force out there screwing up his life, he's just had it bad by chance. Though you are right in that there is definitely a Big Bad out there still, and it will be a little while yet before we find out anything more about it.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 18:- Frozen Claw**

* * *

Ai Terada opened her eyes, and was extremely surprised to find that she was still alive. Not crushed to death by the collapsing ceiling of the tunnel. Everything had happened so quickly, but the image of Renamon being smashed into the ceiling and thus causing a rockslide that tumbled down towards her was imprinted on the inside of her eyes. Huge boulders had come thundering down on top of her… and yet Ai wasn't even in pain.

None of them had hit her.

But now everything was pitch black. Ai literally couldn't see anything. What was going on? Had she been buried? But how could she have been buried if none of the rocks had actually landed on her? It didn't make sense.

"H… hello?" she called into the darkness, coughing as she sucked some dust into her lungs accidentally. Hacking, she added, "Is… is anyone there?"

"I'm here," Mako's voice came out of the darkness. "What happened? Are we dead? Did we get squished by all those rocks."

"You ain't dead, Teradalets," Impmon's voice permeated the gloom as well. "If you were, you wouldn't be talking. Though I gotta say I don't have a clue what just happened? Are you alright? Did you get hit by any rocks?"

"No, I'm fine," Ai confirmed. "I didn't get hit at all."

"Nor did I," Mako added.

"Me neither. But the rocks seemed to have formed a roof over our heads," Impmon mused with a frown that nobody could see. "What the heck?"

"That would be my doing," said another voice which made them all jump.

"What the… who…?" Impmon sputtered.

"It's me," the voice added. "Gardevoir."

"Gardevoir?" Mako cried. "When did you get here?"

"A split second before you were all flattened under that rockslide," Gardevoir's voice replied. "I'm in kind of an awkward position at the moment. Let me just get us out of here."

Sudden cracks of faint light appeared in above the heads of the others, revealing little bits of the scene around them. Ai, Mako, Impmon and the unconscious Renamon were all lying in close proximity to one another, and the rocks had all stopped literally about half a metre above their heads. Gardevoir was there too beneath the rock layer, pressed close to the ground in a kneeling position with her slender arms raised. And now the others could make out what had happened – there was a Protect barrier like a bubble around the whole group which was holding the rocks up and stopping them from falling in and crushing them all.

This barrier was widening now under Gardevoir's control, growing upwards and outwards and shoving the rocks aside. Gardevoir intentionally moved it slowly, to make sure the rocks fell outwards gently instead of flying everywhere.

"Sorry that I couldn't get here sooner," the Pokémon said as she lifted herself to her feet. "But I was momentarily delayed. As soon as Absol burst out of his Pokéball and warned us of the imminent danger I had to teleport myself across to the other side of the battlefield and use Hypnosis on the other human there before he spotted Absol, then use it again on his Rapidash so that we could get out of there. Then I teleported back here and arrived just as the rocks began to fall. I managed to shield you but I didn't have time to do anything else."

"Shielding us is enough, toots," Impmon grinned at us. "I think you might have saved our lives with that little stunt."

"Please do not call me 'toots,'" Gardevoir asked politely as she shoved the last of the rocks aside and dispelled the Protect, leaving them surrounding by a low wall of rock as if they were in a pit. "I do not like it. It sounds quite vulgar."

"Meh, whatever floats your boat," Impmon said. "Jeez, it looks like the Fox-face has taken a beating. I haven't seen her out like this since forever. Renamon, you alright?"

"What happened?" Gardevoir asked, kneeling down to examine the fallen Digimon.

"I don't know," Mako shook his head. "It all happened so quickly."

"We were definitely attacked by something," Impmon growled, punching his palm with his other fist. "But it caught us by surprise even with Aayla's warning. It moved so quickly that I didn't get a good look at it. But I do know one thing – it was definitely another Digimon. Soon as it revealed itself I could tell that much."

"Another Digimon?" Gardevoir asked, her face tight. "Then perhaps your friend Aayla's theory about the state of the walls of our universes is right. It _is_ worse than we thought."

"Or its just horrendously bad luck that we encountered so many in such a short space of time," Impmon pointed out. Then he started and said, "What about the others? Where are they?"

Gardevoir levitated the unconscious Renamon gently with her mind and then used her Psychic powers to shift some more of the rocks out of the way. She hurried through the gap, followed by the others, and they found…

"Henry!" Ai cried.

"Terriermon!" Mako agreed.

Henry was lying sprawled against a wall nearby, with a small trickle of blood running down the side of his head and matting into his hair, whereas Terriermon was completely frozen inside a block of ice around twice as big as he was. The small rabbit Digimon stared unblinkingly ahead of him, his expression of panic fixed into his face.

They also noticed a distinct lack of something.

"Where's Rika?" Impmon asked. "She's gone."

"She's not under the rocks," Gardevoir said. "She's definitely not here anymore."

"The thing that attacked us must have got her," Ai fretted. "It must have taken her away. What's it going to do with her? Do Digimon eat humans?"

"Can't remember any cases of a Digimon eating a human, kid," Impmon said. "But I think you're right. Rika's been nabbed. But why the heck would it take her away?"

Gardevoir gently placed Renamon on the ground and moved over to Henry, taking him by the shoulders and gently moving him away from the wall. "I don't know what's happened to your friend but I'll do my best to help out these people. Give me a moment." She knelt beside Henry and closed her eyes, lifting up her arms until her hands were a short distance from one another, palm to palm. As Impmon and the twins watched, a small orb of pink energy manifested itself in thin air between her hands, pulsating and glowing, illuminating the cavern like an ethereal sunrise.

"What's that?" Mako asked.

"Ssh," Impmon hushed him, not wanting to break Gardevoir's concentration.

Gardevoir's eyes snapped open and she threw her arms out wide and immediately the small orb shattered into dozens of pink sparkles and radiated outwards like waves of pink energy from the place where it had been, expanding outwards to wash over the entire room and bath everyone in its light.

Immediately Ai and Mako noticed a difference. A small pain in Mako's foot that had happened when Impmon jerked him out the way of the attack before disappeared, and a small scuff on Ai's elbow did the same. Impmon felt it too to a lesser extent, but he definitely felt a sensation of his energy being restored, not that he had lost very much of it. Still, he felt a little warmer inside too, which was a pleasant sensation.

The blood on Henry's head didn't clear up but the wound that was causing it slowly sealed itself up as Gardevoir's light show continued to wash over him. He groaned, beginning to regain consciousness slowly.

"Heal Pulse," Gardevoir smiled towards the others. "A move that can restore the energy and heal the wounds of others around you. To a certain extent, at least. I learned it to help the others with their training – it could be quite demanding and sometimes they went a bit overboard and hurt themselves or each other."

"You're just full of tricks, aren't you?" Impmon grinned.

Gardevoir smiled. "I like to think so. Though I don't think I have anything that'll help your friend Terriermon," she added, turning to look at the flash-frozen Digimon.

"I'll take care of that," Impmon darted forwards and lit his fingers alight pressing them against the icy prison that contained the other Rookie.

As Henry groaned and lifted a hand to the still raw spot on his head where the cut had been, the sound of footsteps began to echo through the small cavern, emanating from one of the corridors. Ai and Mako tensed, but Gardevoir looked up calmly, watching until Aayla rushed out of the opening, closely followed by Lucario.

Aayla took in the situation at a mere glance, nodding thankfully to Gardevoir before she knelt beside Henry and said, "Are you alright?"

"I think so," Henry moaned, sitting more upright and massaging his head, pulling his hand away and inspecting the blood on his fingers. "What happened? All I saw was something shooting out a corridor too fast for me to see what it was and then the lights went out."

"We're still trying to discern what happened," Gardevoir said. "I've healed the wound in your head but you're still dazed. It would be best if you didn't move too much for the moment."

"I agree," nodded Aayla. "Rest, Henry. You've taken a hard hit."

"Don't I know it?" grunted Henry.

"I must apologise to you all," Lucario suddenly stated, bowing his head. "During our progress throughout these caves I did have an unsettling feeling, but I assumed later it was just the absence of the native Pokémon, but it appears there was more to it. I should have guessed at the possibility of there being a Digimon here. It is more difficult for me to pick up a Digimon with my aura senses than other life forms. I can sense you, but it seems I have to focus more on you to do it. That must be why I failed to detect the presence of your attacker."

"You couldn't have known," Aayla replied. "The Digimon might be life forms but their body make-up has vastly different from anything else I've ever encountered. The life form scanners from my own universe could never detect them either."

"Don't worry about it too much," Impmon agreed. "What we have to worry about now is what's going to happen next. This ice is refusing to melt properly. All that's happening is a faint trickle is coming off."

"And Renamon's still out for the count," added Ai, shaking the fox slightly and failing to rouse her. The wound in her stomach inflicted by the attacker's claws had mostly healed over with the effects of Gardevoir's Heal Pulse but she had yet to stir.

"Looks like Henry's going to stay down for a while too," nodded Aayla. "I think he's passed out again. He should be fine but it might take him a while to recover and he might have a concussion after that. Still, it could be worse."

"It _was_ worse until Gardevoir healed him," Mako said.

"Yes, but I'm afraid Heal Pulse only heals physical injuries," Gardevoir added. "I can't do anything about things such as dizziness or unconsciousness."

"Nevertheless, your help is greatly appreciated," Aayla smiled at her. "But we don't have much time to hang around here. If Rika's been taken and we don't know what by then we will have to find her quickly before it can act on whatever motive is driving it. Where's Felkan?"

"He's coming," Gardevoir said. "We abandoned the battle we found ourselves in in order to come back. He should be here in a moment."

Aayla nodded. "I can't sense Rika's presence, which means she must be unconscious unless she's been taken out of my range. Lucario, do you sense her?"

"Faintly," the jackal replied. "I believe that she is indeed unconscious. Following her might be difficult until she wakes up."

"Hmm," Aayla mused. "I've instructed Suzie and Lopmon to stay outside, though they both wanted to come streaking in here to help. Now we need to figure out our next move, but we cannot leave the injured behind whatever we do."

Just then, Renamon grunted and shifted slightly, drawing everyone's attention to her. Her paw came up to grip her nose where she had been smashed by her assailant and knocked out. "That… hurt," she groaned quietly, looking up blearily at the assembled company. "What happened? Where… Who… He…" Her eyes shot wide and she cried, "Rika!" and tried to scramble to her feet, only to lose her footing and collapse against the wall.

"Renamon, stop!" Aayla instructed, hurrying to her friend's side to support her. "You're still injured. You're in no position to do anything at the moment."

"I must!" Renamon cried. "Rika's been taken. Again! How… how is this possible? How can he possibly be here now? How can he even be alive, let alone in this world? It doesn't even make any sense! But it was definitely him! Ungh!" she tried to make off into the tunnel but stumbled again and fell to one knee.

"So you know who it was that attacked?" Aayla asked, steadying her by the shoulders.

"Oh yes," Renamon growled. "Oh yes, I know who it was."

Before she could elaborate more footsteps could be heard echoing through the tunnels. Renamon tried to whirl about, fur bristling, but it was just Felkan coming from the partially collapsed tunnel. Glaceon, and for some reason Absol and Houndoom, were following close behind, bounding over the rocks and into the cavern.

"Well," said Felkan as he entered. "Looks like things took a turn for the worse over here. You were right, Absol."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Absol said darkly, his limbs shuddering slightly as he fur stood outwards, puffing him out slightly and making him look larger than he was.

"What happened?" Glaceon asked. "Why exactly is that Terriermon guy frozen in a block of ice?"

"A block of ice that WON'T FRIGGING MELT!" Impmon yelled in annoyance, watching the irritatingly small trickle of water running across the floor from his efforts.

"I could always give it a go," Houndoom said with a slight leer. "Let's see if that little chunk of frozen water can stand up to a Flamethrower. Or maybe an Overheat."

"Houndoom!" chided Gardevoir. "That could harm Terriermon if you used either of those attacks regardless of whether you succeeded in melting that ice or not."

"I'm sure he could handle it," sniffed the Dark-type.

"Looks like the little bunny's human is out too," Felkan said. "And Renamon's been injured. Where's the other one anyway? The girl who doesn't like me?"

"She's been taken, Master," Lucario said. "And we don't know where. Or why."

"I must…" Renamon grunted. "Rescue her. Must… do something. Rika!"

"You're still not steady," Gardevoir stated. "Let me try using another Heal Pulse. That might help to heal some more of the damage. It should have done a bit more the first time. Maybe it isn't as effective against a Digimon as it is on humans and Pokémon." She quickly repeated her previous action and released another load of pink energy waves from her hand. Renamon sighed as she felt the wound in her stomach closing over completely and a little more strength return to her leaden limbs.

Aayla nodded appreciatively. "A bit more flashy than what our old friend Barriss does but the result is the same."

"Thank you, Gardevoir," Renamon agreed. "Now, I must find Rika. And can somebody figure out a way of unfreezing my mate? The last time this happened Henry used an Expansion Modify Card to make Terriermon swell up and shatter the ice from within."

"Henry's still out," Aayla said. "And the D-Arc will only work for him. We'll have to wait until he's conscious again before he can do that."

"Then you could always use this," Felkan suggested, unslinging his backpack and opening a specific pocket at the top before rummaging inside and pulling out a spray-bottle full of pink liquid, tossing it to Impmon, who caught it and stared in bemusement.

"What the heck is it?" he asked.

"It's an Ice Heal," Felkan replied. "Provided by the Pokémon Centre in Viridian. Having a Pokémon get frozen by an Ice type is a very real problem so that stuff was invented to help defrost them without harming them. Just spray it on and it might help."

"Wow. That's surprisingly useful," Impmon chuckled, pulling the trigger and spurting the pink liquid over the frozen cube. It had an almost immediate effect albeit a slow one, beginning to eat into the ice like acid.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" asked Felkan. "We can't leave that Rika girl behind."

"We… can't?" Ai blinked. "Huh? I thought… Um…"

"We thought that you didn't like humans," Mako finished. "I thought you would just want to get out of here."

Felkan looked down at the twins steadily, and they fidgeted a little beneath his gaze. "Look kids," he said. "I don't like humans. I don't trust any of you. And I definitely don't like that girl with the attitude just as she doesn't like me. But at what point did I ever say that I would want humans dead?"

"Er…" both the twins said at the same time.

"It's true that if I did have my way I wouldn't be here at all," Felkan continued. "But now that I am here, I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing, you know. I've been on the receiving end of neglect and resentment too many times in my life. I'm _not_ going to do it myself."

There was a heavy silence for a moment, but then a slow smile spread over the faces of not only Gardevoir, but Aayla, Impmon and even Renamon. Houndoom and Glaceon looked a little smug, and Absol looked quite proud of his trainer.

"Now that is what I like to hear," Renamon said, getting slightly unsteadily to her feet and inspecting her healed stomach before looking up at giving Felkan a genuine grin despite the severity of the situation. "You're alright, Felkan, you know that?"

Felkan didn't quite know how to take that and his face coloured slightly, causing him to immediately exclaim, "Don't expect me to go all mushy because it turns out I have a merciful side," he said. "I was half expecting you lot to say that we _should_ give up on her and leave."

"I could get angry, but that just shows how warped your perceptions have become," Renamon shook her head. "As soon as we rescue Rika I'll let her know how anxious you were to save her. We'll make friends with you yet, you wait and see."

Felkan looked completely flabbergasted by this, which was a change from the normal slightly dark look that he wore on his face. It also didn't help when Ai said, "You're a lot nicer than I thought you were," to him. He almost stopped functioning at that point.

_See Felkan,_ Gardevoir's voice resounded in his head. _They're not so bad, are they?_

Felkan's mind was still a little frozen so he couldn't think of a response, but as he quickly tried to recover himself, Renamon's head suddenly shot up, as did Aayla's.

"Rika!" Renamon cried. "She's regaining consciousness. I can sense her mind again." She quickly flexed her limbs and twisted her tail, testing out her ability to stand on her own two feet, before she suddenly sprang away and rocketed down the tunnel that their previous assailant had taken Rika down without another word.

"Renamon!" Aayla cried. "We need a plan of some kind!"

But it was no use. Renamon's mind was in too panicked a state to even register Aayla's words and she ran on, the only thought in her mind now that she knew Terriermon would be fine was to rescue her Tamer. She knew full well who it was that had taken her, and she had a reason to believe she knew what it wanted from her.

Even as she entered the tunnel, Felkan's eyes flicked to the slowly defrosting Terriermon. He didn't know much about Digimon at this point, including their strengths and weaknesses, but he didn't need a long thought process to realise that this enemy used ice. And when it came to Pokémon he knew what worked against Ice and what didn't.

"Glaceon, Houndoom, follow her and see if you can help her deal with this enemy. Ice won't be a problem for either of you."

"I'll reduce it to a clump of soot!" Houndoom cried as he bolted past Aayla into the corridor.

"Jeez, he's even colder than I am," Glaceon muttered as he followed right behind, the two Pokémon dashing along to try and keep Renamon in sight and using their noses to try and follow her if she drew a little far ahead.

"You seem to have a lot of faith in your Pokémon," Aayla observed.

"They'll do alright by themselves," Felkan stated. "They always have in the past. But at least that Renamon won't be on her own, right?"

"Indeed not," agreed Aayla. "Renamon's strong too, and if Rika's capable of helping I am sure that they'll be alright, but I'll continue to monitor their progress nevertheless. For now, we'll look after Henry and Terriermon here. And try and come up with what to do if something _does_ go wrong down there."

* * *

Her head was throbbing.

Why was her head throbbing?

And why in the world was she so bloody cold?

Rika grunted as she slowly regained her senses. She could feel her breath coming out in little clouds and warming up her nose slightly as her eyes twitched, but did not yet open. She tried to move her arm, but the movement was sluggish and her hand trailed across the ground slightly, making it difficult to lift it to her face and rub her eyes.

"Uggghhhh," she murmured to herself. "What… wuzgoinon? Rnamn? Yu thrr?"

Even her voice sounded funny, and she realised now that she was shivering slightly. It really was cold, chilling her right down to the marrow in her bones. What happened? What was the last thing she could remember?

The last thing she could remember…

Suddenly it was as if fire coursed through her veins as the image of Renamon being slammed into a ceiling to cause a rockslide the enveloped her, Impmon and the twins flashed to the front of her brain and her eyes shot open. She jerked upwards without thinking, trying to push herself upright onto her feet, but suddenly her head hit something with a thunk and she dropped, dazed, back to the ground.

"Ow," she muttered, reaching up and rubbing her scalp with her teeth gritted. That blow had knocked some of the fresh energy out of her and now she could only look up blearily, trying to discern her surroundings a little more. The floor beneath her was encrusted with ice and as she tilted her head up, she spotted something that made her heart stop.

She was in a cage!

A bloody cage!

A bloody cage made of ice! Ice bars all around her except for the wall of the cave behind her and an ice roof above her head, which had been what she had smacked into. It was high enough to allow her to get to her knees but not to her feet without seriously having to bend over. Rika's breath caught in her throat and she pushed herself up onto her knees, seizing the ice bars in front of her and heaving on them, trying to snap them.

Not only did she completely fail to do so, but they were so frigging cold she snatched them away a split second later with a yelp. She stared at her hands and saw that each palm now had a long thin blue mark from just touching the ice. It was so cold that that had happened instantly.

She was trapped.

"What the hell!" she screamed, all blearily forgotten. "Where am I? What's going on? Where's Renamon and the others?"

Her reply was a laugh. A sinister and horribly familiar laugh which almost literally made Rika's backbone freeze solid since it made so many chills run up it. Then a dry, slightly breathy voice said, "So, my Ice Queen has awakened, has she?"

"No," Rika breathed, her breath coming out in a strangled gasp, her pupils shrinking into tiny dots in the whites of her eyes. "Not… you… It… can't be… you…"

"Oh, but it is, my dear," said the voice, as its perpetrator emerged from a nearby shadow and stood before the cage of ice. "Did you miss me… your future partner?"

Rika was trembling from more than just the cold now, her eyes fixed on the face of her captor. Red eyes set above a mouth twisted into a cruel smirk with fangs on clear display, between a pair of long thin horns jutting out either side of his head. His body was long and his limbs were longer and ridiculously thin, with claw like fingers, one of which was a deep blood-red. A dark purple bat-like symbol was emblazoned on his chest and large bat wings filled with gaping holes extended out to either side of him. Most of his body was completely white, as if it was made entirely of ice.

This Digimon was nothing new to Rika. Very unfortunately.

"You…" she gasped. "How can it be you? It shouldn't be possible."

"So you say," came the sneering response. "And yet here I am, once again with you in my grasp. And I shall not be denied this time."

"IceDevimon," Rika choked, as if hoping that by calling its name it would suddenly declare she was wrong and reveal it to be something else entirely.

"Indeed," the Digimon replied. "Aren't you happy to see me? I would have thought that you would be overjoyed to see your true partner. Your powerful and strong partner. After all, are we not bound by destiny, Rika? You and I, destined to become the strongest."

"Why?" Rika felt a slow growl building up inside her. "Why are you here? Why can't you just leave me alone? Is death not enough to stop you from coming after me?"

"Evidently not," IceDevimon sneered.

Rika shivered. This IceDevimon had snatched her out of nowhere once before, right at the start of her life as a Tamer, when she was still trying to work out her relationship with Renamon. He had tried to persuade her from abandoning Renamon in favour of him, claiming that he was far stronger and that she deserved him as a partner more than some two-bit weakling. Rika had resisted but IceDevimon had not been planning on taking no for an answer. And he really had been strong – he had handled Renamon with ease and even managed to take down Kyubimon without much difficulty, though it could be argued that Rika's confused thoughts and feelings had not been bringing out Kyubimon's full potential at the time.

The encounter with IceDevimon had, for a time, convinced Rika that she hated all Digimon, included Renamon, causing her to push her partner away. They had reunited later and become close, but the memory of Rika shunning Renamon was still one of the things that haunted her most, and now the perpetrator of that memories was back in front of her once again.

"What did you do with Renamon?" Rika cried.

IceDevimon laughed. "That useless tagalong of yours? I believe that she is probably buried under a small mountain of rock. If she's still alive at all, that is. If she's not, then she'll be floating around as bits of data and off to visit Anubimon, won't she?"

"You…" Rika hissed, anger replacing her fear now as she struck the nearest bar with the side of her fist and jerked in back with another freeze mark.

IceDevimon seemed to find this hilarious and threw his head back to laugh again. Rika ground her teeth together furiously but then a sudden voice echoed within her head. _Rika!_

_Renamon?_ Rika almost jumped. _Oh, thank Fanglongmon, you're alive! I thought that you'd been crushed and killed! What about the others?_

_Gardevoir appeared and saved us at the last second,_ Renamon replied. _We're all okay, though Henry's still out of it and Terriermon's still being defrosted. I'm on my way now as quick as I can get there. See if you can keep him talking so he doesn't try anything until I arrive – you're still quite a distance away._

Rika nodded inwardly. It appeared the IceDevimon was not aware of the mental link between herself and her partner, which had gotten a lot stronger since the last time they had met. He didn't seem to know that it would lead Renamon right to her current position. He was still laughing, gloating at the fact that he had supposedly killed Renamon despite the fact that this wasn't the case.

"And now that you are without a partner," IceDevimon said, in a mock voice of consolation. "Naturally I wish to offer my services to… fill in the void… my Ice Queen."

"Don't call me that," growled Rika. "I don't know what the hell you're doing here but I can tell you that I'm not the same person I was when we last met one another, you icy doofus. You hurt my friends. Do you think that I will ever forgive you for that?"

"Friends?" IceDevimon asked. "You mean those pathetic weaklings who I defeated along with your little pet? You would call such scum your friends? You should be walking all over them not beside them. In fact, I am the only 'friend' that you will ever need."

"You don't even understand the concept of friendship," Rika declared. "You really think that I would ever consider you my friend? And that's taking _away_ the fact that you did what you did. Look, _pal_," her voice was dripping with sarcasm at the word, "I'm not an Ice Queen anymore. I now know where my heart leads and where it should be. My heart melted a long time ago."

IceDevimon looked slightly perturbed, and examined Rika with a critical eye, as if he could see the changes in her personality from her physical appearance.

"It seems that you are indeed different from the person I once desired to be my Tamer," he said. "But, never fear," he added with an icy grin. "What has been melted can be frozen once again if the conditions are right. I will not be denied my right, Digimon Queen. I have come too far and been through too much to be refused."

To Rika, the conversation was heading in a direction that she didn't want it to take – if he began to think of her as a lost cause he might just end up killing her. He was not above that sort of thing. He was definitely well below it. So, she decided to ask, "How the heck did you get here anyway? How are you even still alive? I saw your defeat at the hands of Guilmon, back then. The mighty champion like you losing to a Rookie-level Digimon. But I also saw Guilmon loading your data. You should still be swirling around inside his Digi-core as tiny data particles."

IceDevimon's face twisted into a snarl, and he growled. "If I ever get the chance I will gut that pathetic dinosaur from chin to pelvis! My defeat at his hands was through sheer luck on his part, nothing more. He caught me unawares."

"Or he was just better," Rika said innocently.

"No Rookie will ever be a match for me," IceDevimon hissed venomously. "Regardless, you were right. My data was absorbed into his body upon me death. For a very long time, I was as you said. I was in tatters. I had absolutely no awareness of just anything. I could not remember who I was, what I was. I couldn't even remember that I needed to remember. I just existed in a semi-permanent limbo, swirling around his Digi-core in thousands of tiny pieces. Can you imagine what sort of hell it was for me?"

"I thought you said that you weren't aware of anything," Rika sneered. "How can it be hell if you aren't even aware of yourself?"

"It wasn't," IceDevimon gritted his teeth. "It was when I finally _did_ remember that it became hell. It was like an enormous wall of memory of me doing nothing for almost two years but flowing around in circles completely disintegrated. _That_ was the part that was hell."

"If you're expecting me to feel sorry for you then I'm afraid that you've come to the wrong person," Rika said coldly. She started, and briefly wondered if she really was still an Ice Queen with a statement like that. Her mind flashed back to her dismissive behaviour around Felkan and her heart clenched slightly.

IceDevimon was the epitome of the things that she had been trying to put out of her head – the memories of how she had been at the start of the adventures of the Tamers and her cold personality. But now that he was here… and Rika had little choice but to reflect on it… hadn't she just been treating Felkan in exactly the same way as she had treated the others _during_ the period she didn't want to think about.

The thought made her clench internally, and she almost missed IceDevimon continuing on.

"Still," he said. "I did not understand why myself at the time, but about two years after my… defeat… suddenly my consciousness returned and the hell of being a disintegrated mass fully hit me. It wasn't until later that I found out what happened, but perhaps you know yourself, Rika. When I became aware of myself, I was also vaguely aware of what was going on outside the dinosaur's body, and he was in the middle of a wild battle… against the rest of your Tamer's Digimon."

Rika blanched. Her mind flew through her memories of the past and hit upon one particular memory. She had not been there at the time, because just over a year ago she had been in Aayla's universe fighting in the Clone Wars. But when she had gotten back and traded stories with the rest of the group, Ryo had reluctantly relayed one particular story that they all looked uncomfortable about.

Apparently, during the first meeting with Impmon's pursuer, GranDracmon, the Demon Lord of the Dark Ocean had used some kind of special attack on Guilmon, which had twisted his Digi-core and caused him to warp once again into the raging draconic form of Megidramon – his darker Mega form. Rika had been there the first time he had appeared, and was glad that she had not been there for the second.

"Megidramon," she breathed. "And GranDracmon."

"Yes," IceDevimon nodded with a sneer. "I found out later what had happened. GranDracmon's Eye of the Gorgon attack unleashes all the darkness contained within the heart of the target. I am proud to call myself a Digimon of darkness, and while the dinosaur's heart was enfolded in darkness the attack simultaneously re-awakened my consciousness. Suddenly I was aware of everything. I could tell which data particles floating around within the enormous mass around me had once been part of me and I strained to get out.

"Eventually, when the dinosaur was defeated and regressed back to his smaller form, I got my chance. As the data for Megidramon was released from his body I managed to use all my remaining power to force myself out with it. I was free at last, but nothing more than a cloud of near-invisible particles. But shortly after that, GranDracmon opened another small portal in order to send another message to the group and I felt my data being drawn towards the darkness of the portal. When GranDracmon closed it again I was already inside, and the sheer darkness of the place filled me with energy and allowed my data to collect together and give me my form back. I was still very weak, but I quickly set about regaining my strength, which was an easy thing to do in such a place as the Dark Ocean."

"And so you were reborn," Rika said bitterly.

"Indeed," IceDevimon smirked. "Intriguing, isn't it? And naturally I wanted to set about finding you immediately, but I learned that GranDracmon was the only one who could let me out of the Dark Ocean. I didn't want to go to him with me wishes so I decided to wait for my opportunity. And that was when I met… well, that part doesn't matter. The main point is," he sneered, leaning in close to the cage and causing Rika to shift backwards to try and put as much distance between them as possible. "I found my way back to you."

"Well, that explains a lot," Rika grimaced. "I never met GranDracmon, but it looks like his legacy is still going on even after his… hey, wait a minute," she suddenly added. "How did you get out of the Dark Ocean then? I was told that the Dark Ocean was destroyed when GranDracmon's body was erased in the Celestial Heavens. And how did you get _here?_"

"How did I escape?" IceDevimon's smirk increased even further. "How did I get here? Well… I think that that might be telling a little bit too much. I would rather not put my future Tamer in… too much danger."

"What?" Rika blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Perhaps you'll find out one day," IceDevimon stated. "But for now, let's just say I… hitched a ride. Both times."

"Hitched… what are you talking about? What does that even mean? That doesn't make any sense."

"It matters not," IceDevimon turned around. "What I want to talk about is not the past. It is the future. My future as well as yours. You have already been given my offer in the past, but nevertheless I shall give it to you again. Along with a similar… sales pitch… that I gave you last time."

Rika's eyes widened. Sales pitch? Was he referring to the…

As IceDevimon gestured around the room, Rika's heart stopped and then tried to force its way up her throat. "No," she gasped. "No! No! You can't have done this again! You… you monster!"

"That is high praise," IceDevimon laughed. "Perhaps you are not a lost cause after all."

Rika felt her eyes watering as her body was wracked with attempts not to choke out a sob. The last time IceDevimon had nabbed her, he had presented her with an ice cavern filled with the frozen bodies of Digimon that he had killed, in order to show her just how strong he was and convince her to be his partner.

Now, he was showing her what could only be a room filled with more frozen creatures which could only be Pokémon. Rika had been so focused on IceDevimon that she hadn't even noticed, but all around her were the terror-filled faces of Pokémon who had been locked in blocks of ice. Small crab-like creatures that had been waving their pincers. Strange shells with long tongues that lolled out from the opening beneath their eyes. Large sea-horses whose eyes had been wide with unquestionable fear. Numerous bats, some small and without eyes, others much larger with gaping mouths and large wingspans. A couple of strange-looking starfish with red-jewels in the centre of their bodies. A couple of ducks that had been holding their heads. And there was even a large seal-like Pokémon with horn on its head as the centre-piece of the room.

"Do you like my new collection?" IceDevimon asked. "These creatures are pathetic in comparison to the Digimon I have fought in the past, but I do not discriminate in what I destroy."

"You… you've killed them," choked Rika. "They're just innocent creatures, living in the wild here far from everything else. They're not even like Digimon – they're sentient but they don't fight the battles and wars you do. How could you? How could you do this to a bunch of innocent creatures… innocent people?"

"How could I do this?" IceDevimon echoed. "Very easily, as a matter of fact. They weren't even a challenge."

"You really don't have a heart do you?" Rika snarled, anger beginning to replace her shock once again. "This is why there are no wild Pokémon around here anymore. They've all left or been gotten by you."

"I hold dominion over this place, it is true," smirked the demon. "And now that you have no partner… I shall be next in line. Do you not remember your old wish? To become the strongest Tamer? I too wish to be the strongest Digimon and I know that you, of all the Tamers, have the potential to give it to me. Your ice-cold heart is the same as mine."

"It is nothing like yours!" Rika screamed. Though while she knew full well that she was right, she felt that twinge again at the way she had treated Felkan with hostility. She thought she had come so far, but how far had she come really, if she could still behave like that to people? Even people like him?

"Isn't it?" IceDevimon asked. "I find that difficult to believe. Still I shall soon find out, won't I?" he gave her a sneer with seemed to be trying to hold some kind of taunting affection, before he lifted his large hand. Nestled in the grip of his elongated fingers was…

"My D-Arc!" Rika gasped, hand automatically flying to her belt, only to realise that it wasn't there. She still had her pack of Modify Cards, but they were useless without the device that IceDevimon had.

"Indeed," IceDevimon chuckled. "This is your last link to that deceased partner of yours. It's utterly useless now, and it won't work for me. I know that much. You shall need to obtain a new device if you wish to be my partner."

"But I don't! And I never will!"

"In the end, you don't have a choice," IceDevimon hissed. "No one will stop me from earning my place. Not even you. And now, I shall destroy this thing and that will be my first step to your side."

Rika watched in horror as the D-Arc fell into his palm and his closed his hand around it, beginning to squeeze, his strong grip threatening to shatter it. She couldn't lose that device – she doubted she'd be able to replace it while in this world.

So, she screamed, "You can never understand!" IceDevimon looked up, his hand stopping what it was doing, which Rika noticed, so she ploughed on. "You will never understand why I will never be your Tamer. You cannot force me into the role. It is physically impossible for you to do so. The bond between Tamer and Digimon is all about trust and love. I didn't realise that at first, but on some level I always did love Renamon, even when I treated her like dirt. But I can never, will never, love you. You've done too much to hurt me and my friends for that! You can never replace Renamon, even in her death. And the bond also has to be reciprocal. You do not love me – you only want me as a tool to get stronger. You're mindset as a Digimon is too wrong for you to have _any_ Tamer, not just me! This whole endeavour of yours is totally pointless from the start!"

IceDevimon hissed. "You think that you can push me away with those lies?"

"Lies?" laughed Rika. "You seriously think I am lying? That's just further proof that your cause is a lost one. And there's one other thing you should know. My friends are still out there, and they will come for me. No matter how long it takes them, no matter what else stands in their way, no matter where you take me or try to hide me, they will track you down. They will find you, they will rescue me, and they will not show any mercy. And this time they'll be sure to send you to a permanent stay at Anubimon's realm."

"They cannot defeat me!"

"You really believe that? Are you really that arrogant?" Rika laughed. "Guilmon defeated you when he was a Rookie. He has now risen far beyond that level and can ascend to the Mega if he chooses. We _all_ can! You are just a Champion. There's no way that you could defeat any of our Digimon in a fair fight. You want further proof? My friend Aayla, who isn't even a Digimon, once came across and battled against an IceMyotismon. That's an evolved form of you, isn't it? She cut off its arm, and gave it a serious run for its money in battle. AND she's gotten much stronger since then. You really think that you stand a chance against her? Against any of us?"

"With you by my side…"

"I'll never be by your side! Not now, not ever. Give it up, IceDevimon. You lost before you even began."

IceDevimon let loose a howl of rage that sounded like he'd almost gone rabid and his fist tightened around the D-Arc further. Rika screamed as she heard the material strain, grabbing the bars and instantly getting more freeze marks as she yelled at him to stop.

But someone else beat her to the punch.

Literally.

There was a roar of fury as a yellow streak rocketed out of the nearest tunnel and hurled itself towards IceDevimon so fast it looked like it was leaving a trail of stardust behind it. IceDevimon's head snapped around only to see a white-fingered, furry fist lashing out and cannoning into his face right between his eyes. The blow flung him across the room with a scream as he crashed into the icy-block that contained the seal-creature, the D-Arc skidding across the floor and into a corner, thankfully still intact.

IceDevimon gasped and pushed himself up, ogling in disbelief at the being who stood before him. "You!" he gasped. "How are you still alive?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Renamon replied, her normally steady eyes blazing as if they were igniting with blue fire. "Except I already know the answer. Suffice to say you did not kill me, though you did knock me out with that cheap shot to the face. I thought I would return the favour just now."

"You should be buried under a ton of rock," IceDevimon protested.

"Perhaps I would be, if I didn't have friends," Renamon replied evenly. "One thing that you will never have. Rika was right. You cannot hope to understand the bond between Tamer and Digimon, but especially not the bond that runs between _us!"_ Between her and me."

"The bonds?" scoffed IceDevimon. "Nonsense. Bonds do not make you stronger. They only hold you back. That is why I have chosen Rika to be by Tamer. She once knew the value of strength, though she seems to have forgotten it. But I shall make her remember it now by letting her watch me defeat you."

"You shall not win today, IceDevimon," Renamon replied.

"You could not defeat me before," IceDevimon crowed. "Not even when you digivolved to the Champion level. How do you expect to beat me now? Alone? Your precious Tamer unable to help you?"

Renamon was about to retort when a voice behind her said, "She's not alone."

Renamon started and looked behind over her shoulder, keeping the other eye on IceDevimon in case he tried something. She was surprised to see Glaceon emerging from the tunnel that she had just come from, followed closely by Houndoom. During her panic and her haste to get to Rika before IceDevimon severed their bond or did something even worse that she hadn't even noticed the two of them were following her.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"Felkan sent us," replied Glaceon with a slight grin. "We followed you so that we could help out where we could. He didn't want you to be alone when you confronted your Tamer's kidnapper."

"He didn't?" Rika blinked.

Houndoom snorted. "It might surprise you to know this, young girl, but our trainer _does_ have a heart. Not that you seem to have noticed, or cared."

"Oi, Houndoom," Glaceon swatted his fellow Pokémon with his tail. "Don't be mean."

"Just saying it like it is," Houndoom replied simply, and his words had indeed felt like a punch to the chest for Rika a little bit. "Anyway, he sent us to help rescue you and stuff like that. Despite the fact you basically told him to shove off earlier."

Glaceon sighed. "You're so blunt, Houndoom. You do realise that what you just said sounded rude, don't you?"

"Yep," Houndoom nodded, as he and Glaceon stepped up on either side of Renamon. "So, this is the guy, is it? The Digimon who's been scaring everything off."

"Look at all the Pokémon," Glaceon's eyes widened as he noticed the frozen Pokémon dotted around the room. "He's a monster and a murderer to do all of this. Krabbies, Horsies, Shellders, Zubats… and that poor Seel!" He bristled and growled. "I take it that this guy really is what you call an evil Digimon, and not just some lost soul like those last ones, right?"

"Oh yes," Renamon nodded, her eyes narrowing. "This one is almost as bad as they come. IceDevimon. Champion Level, but a powerful one in his own right."

"Ah, so these are more of the local creatures," IceDevimon sneered, who of course couldn't understand a word that the Pokémon had said. "The weaklings who dominate this world. If you really think that they will be able to help you, Renamon, you are sorely mistaken. I shall take all three of you down!"

"Oh will you?" Renamon raised a brow and dropped into a combat stance.

"I am stronger than I was in our last encounter," IceDevimon boasted. "I have been through the powers of darkness. I shall wipe you from this world and be sure to finish the job this time."

"I am much stronger than I was too," Renamon replied. "And not just because I can digivolve further. Each of my forms have increased in strength. I shall defeat you myself. Glaceon, Houndoom, stay back! I will take him."

"Uh… yeah… not going to happen," Houndoom scoffed, stepping up closer to Renamon. "This guy might be after your Tamer, but he's murdered innocent Pokémon. That makes him our business too, I'm afraid."

"This'll be fun," Glaceon said, a little grimly, moving up on Renamon's other side. "Three canines against this ice devil. I say that we cream him."

Renamon glanced from one to the other, noting the expressions of anger and determination that were crossing their faces and filling their eyes. They both reminded her a little of herself in that respect, so after a moment's hesitation, she nodded and chuckled.

"Alright," she said. "Let's do it."

"Are you not going to fight me solo?" IceDevimon laughed. "Need two more weaklings beside you before you can face me?"

"I could take you alone any day," Renamon replied stiffly. "But perhaps working together will show you the benefits of teamwork before you die. No mercy from either of you, you hear? This guy is long overdue for a visit to Anubimon?"

"What is mercy?" Houndoom asked with faux innocence.

IceDevimon spread his wings. "I am going to enjoy this," he gloated, as he rose into the air. **"FROZEN CLAW!"** he added, lashing out his hand to the side and his fingers sharpening into icicle-like points to sweep them down at the three, his arm growing longer to reach them with a vicious swipe. Renamon bounded upwards and the other two sprang to the side, and without any further talk the fighting began.

Renamon, still in mid-air, span in a tight circle and ignited her Power Paw, hurling herself towards IceDevimon with furious abandon. IceDevimon calmly moved to the side and dodged the attack, but quick as a flash Renamon seized an ice pillar in the other hand and swung herself about to come again. IceDevimon started and folded his wings around himself like a shield, causing Renamon's paw to crash into them instead of his face. The blow knocked him backwards but didn't harm him too much.

IceDevimon hissed, annoyed that she had got the first hit, and lashed out with another Frozen Claw straight at her midriff. Renamon spun under the strike and darted to the floor, dashing across it on all fours straight towards him. IceDevimon hissed and surged in towards her, the edges of his wings sharpening as he prepared an Evil Wing attack. As the two closed on each other he span himself around to slash at her with his wings but Renamon dropped to the ground and slid across the ice on her stomach, passing straight beneath him before digging her claws into the ground to slow her and springing back to throw another punch at his back.

IceDevimon yelled and spun around sharply to backhand Renamon straight in the chin and toss her across the room. He tried to take advantage of her momentary vulnerability and cried, **"FROZEN CLAAAGH!"**

A black blur of motion had suddenly slammed into him from the side and crashed into his head. IceDevimon span to the side at the sudden and unexpected hit and almost crashed into the wall. He propped himself up on it and swung around to hiss at Houndoom, who had just hit him with a Sucker Punch attack before he could throw an attack at Renamon.

"Looking for this?" Houndoom asked, nudging what looked like an icicle on the ground. IceDevimon blinked and then realised it was his horn! His hand pressed to the side of his head but it wasn't there! Houndoom had broken it off. He watched as the horn fragmented into data a moment later.

"Why you…" he yelled and threw himself into the air. **"AVALANCHE CLAW!"** he screamed, spreading his wings wide and generating a huge barrage of vicious looking icicles which rained down towards the black-furred dog.

"That's no different to an Icicle Crash!" Houndoom stated and spat a Flamethrower out of his jaws which incinerated the icicles and spurted up towards IceDevimon. The Digimon blanches, knowing full well that fire would be very detrimental to his body if it hit so he span himself to the side, just avoiding the attack and swooping round, lashing out another Frozen Claw at Houndoom. The Pokémon sprang out of the way as the claw crashed into the ground behind him and then… vanished into thin air.

"What?" IceDevimon blinked, right before Houndoom crashed into his back with a Faint Attack. IceDevimon let off an "Ungh!" of surprise but span around to slash at Houndoom with his claws, only to find Houndoom's mouth was already full of flames and even as he fell Houndoom's flaming teeth clamped down on his swinging arm with a Fire Fang.

IceDevimon yelled as the intense heat instantly made steam pour from his arm and kicked upwards, catching Houndoom in the stomach and flinging him away. A quick damage inspection found that a portion of his arm melted away and the Digimon was filled with ice-cold wrath and made to lunge after the still airborne Houndoom. But even as Renamon bounded forwards and tackled Houndoom before he could crash into wall, several Ice Shards suddenly crashed into IceDevimon's side, causing him to whirl around.

Glaceon glared up at him from on top of the frozen Seel. "Care to test your Ice abilities against mine?" he asked.

"Ah," IceDevimon smirked. "My first victim. Your Ice talents are measly compared to mine, small one. Try this! **TUNDRA FREEZE!"**

"Glaceon! That will freeze you like all the others!" yelled Rika, right as twin white energy-like beams lanced out of IceDevimon's eyes and speared down towards the small fox Pokémon. Glaceon's brow raised slightly but other than that he held his position. Rika yelled as the beam washed over Glaceon, and IceDevimon let loose a howling laugh.

"One down," he crowed.

"Um… check again," Glaceon said.

"Huh?" IceDevimon started, right before a multi-coloured Signal Beam nailed him in the stomach and threw him upwards to crash against the ceiling, cutting off the beams from his eyes. He gasped at the sudden loss of air and blanched when he saw Glaceon had flung himself upwards with a bright-white glowing tail, flipping over to swing at him with it. IceDevimon quickly pushed himself away and Glaceon's Iron Tail pulverised the ceiling where he'd been.

IceDevimon span around and unleashed another Frozen Claw in Glaceon's direction, but before it hit the fox it suddenly hit an invisible Barrier that had seemed to have sprung out of nowhere, allowing Glaceon to drop to the floor unharmed, where he burst forward with a sudden Quick Attack and hit IceDevimon in the back of his legs, throwing him forwards and forcing him to spin around just to avoid planting his face into the ground.

"How did you…" he gasped. "What happened to my Tundra Freeze?"

"You can't freeze an Ice-type Pokémon," Glaceon smirked as he re-joined Renamon and Houndoom. "It's physically impossible."

Renamon chuckled, and repeated the information for the opponent's benefit. IceDevimon snorted and stood up again, flexing his claws once more. "Perhaps you are more formidable than I imagined. Certainly more so than the creatures which you now see dotted around the room," he sneered. "But that will just making defeating you all the more pleasurable. And if I cannot freeze you, I can at least tear you to shreds!"

"Try it," Renamon growled.

"Oh, I will." And IceDevimon threw himself into the air, slicing towards all three of them with another evil wing.

"We work together!" Renamon said immediately.

Houndoom and Glaceon nodded wordlessly, and all three of them leapt into motion. Renamon leapt into the air, Glaceon suddenly dived straight into the ground and vanished down a hole he'd rapidly dug and Houndoom sprang forwards, coating his body in another Flame Charge as he barrelled towards IceDevimon. The Digimon hissed and span upwards to follow Renamon, lashing out with one Frozen Claw at her. Renamon slammed it aside with a foot-enshrouded Power Paw but IceDevimon's other claws followed a split second later, forcing her to grab it.

The hand threw her upwards but this time Renamon was prepared and flipped over, her feet hitting the ceiling first and bending to absorb the shock, allowing her to hold the claws at bay. IceDevimon shot upwards to try and swipe at her again but suddenly a huge Sludge Bomb hit him in the face and went inside his mouth, causing him to wretch and release his grip. Renamon sprang of the ceiling and punched him in the top of the head, knocking him back a little as Houndoom, the perpetrator of the Sludge Bomb, let loose a mouthful of flame from his jaws, which spread out into a five-pointed star as it rushed for its target.

IceDevimon managed to clear his eyes of sludge in time to see the huge, flaming projectile and he threw himself backwards, but was not fast enough to stop two of its points from catching him in the side. Steaming, he plunged towards the ground, crashing into it back first. He snarled and tried to stand, but Glaceon suddenly burst out of the ground underneath him and, despite his small body, tossed him up into the air again. IceDevimon turned to swipe at him, but his claws impacted of the Barrier yet again instead of hitting Glaceon, allowing the small fox to generate a Shadow Ball and launch it straight at IceDevimon's stomach.

The Champion Digimon was quick and managed to catch the attack on his hands, but it still exploded and sent him rolling away. Hissing and spitting furiously he tried to get steady, only for Renamon to spin out of nowhere and seize him by the arm, heaving him over her shoulders and spinning about to deliver a flying kick to the side of his head, launching him towards Houndoom, who spat out a huge Dark Pulse the blindsided the icy devil and sent him into freefall straight at Glaceon, who was suddenly glowing with a bright pink Secret Power as he threw himself upwards and intercepted the opponent.

IceDevimon found himself sprawled on the ground, his dignity already in tatters. "This… is… RIDICULOUS!" he roared. "You are mere fools and weaklings! I cannot be beaten around like this from nobodies like you." He surged to his feet as Renamon was thundering towards him with Power Paw raised, but he swept around and seized her fist in one hand, hurling her towards an opposite wall. He dodged another Flamethrower from Houndoom and swept towards Glaceon, who hastily threw an Icy Wind at him to try and slow him down.

IceDevimon flew through the attack mostly unimpeded and exploded outwards to slash at the small fox. Glaceon sprang upwards to avoid the hit but the other hand sliced into his side, finally breaking through the Barrier around him and throwing him across the room. Houndoom was already Flame Charging towards him once again, a furious snarl on his face, but IceDevimon responded by launching another Tundra Freeze right at him.

Houndoom sneered, but when the attack hit him his eyes bugged wide as he suddenly felt cold and drew to a stop. The attack seemed to work by forming ice over the opponent rather than trying to directly affect them like the attacks of most Ice-type Pokémon and it was so intense that even when shrouded with flames Houndoom could feel it working.

The canine gritted his teeth and intensified his attack, coating his entire body in the effects of the Flame Charge to keep the cold at bay, there following a straining match between the two of them as IceDevimon tried to freeze the fireball as the fireball tried to throw off the attack.

Who might have eventually one would never be found out because Renamon suddenly exploded out of the ground next to IceDevimon, having used the hole that Glaceon had previously created. Glaceon was with her and the fox span around to hurl the other fox straight at IceDevimon. Glaceon crashed into IceDevimon with a furious Double-Edge, hitting him so hard that IceDevimon's side actually fractured and throwing him across the room.

IceDevimon gasped at the pain but persevered throwing his arms and wings out to throw another Avalanche Claw at all three of them. But Renamon bounded in front of the recovering Glaceon and spread her own arms.

"**DIAMOND STORM!"** she yelled, forming a similar attack of her own around herself and hurling dozens of viciously-edged diamonds up at the opponent. The diamonds far outnumbered the icicles but were smaller, but that didn't stop them from smashing through the icicles to produce a cloud of small shards that fell down like hail, while the rest of them continued upwards to slice into IceDevimon's body. The devil raised his arms defensively and took the attack but cried out when several of them cut into his stomach. Then he cried out again when a Flamethrower from Houndoom washed over his injured side and he positively screamed at the searing heat that went through him.

He collapsed to the ground and looked up to see Glaceon running at him at full tilt through the falling remnants of his own Avalanche Claw. IceDevimon surged up, ignoring his fractured and part-melted side to and hurled a hand out at him in another Frozen Claw attack.

He we extremely surprised when Glaceon was suddenly two feet to the left and his claws smashed only into the ground. He swiftly flung out his other hand, but suddenly Glaceon was two feet to the right, back in the place where he had been, to the same effect. The fox sprang off one of IceDevimon's arms and swung forwards with another Iron Tail that smashed IceDevimon in the side of his head and snapped his remaining horn clean off, where it spiralled into the air and was seized by Renamon, who snapped it in half with a satisfied smirk as it fractured into data.

"As you can see, IceDevimon," she said. "I have been no slouch in the two years since my defeat at your hands. And my two companions are more than capable of standing up for themselves. I wonder if your previous boasts about your supposed victory are still valid in your own mind."

Rika was staring at the three of them in admiration. She'd seen Renamon fight before of course but Houndoom and Glaceon were amazing fighters as well. The arsenal of things they could do was amazing, and she couldn't help but think that in actual fact, either of them would be a match for IceDevimon if they were facing him on their own. Houndoom especially what his fiery attacks. Both of them had withstood a Tundra Freeze already. That was more than an impressive feat.

IceDevimon pushed himself to his feet and said, "I have merely been sizing you up. I can now see, that you are, in fact, worthy opponents. Your defeat will show the human who her rightful partner should be after all."

"Yeah, I don't buy that at all," Houndoom replied. "You've been going all out on us yourself. Admit it. You're just outnumbered and outgunned. That's all there is to it."

"He said to admit that we're more than a match for you," said Renamon.

"Never!" IceDevimon coughed. "I've come so far. I cannot allow you to defeat me here!"

Renamon's eyes narrowed, as she raised her arms for another attack. "Your time is up, IceDevimon. It should have run out a long time ago. **DIAMOND STORM!"**

The cloud of diamonds which suddenly lanced towards IceDevimon startled even Renamon. The diamonds were all three times larger than they ordinarily were and there were at least twice as many of them, leading to what was more of an avalanche that IceDevimon's Avalanche Claw could ever hope to match. IceDevimon tried to leap aside but there was no way he could have gotten out of the way of such a huge attack and he was bombarded with what felt like razor-sharp cannonballs.

Renamon blinked. That had to be the strongest Diamond Storm that she had ever cast. By quite some distance. She hadn't even intended for it to be that powerful. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Glaceon was glowing it looked as if a bolt of blue lightning was coming off his body – and it had hit _her_ in the back. She hadn't even noticed her own body was covered in energy.

"Hope you like my Helping Hand," Glaceon smirked as the energy faded away.

"Why thank you, my fellow fox," Renamon smirked back.

IceDevimon let loose a scream of rage and surged back into the air, his body covered in various cracks, scrapes and bruises from their various assaults. "Damn you!" he cried. "Why won't you just die!"

"Maybe we would," Houndoom yawned. "If you actually hit us with something lethal."

Renamon laughed and acted as the go-between again.

"Why you…!" IceDevimon screeched and launched himself at Houndoom, with a Frozen Claw held ready his eyes glowing to try for another Tundra Freeze. Houndoom let loose a bloodcurdling Howl in response before darting forwards at unfathomable speed to nail IceDevimon in the stomach with a Sucker Punch, though this time IceDevimon saw it coming and managed to simultaneously bring his claws down and slam Houndoom into the ground. IceDevimon was thrown backwards winded, and tried to scramble forwards to finish the job when Glaceon burst out of the ground again and crashed into his chin from below, snapping his head back and almost breaking his neck.

Moments later, Renamon crashed into him from above and flattened him into the ground. He screeched and slashed at her with an Evil Wing, but she'd already rebounded off and flipped away.

"I must admit," she said. "You've improved too. You certainly have become stronger as I have. You would not have been able to withstand as much of this during our last encounter as you have now. But in the end, the victory is unquestionably ours."

"I'll finish it," Houndoom stated, his body glowing with an extremely bright orange aura and his eyes taking on the same hue, as he stepped up next to the other two. "Let's see if this icy guy can withstand an Overheat attack. With the damage he's already taken, I highly doubt it."

"Overheat's the second most powerful Fire-type attack," Glaceon nodded, stepping away from Houndoom as he did so. "There's no way I'd want to get hit with that."

"Hope you don't mind me offing your nemesis, Digimon," Houndoom remarked.

"By all means," Renamon folded her arms. "I would like to see him burn."

IceDevimon's eyes widened. He could feel the heat building up from Houndoom from where he was standing across the room, and he knew, as they did, that a fire attack of this magnitude would finish him immediately. Other IceDevimon would not even be alive at this point, but this particular one, tough as he was, had reached his limit.

Suddenly he moved quickly, darting across the room as fast as his tattered wings could take him. Houndoom opened his mouth to unleash the attack… but stopped. IceDevimon leapt forward and smashed straight through the ice bars of Rika's cage with one hand, while the other seized the Tamer and pulled her to him with a scream.

"Rika!" Renamon cried, starting forwards, but figuratively freezing when IceDevimon's claws came to her Tamer's throat. One of his arms wrapped around her upper arms and pinned her back to his chest while the other held its fingers like a set of daggers to Rika's neck.

"Don't even think about it," IceDevimon sneered. "You say you want to show me how strong these bonds of friendship are, but now I show you how weak they are."

"Renamon!" Rika yelled but shut up quickly as the claws pressed closer to her jugular.

"You wouldn't use you attacks when there was an innocent girl in danger would you?" he asked. "And you wouldn't want to risk hitting her instead of me."

"You want Rika to be your Tamer," Renamon growled. "Killing her will gain you nothing."

"No, but if I cannot have her then neither can you," IceDevimon growled. "I will win, whether or not I get my Tamer as a prize."

Houndoom powered down his attack with a snarl. "Now, that's low. Should have guessed you'd do that. It's what I'd do."

"Houndoom!" Glaceon snapped. Then he added, "You won't escape with her."

"The way I see it," IceDevimon said as he backed towards one of the exits of the cavern. "Either I live and so does she, or I die and so does she. Think about which you would prefer, Renamon!" And then he threw himself backwards and disappeared round a corner, hostage struggling valiantly but to no avail as he swept out of sight.

Renamon growled and her eyes turned to lock on to the fallen D-Arc in the corner. "We can't let him escape," she said, bounding over and picking it up in her paw. "Follow him. Don't do anything that will put Rika in danger but make sure that he doesn't get too far ahead."

"Should have just hit him with Overheat from the start," muttered Houndoom. "But I wanted to make the guy hurt first," as all three of them dashed in pursuit.

"If only we knew how to use Mean Look. That would have come in handy," Glaceon added.

_Rika,_ Renamon called with her mind. _Don't worry. We'll get you to safety yet. Terriermon!_

* * *

_I hear you,_ Terriermon replied. He'd been mostly unfrozen from the block of ice for some time now, and now only his feet were still encased in it. "That dirty old git! And I can think of more colourful things to call him than that, and would do if there weren't kids here. Now, he's holding Rika hostage and he's threatening to kill her if they don't let him go."

"I'm not surprised," Felkan replied. "Sounds like the sort of thing people like him would do to me."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Ai fretted. "We can't let him kill Rika. We just can't."

"And we won't," Impmon said firmly. "We're gonna rescue Firehead and make that Icy Bastard pay for ever thinking that he could mess with our family," he growled, not bothering to restrain his language in front of his own Tamers. "We'll let him know just what a mistake he's made picking on us."

"Yes, but we'll have to move quickly," Aayla agreed. "IceDevimon might be thoroughly beaten but he's still strong enough to escape, and we can't let that happen. Equally, we can't let Rika die, so we'll have to be careful."

"Any suggestions?" a still bleary Henry asked. "We've gotta… save her now."

"Lucario," Felkan suddenly turned to address his jackal Pokémon. "Do you have a lock on him now?"

"Yes, Master," nodded Lucario. "I have been monitoring the battle and have gotten a lock on his aura now. I can see him in my minds-eye, and where he's going."

"Good," Felkan replied. "With Lucario here, we can do this. He can track this ice devil guy through the tunnels no matter which direction he takes. Now we just need a plan."

"And I believe that I have one," Aayla smirked. "Gardevoir, you're capable of communicating with anyone telepathically, aren't you?"

"Yes," Gardevoir nodded. "So can Lucario, though my range is a little wider."

"Then I suggest something simple, yet effective," Aayla replied. "Something which favoured us well often during the Clone Wars. And the key to this plan is co-ordination, which was often in our favour thanks to our mind-link. But with Gardevoir and Lucario's telepathy extending to all the members of our group, we can extend the parameters. First we need to get Rika away from him. Then, we need to stop him from getting away himself. Unfortunately this will mean we'll have to kill him, as there's no reasoning with him and we have no means of keeping him prisoner."

Aayla outlined the plan in about fifteen seconds flat, and as she did, all sets of eyes narrowed and several heads began nodding in confirmation.

"Come on," Henry groaned, trying to stand and stumbling over.

"Henry, no!" Terriermon said, his feet finally breaking free of the ice and he hurried a little numbly over to his Tamer. "You and I sit this one out. We'd only get in the way in your current condition."

"But Rika…"

"Don't worry your little head of your girlfriend," Felkan smirked, reaching for several of his Pokeballs. We'll take care of this."

"Let's go," Aayla cried.

* * *

Well, IceDevimon got his ass handed to him there, didn't he? I wanted to highlight again here how the strength of the Pokémon, even against an opponent like a Digimon, lies in their versatility rather than their power, although these guys are definitely still powerful in their own right. And yes, IceDevimon is stronger than before, which is why he wasn't just defeated in two blows like last time. But hopefully this chapter should have brought about a few more questions, but I would hope that the biggest one of most of your minds is, what's going to happen next? Hehe.

* * *

Next time…

With IceDevimon on the run with Rika still in his clutches, Renamon, Houndoom and Glaceon are in pursuit, determined to bring him down. But they are not the only ones – the whole of the rest of the group wants a piece of this guy now and they're going to get their chance.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 19 : Partnerships**


	19. Partnerships

Hey all! Here I am with a quick update after my recent post of my other story. I'm going to attempt to speed up as much as I can now, and I need all the spurring on I can get, so I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the action that arises from it. It was very fun for me to right, so I can only hope it's just as fun to read.

Also, some of you noticed that IceDevimon could understand some the Pokemon in the last chapter when he shouldn't be able to. I noticed it myself shortly after I posted the chapter and changed it immediately but apparently it took a while for those changes to take effect. So, a cookie to all those who noticed. To those who didn't, IceDevimon CANNOT understand the Pokemon. No Digimon but the ones altered by Uxie can. If I make that mistake again in the future, please point it out to me.

Enjoy all.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 19:- Partnerships**

* * *

"Let go of me, you creep!" Rika growled as she faintly struggled against IceDevimon's grip. She had been pressed right into the bat-symbol on his chest and though she was taller than she had been in her last encounter with this guy her feet were still a considerable distance from the ground.

"Hold your tongue," IceDevimon hissed as he moved through the tunnels, trying to get to one of the few ways out that he knew. "Or I might be forced to remove it."

"Now, now," Rika sneered. "Is that any way to talk to the person you want to be your Tamer you pathetic Ice Bastard."

"You seem to make it quite clear that your desires lie elsewhere," IceDevimon replied tersely, whooshing down another long passage. "If I cannot have you as my Tamer then I will dispose of you if necessary. But if it comes to that then first I will find a way of killing your partner and her two accomplices and making you watch."

"You were no match for them before," Rika growled. "And there's no way that you ever will be. Now let me go!"

"Silence!" IceDevimon seemed to lose it slightly and pressed his claws right up against her throat. "Or I will be forced to drop you here."

Rika fought the urge to swallow, certainly if she did then she would catch her throat on the hooked claw of IceDevimon's hand. But a voice behind her said, "Do that, and there will be nothing to stop me from tearing you to pieces right here!"

IceDevimon turned to see Renamon bound out of the corridor behind them, with Houndoom and Glaceon not far behind. "I had a feeling that you would follow me," he sneered, turning to face them completely and prominently displaying his claws, while his other arm locked Rika firmly in place against him. "But this changes nothing. Make a move against me and your precious Tamer will die. Yes, you might kill me afterwards, but I will die in the knowledge that I robbed you of your exquisite human, which is almost as good as killing you yourself."

"This guy is really starting to piss me off," Houndoom muttered.

"Can't you hit him with a Sucker Punch or something?" Glaceon asked.

"That only works if he's about to attack someone, which he isn't," Houndoom replied. "He's only threatening to. I could probably hit him from behind with a Faint Attack but his claws are still a bit close to the girl's throat. I could cause an accident."

"IceDevimon," Renamon stated, eyes blazing. "You have nowhere left to run to. We will pursue you through this maze of icy tunnels for days if we need to but you will not escape from us. Make it easy on yourself and release Rika and I might grant you a quick death. One blow to the head or something. But I swear to you, if you so much as damage a hair on her then I will make your suffering as excruciating as you made the suffering of those poor Pokémon back there. The ones you murdered."

"Then I shall die in the knowledge that while I was not able to beat you, I turned your way of thinking into mine," IceDevimon cackled. "Meaning that I lost to another version of myself who was already the Tamer of this Ice Queen."

Renamon growled, but could say nothing more, clutching the D-Arc firmly in her paw as she glowered at the Champion-level Digimon with intense hatred. IceDevimon leered at them and began moving slowly through the passage backwards, keeping his claws at Rika's throat to keep the other three at bay and stop them from trying anything.

Renamon and the two Pokémon followed, keeping pace with him, so the distance between them never actually changed while they moved along, but it almost seemed to be like some form of stalemate now. Renamon and the others could do nothing but IceDevimon equally could not carry out his threat without fear of retribution. But it still seemed that IceDevimon was very much not bluffing.

_Terriermon_, Renamon murmured in her head as she followed IceDevimon and Rika steadily, keeping them in sight at all times. _I hope that you guys have things set up soon._

_We're almost in position,_ Terriermon replied. _Lucario's doing a pretty good job. Don't worry. We'll sort this out in a minute._

* * *

_Thank you,_ Lucario replied with his telepathy as he bounded through the tunnels alongside Aayla. _Alright, he's moving northwest along another tunnel, and will shortly emerge in another cavern. Move up the corridor until you reach a second left and then take it down to the first right and await my signal,_ he directed one of the other members of the plan. _Houndoom, Glaceon, can you guys hear me?_

_Loud and clear,_ Glaceon replied. _Is there a plan?_

_Yes,_ Houndoom added. _What's going on?_

Both of these sentences were said at the same time, for while Lucario could use his aura to communicate with others via telepathy, Glaceon and Houndoom could not use it to hear the thoughts of one another, meaning that often when Lucario was trying to hold conversations with multiple people he would get a confusing jumble of a lot of people talking at once. It had taken a lot of mental discipline and training on Lucario's part to be able to separate and distinguish individual messages simultaneously and sometimes he still had trouble in large groups, but he was improving all the time nonetheless.

_There is a plan, _Lucario provided. _We're going to see exactly how good this IceDevimon creature is. Hold your position and do not attack him until I give the word. The others are moving into place as we speak._

_Gotcha,_ Glaceon acknowledged.

_Fine,_ Houndoom sounded a bit reluctant.

_Nothing rash, Houndoom,_ pressed Lucario, before he pulled out of their minds. "It looks like everything is about to fall into place," he said verbally to his companion.

Aayla chuckled. "Your skills are impressive," she said. "Perhaps if there were Lucario in my universe they would all be members of the Jedi Order, whether their aura techniques are actually the Force or not."

"Thank you," said Lucario. "But we must now focus on our objective of rescuing the human girl."

"Agreed," Aayla nodded. And the two of them bolted away to get into position.

* * *

As per Lucario's prediction, IceDevimon's slow progress brought him out of the tunnel and into another cavern. A very _large_ cavern as it so happened, and one of the largest in the Seafoam Islands. As soon as he did so he flared his holed wings and lifted up into the air, taking advantage of the space to ascend somewhere that would be more out of the reach of his pursuers, all of which could not fly.

"**AVALANCHE CLAW!"** he yelled and said wings flexed outwards, sending another cascade of enormous icy shards slamming down towards the entrance of the tunnel and making Rika flinch as the deadly hail passed all around her and the cold bit into her skin. Renamon, who had been about to exit it, sprang backwards between Houndoom and Glaceon as they pounded into the place where she'd been as well as the tunnel mouth, slamming through the rock and splintering it into several pieces.

This resulting in another rockslide similar to the one he had created by punching Renamon into the ceiling earlier that day, though this time it all fell in front of the three pursuing canines in a tumultuous jumble. When it settled, the tunnel entrance had been completely sealed by rocks, cutting Renamon and the others off from the cavern.

IceDevimon sneered. "That ought to keep them from following me for a while," he said. "Looks like your little foxy girl can't do anything more to help you."

"Don't underestimate Renamon," Rika growled. "You've already made the mistake of doing that once today."

"Ah, maybe," IceDevimon replied. "But I intend to be long gone before she can figure out a way to find me this time. Let us continue."

"I really don't think so," another voice cut across IceDevimon's thoughts, and he blinked, turning to look down at another tunnel entrance. Rika looked to and blinked at what she saw. A tall black haired young man was standing there with his arms folded and an impassive expression on his face, and on either side of him were a pair of much younger children, one boy and one girl and both with brown hair.

"Felkan?" Rika started. "Ai. Mako. What are you guys doing there?"

"We came to rescue you, Rika," Ai said with a peace sign.

"Don't worry, we won't let him get away with what he's been doing," Mako grinned.

IceDevimon almost doubled over as he burst out laughing at the sight before him. "What? What did you just say? I have never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life! Do you think that you, three mere humans and two of you barely out of your Baby stages, could possibly stop me from doing… anything that I intended to do? You are no threat to a Digimon like myself. This human is mine."

"I am nobody's," Rika yelled.

"Why do you want her?" Felkan asked steadily, catch both of the airborne duo's attention. "Surely she is just a 'pathetic human' too. What makes her so important to you?"

"You would question me?" IceDevimon sneered. "Well, you have some nerve, human. But I shall answer regardless – she is my ladder. My stepping stone. Humans are weak, but I know better than other Digimon that they have a different kind of power within them – a power to make _me_ stronger. I had hoped that Rika would be the same as she was during our first meeting but I shall make her that way again."

"Like hell you will!" Rika glared.

"So, that is it?" Felkan raised a brow. "Well… that's extremely childish of you."

"Eh?" IceDevimon blinked, not really knowing what to say to that.

"You know what you remind me of," Felkan replied. "You remind me of all those young imbeciles out there who start their Pokémon journeys so that they can become the best. Pokémon masters, I believe they visualise themselves as. I was like that once, determined to come strong just for the sake of being strong. But I grew up. I don't care about that stuff anymore. You, on the other hand, have the ambition of a little kid. No offence," he added to Ai and Mako.

"No, you are right," Mako said, and pointed at IceDevimon. "You're just like all those bullies we used to have who thought they were cool by picking on little kids."

"We have to get stronger too, as Tamers," Ai nodded. "But we do it because we've gotta fight hard to protect each other and our partner. And our friends."

Felkan glanced down at both of them for a moment, and he could see the sincerity in their faces. For a second his mind delved off the issue at hand and wondered if he might have misjudged these guys. If the other Tamers were anything like Ai and Mako then maybe… well… they just looked so earnest.

He shook himself, focusing back on the present situation and said, "Well, what do you know? These kids that are "barely out of their Baby stage," whatever that means, are still more mature than you. So, would you kindly return the girl? You're getting in the way of saving the world."

IceDevimon bared his fangs. "You dare to mock me and my destiny!" he cried. "You will pay for that with your lives! **TUNDRA FREEZE!"**

"Ai! Mako! Run!" Rika shouted as the freezing beams exuded from IceDevimon's eyes and fell down towards all three of the humans. But before any of them moved, a sudden barrier sprung up in front of them and took the attack, preventing it from hitting any of them, though a wall of ice still formed over the barrier itself. IceDevimon and Rika both blinked at the ice dome which had formed over the tunnel entrance the humans had been standing in, but moments later it shattered as something on the other side cannoned into it and shot upwards towards at such a speed that if either of them had blinked they would have missed it.

"What…AAAGH!" IceDevimon suddenly cried as razor-sharp talons suddenly clawed at his eyes and scaly feet struck him in the face, sending him reeling backwards and almost causing him to lose his grip on Rika and drop her, though he managed to catch her again and lock her securely against his chest before she could squirm away and plummet to the ground.

IceDevimon's eyes had managed to survive the assault but his face was now covered in scratches. As he whipped around to try and get a look at his attacker, all he saw was a blue and red shape moving sweeping with the speed of an arrow around for another pass before it cannoned into him again and knocked him down towards the ground.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, grabbing Rika by the neck in one hand and holding her outwards, so the orange-haired Tamer could only hack and kick her feet futilely as she tried to get some air into her lungs while IceDevimon's other hand held his claws up in front of her face. "Attack again and she will get it!"

The blur slowed to a halt and alighted on a nearby boulder, revealing itself to be Swellow. "Damn," he said, in a sarcastic voice. "You have completely and utterly foiled our plan. Whatever shall we do now?"

IceDevimon didn't understand any of that, which was probably a good thing because it meant he was completely unprepared for what happened next. He suddenly screamed in pain as something sliced into his back and through the ice between his wings like a stake. His hands slackened and suddenly Rika plummeted out of his grip and down towards the ground, but before she could even scream Gardevoir teleported out of thin air right next to her, seized the Tamer into her arms and pulled her close before blinking out of existence again.

She re-appeared moments later next to Felkan and held Rika close, steadying her as she uncertainly tried to find her feet and shake her disorientation – that was the first time she had ever been teleported after all.

IceDevimon, meanwhile, snapped his head around and wrenching himself free of whatever had impaled him. He found that it was Scyther, how had somehow appeared behind him when he wasn't looking and slashed into his back with one huge blade. IceDevimon took a swipe at him but his hand passed right through Scyther as if he wasn't there. He blinked as the Substitute faded away, and the real Scyther appeared out of nowhere moments later and Slashed IceDevimon across his chest in a swift, decisive move that left a huge line across the bat symbol.

"AAGGH!" IceDevimon screamed as he fell backwards, clutching his chest. Moments later he felt a powerful invisible force smack into him and he was thrown backwards as if shot from a cannon and slammed against a nearby wall. He looked up to see that Aayla had appeared out of nearby tunnel and had just hit him with the Force, and Lucario was charging towards him now with his arm raised, ready to launch a full-powered Force Palm straight at the Champion level Digimon.

IceDevimon rolled aside and Lucario's palm struck the stone and ice behind him to fracture it with the strength of the blow, but Lucario didn't miss a beat and spun his leg around to slam IceDevimon right in the face with a fiery Blaze Kick. IceDevimon screeched and stumbled backwards again, clutching his severely wounded face in agony… only to be struck by a bolt of lightning a mere second later.

He span about to see that his newest attacker was Luxray, who was wearing a smirk on his face and he dispelled the Discharge attack that he had just let off. He backed away from the bristling lion-like Pokémon until he was in the middle of the room and found himself surrounded on almost all sides now. From each direction he turned in there seemed to be an angry looking Pokémon glaring at him. That, or a Twi'lek or a human.

"You pests!" he hissed. "You are nothing more than wretched natives of this world. You would dare to attack me? A superior Digimon?"

"Surely they answered that question before you even asked it," Aayla pointed out as she stepped forwards, activating both of her lightsabers as she did so. IceDevimon growled and his eyes sought out Rika once more, who was just being released by Gardevoir as she realised what was happening. He surged towards her angrily, determined to reclaim his prize but a small fireball surged from a tunnel right next to her and brushed past his shoulder, pulling him to a stop when he spotted Impmon standing there.

"Just try it," he said, lighting up another Bada Boom.

"Weakling," he hissed and decided to charge forwards anyway. Gardevoir turned her head to look at him and her eyes flashed. A split second later and IceDevimon was being hurled towards the other side of the room so suddenly he almost missed the change in direction and was flung straight towards the rock pile he had created before that was blocking Renamon and the others from entering.

Before he reached it, the rocks exploded outwards as something cannoned into them from the other side and crashed into him, forcing a yowl out of his throat as he was slammed silly, but he managed to twist his head to look around and see an angry looking Sceptile standing there with the fading glow of a Focus Punch around his fist as he flipped into the room and glared at the Digimon. IceDevimon balked when a furious looking Renamon, Houndoom and Glaceon poured through the gap on either side of him and decided that this might not be worth it after all.

He turned to flee, heading towards one of the few remaining passages away from the chamber that didn't have anything standing in front of it, but suddenly Absol bounded out of it a rammed IceDevimon with a Pursuit attack, doing double the damage thanks to the fact IceDevimon had been trying to run away. IceDevimon was hurled right back towards the centre of the room and collapsed in a heap.

When he looked up, he saw no escape. The Pokémon had him surrounded on all sides. Each one of them had emerged from a different tunnel and now they were all working together to cut him off.

Renamon stepped ominously forward and surveyed the group that had surrounded the icy devil. She was mildly surprised by the vehemence on the faces of all the assembled Pokémon. Practically the entire group of twelve were here, except for Milotic who was still obviously outside. Renamon briefly wondered where the other two were, but dismissed it after a moment and turned to face IceDevimon.

"There is no escape for you," she declared. "The 'pathetic locals' as you refer to them as have got you surrounded and outgunned. I haven't known these guys for very long but I know full well that they're all very strong. And you've already taken a severe beating from the three of us before they arrived."

"What will you do, Renamon?" IceDevimon sneered. "Are you going to show me mercy? That sounds like the kind of thing you and your pathetic hearts would do."

"I say we fry his sorry ass into next week," Houndoom growled.

"I hear that," Luxray agreed.

"Every one of us Pokémon here either knows Hyper Beam or Giga Impact," said Swellow. "We could do some serious damage if we catch him in the crossfire, wouldn't you say?"

"Been a while since we really allowed ourselves to cut loose, hasn't it?" Scyther grinned.

"No," Renamon said, raising a paw to quieten the crowd. "No. Not this time. I appreciate as much as the next Digimon that there is no kill like overkill, but I don't want to kill him like that. Not when we have him cornered."

"So you are showing mercy?" IceDevimon sounded surprised, but turned it into a sneer moments later. "You will come to regret that decision, I promise you."

"You don't cower like other evil beings might in this situation," Renamon noted. "That does you credit, I suppose. But no, I do not intend on showing you mercy," she growled, with her eyes narrowing as she stepped further forward. "I am simply going to choose the honourable thing to do. I am a warrior. That is what warrior's do. So, I give you a choice IceDevimon. Either die here at the hands of all of us or fight me one on one here and now. If you manage to defeat me then we may even allow you to go free. If not, then we will not hesitate."

"You are requesting some sort of duel?" IceDevimon blinked.

"Yes," Renamon nodded. "You and I. Right here." She held up her paw, palm upwards, the D-Arc that she had picked up from the chambers before nestled in-between her furry paws. "Champion versus champion."

"What?" IceDevimon frowned, but Renamon's eyes drifted over to Gardevoir, who nodded. Moments later, the D-Arc suddenly lifted itself out of Renamon's paw, surrounded by a pulsing blue aura and zipped across the room, shooting past IceDevimon's head like a bullet and making him flinch to hit Gardevoir's hand like a baseball into a mitt. The Embrace Pokémon then passed it down to Rika, who looked up at her partner across the room.

"Rika," Renamon said, turning back to IceDevimon. "You know what to do."

"Are you sure about this, Renamon?" Rika asked. "Don't you want to show him what the full power of a Tamer and Digimon in sync with one another can do."

"Tempting as that may be it would not be a fair contest," Renamon replied. "Besides, when we met with this guy the first time, I lost to him as Kyubimon. Now, I shall defeat him as Kyubimon. It is not often I say this…" her eyes narrowed into slits. "But this is personal."

Rika nodded, producing a card from the holster that IceDevimon had not removed from her belt and bringing it up to the D-Arc. "Very well," she said. "Here goes. This is how a real Tamer and Digimon work together IceDevimon." She swept the card through the slot.

"Digi-modify!" she cried. "Digivolution activate."

Renamon smirked as she burst into bright light, forcing IceDevimon and some of the Pokémon to shield their eyes from the intense glare. But all of them forced themselves to look back up as they watch with amazement as Renamon changed shape. This digivolution process certainly seemed to be a lot flashier than their own evolution process. A Pokémon glowed too when they evolved, but not this brightly.

"**RENAMON DIGIVOLVE TO… KYUBIMON!"**

As the lightshow died down and the larger quadrupedal Champion level fox stepped forwards, moving into a position ready to spring, Rika glanced round at the Pokémon to gauge their reactions to this extraordinary thing… but she frowned when she saw bemusement on all their faces.

"A Ninetales?" Absol blinked.

"Huh?" Impmon asked. "Yeah, she's got nine tails. What of it? A lot of Pokémon have strange shapes and many of them have more than one set of limbs."

"No, not nine tails," replied Sceptile. "_A_ Ninetales."

Impmon blinked. "Sorry, you've lost me," he said.

"There's a kind of Pokémon called a Ninetales which looks more or less exactly like what your friend Renamon has turned into," replied Gardevoir, staring in wonderment at Renamon's new form. "But without the neck adornments and the flaming paws and tail-tips. But other than that the resemblance in body-shape is startling."

"Is that so?" Kyubimon asked, with a smirk as she stepped closer. "Well, if that is the case, then I hope that I can make any Ninetales who might hear of this event proud."

IceDevimon glanced about him as Renamon replied to the words which sounded like complete garbage to him. "How are you able to understand these creatures anyway?"

"Magic," Kyubimon stated blandly. "Now, I shall I allow you to make the first move. And nobody else is to interfere with this battle, understand? I shall fight him honourably, one on one."

"If that is your decision then we shall abide by it," Lucario bowed his head, while Aayla sheathed her blades but still kept a wary stance.

"This is hardly a fair contest," IceDevimon protested. "I am injured while you are still healthy."

"Perhaps," Kyubimon purred. "But this is the fairest contest you are going to get. Now, would you like to begin or shall I?"

IceDevimon snarled and sprang into the air. **"TUNDRA FREEZE!" ** he roared and lanced out another beam of flash-frozen light from his eyes that fell towards Kyubimon. The fox sprang aside and it hit the ground behind her to produce an icy coating, before dashing around and haring towards IceDevimon, who immediately spread his wings and lifted into the air before the fox could reach him.

"Going somewhere," she called after him and sprang into the air after him, flipping over so her tails lashed into the air like a set of nine lassos. IceDevimon was startled as they all wrapped around his limbs and wings and one lashed around his neck, and Kyubimon suddenly heaved him downwards as she completed her flip to slam him straight into the ground.

"Oh, nice!" Swellow spread his own wings. "I don't think a Ninetales would ever think to try that. They _hate_ having their tails touched."

IceDevimon pulled his head out of the ground and spun around to dash at Kyubimon with a Frozen Claw, slashing out at her with his vicious claws, but Kyubimon sprang into the air and jumped right over his strike to hare off and around him, coming towards him from the side. IceDevimon sprang backwards and brought both Frozen Claws slamming downwards towards her, but Kyubimon pulled to a halt so fast that it was a wonder she didn't fall over and the claws crashed into the ground in front of her.

Before IceDevimon could react, Kyubimon's tails lashed out again and curled around his wrists. He blanched as Kyubimon shouted, **"FOX TAIL INFERNO!"** and the tips of her tails suddenly burst into flame, searing at his arms. IceDevimon screeched and wrenched backwards in unbearable pain, pulling Kyubimon off her feet with the force of his convulsion and heaving her into the air. IceDevimon, through the blur of his pain, quickly took advantage of her disadvantage and slammed her with another Frozen Claw that knocked her further into the air.

Kyubimon grunted under the blow, but IceDevimon quickly shot up after her and slammed into her with an Evil Wing, his razor sharp wings slicing into her side and eliciting a yelp as she tumbled down.

"Kyubimon!" Rika cried.

"I'm fine," she grunted landing cat-like on all four feet and looking up at the airborne devil Digimon. "But he won't be."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," IceDevimon cried. "I am the stronger Digimon here. **AVALANCHE CLAW!"**

"You obviously are not very strong in the head," muttered Kyubimon as the huge shards of ice pelted down towards her. She raised her tails above her head and started them blazing, before narrowing her eyes and zeroing in on each of the shards in a split second, before roaring, **"FOX TAIL INFERNO!"** again. In a flash and one by one, each of her tails lashed forwards and lobbed a flaming ball of blue fire at an individual chunk of ice. Each one impacted with its target dead on and consumed it in a fiery blaze, melting it away.

IceDevimon blanched, watching in disbelief as Kyubimon's tails launched volley after volley of small fireballs up at him, each tail lashing out seemingly at random to obliterate another piece of ice.

"What?" he gasped. "How is this…?"

"I was like you once," Kyubimon replied as she continued her endless volley. "I once thought that strength was everything. But I am not the person I was anymore. Despite that though, because of that, I have become a lot stronger. And I have learned a few new tricks too," she added with a smirk as she wiped out the last shard and flung a volley of nine fireballs straight at the icy devil.

IceDevimon flared his wings and tried to dodge to the side but three of the nine still managed to strike him in the chest and knock him for spin, gasping as he sagged and clutched at his sizzling wounds. He gritted his teeth and saw Kyubimon charging towards him again out the corner of his eye. He spurred his wings downwards in an attempt to meet her head-on, trying to draw the fight into closer quarters. H

e slashed out a Frozen Claw and drew forwards with another Evil Wing. Kyubimon rolled aside to avoid the first strike and took a flying leap straight over IceDevimon, her tails lashing around his ankles like bolas and pounding him chest-first into the ground and causing him to gasp yet again.

"Throwing your attacks at enemies and hoping they will do damage will get you nowhere," Kyubimon replied. "I have learned the value of thinking your way through a situation and using anything you have to your advantage."

"I have my strength!" IceDevimon screamed, wheeling around and sending another volley of ice shards at her. Kyubimon sprang backwards to try and avoid them but a couple of them still struck her in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her, followed by a claw attack that crashed into her chest and threw her across the room towards a wall. Not about to be caught out like she had been before, Kyubimon twisted violently out of IceDevimon's grip and landed to barrel straight towards him again in a full-on charge.

IceDevimon was beginning to get incredibly frustrated, but he had one last strategy that he wanted to try. He swept out a Frozen Claw to try and keep her distracted, causing her to leap into the air again, but this time IceDevimon focused his gaze on her.

"This time when you're open! **TUNDRA FREEZE!"** he sent the beams straight towards the airborne Digimon, aiming to hit her while she was defenceless and unable to shift out of the way.

"You're mine!" he cried.

"**DRAGON WHEEL!"** she cried, turning the air and throwing herself into a spin, head over tail tip and flying directly into the beams. IceDevimon almost gawped at this rash action but even as ice began to form over Kyubimon's fur bright blue flames welled up around her as well, consuming her and taking on the shape of a giant, angry dragon-like serpent which lunged down towards IceDevimon with fiery fangs blazing.

IceDevimon knew then that he had lost this confrontation. Kyubimon was too strong. He could see that now. She was indeed much more powerful than she had been during their last meeting. But IceDevimon refused to admit defeat and die here so he quickly intensified his Tundra Freeze, putting all the energy he had into the attack. The Dragon Wheel whooshed through it, the two attacks equal in magnitude with IceDevimon freezing the flames themselves while the flames melted the ice at an equal rate.

But Kyubimon wasn't slowing down.

Still, IceDevimon saw the two straining attacks were generating an enormous amount of steam out of almost nowhere as Kyubimon's fire melted his ice straight into gas with barely enough time to become a liquid at all. The steam enveloped the area and IceDevimon dived backwards as the Dragon Wheel slammed into the spot where he'd been, the flames rearing up and searing at his icy skin.

But he suppressed the howl that was threatening to tear out of his throat as the attack which hadn't even hit him scorched at him. He needed this chance. This was his one opportunity at escape and he was determined to take it. He turned around, battered and burned and about three-quarters dead and threw himself with all speed right at one of the tunnels which he had previously identified as being one of the least guarded. Before the Pokémon standing nearby could realise what was going on he had flown out of the steam and shot through the opening.

"Hey! Come back here!" Luxray shouted. "He's escaping again."

"Coward," Houndoom sneered. "He knew he was losing so he bailed."

"Kyubimon, are you alright?" Rika cried as the fox emerged out of the steam, ice coating parts of her fur but otherwise fine.

"Yes," she said. "But we must get after him. We cannot let him escape now, with or without Rika. As long as he lives he will be a danger to innocent lives."

"He's already murdered a bunch of innocent Pokémon," agreed Glaceon. "He can't be allowed to get away with this."

A sudden dark look flashed over Felkan's face. "Has he now? Murdered innocent Pokémon, you say?"

"Froze them all into blocks of ice," Glaceon nodded. "But they were definitely dead. I could tell."

"Then that is a step too far by some distance," Felkan growled. "Anyone who can kill innocent Pokémon has no place in this world, no matter what world he originally comes from. What do you say, Lucario?" he asked, turning to the humanoid jackal. "Shall we teach this guy what it is like to be the one being hunted for a change?"

"He shall regret disrupting the peace of our world, Master," Lucario nodded shortly.

"What are you planning to do?" Aayla asked.

"Let him know that there really is no way of escape for him," Felkan replied. "And we'll do that… by working as a team."

* * *

IceDevimon was on the run now. He no longer cared about getting that Tamer that he so craved – his only thought now was to escape from this place and recover, then find a way of getting his revenge on that blasted fox. They had not seen the last of him if he had any say in the matter, but for now he had to get away from here, and fast. He was certain he could hear the sounds of pursuit already.

Unfortunately in his haste to escape he had delved into a section of the islands that he did not know well and now he was not sure which way to go to get out. He took a right at the first opportunity and shot down the corridor with his toes skimming the ground then shot down another right and an immediate left, then passed on by a couple more junctions before taking another right.

Which way was out? Which way to the main exit he had found?

He rounded another corner and immediately pulled to a halt, eyes widening in shock. "What?" he gasped. "How did… how did you get here so fast?" he asked, addressing the white robed Pokémon that was filling the corridor in front of him.

Gardevoir's eyes opened and she smiled at him. Knowing that words were useless when they came from the mouth with this guy, she spoke to him with her mind and said, _You have made a mistake by picking on the inhabitants of our world. But you've made a bigger mistake in underestimating us all. You call us weak and you have murdered our brethren. Do not think that we will stand idly by._

IceDevimon blanched and hurled another Avalanche Claw at her. Gardevoir's eyes suddenly blazed a bright blue and the ice shards all suddenly came to a stop in mid-air inches before they hit her. IceDevimon balked and watch as they fell to a ground in a heap, and a second later Gardevoir hit him with a blast of Psychic energy, tossing him backwards to impact with the wall behind him. IceDevimon scrambled upwards and dashed down another corridor. Gardevoir just watched him go solemnly.

IceDevimon whirled around another couple of passages, desperately trying to find a place that he recognised and get away from the people pursuing him. But a mere half a minute after his encounter with Gardevoir he rounded another bend and found Absol standing there. He faltered in surprise yet again and Absol reared up onto his back legs and slashed his head-horn through the air violently, generating a blade of pure energy that lanced through the air at him.

A Psycho Cut.

IceDevimon shielded himself with his wings and yowled as the attack sliced through them and ripped another rent in each of them and in his stomach. He scrambled backwards and hurried the other way as Absol walked slowly towards him, scrambling against the wall and dashing off into the labyrinth yet again.

"Going somewhere," said a voice he didn't understand and his head whipped around to see Luxray charging straight towards him, his body crackling with electricity and his yellow eyes glowing like lamps. IceDevimon backpedalled and fled and Luxray responded by flinging a Swift attack at him from behind, the high velocity stars hitting him between the wings and making him stumble as he hared away once more.

"What's happening?" IceDevimon grunted as he took to their air, straining his damaged wings as he tried to soar away. "How are they doing this?"

"Peekaboo," Scyther grinned as he suddenly appeared right in front of IceDevimon and slashed down with one scythe. IceDevimon screeched and pulled to a halt, but not fast enough to prevent Scyther from slicing one of his hands clean off. The Digimon shrieked as his hand disintegrated into data but he was still able to duck under Scyther's next strike and dash on ahead. Scyther did not pursue. He just settled on the ground and turned to watch, waiting to see what would happen next.

IceDevimon swept through a smaller cavern at high speed in a mad bid to outrun his many pursuers, but he was taken off guard yet again when something detached from the ceiling and smacked straight into his back, knocking him from the air and causing him to crash painfully onto his shoulder. He looked up furiously at the culprit, Swellow, and angrily threw a Tundra Freeze as the bird Pokémon. Swellow easily avoided the attack with a swift barrel-roll and the ground underneath IceDevimon exploded upwards at the same time.

"AAAGH!" IceDevimon cried as Glaceon appeared below him and hit him hard with another Dig attack. He stumbled over, rolling some distance and trying to lash out with a Frozen Claw, only to use the arm that didn't have a hand anymore and getting nowhere. Glaceon smirked and prepared another Shadow Ball, but IceDevimon sprang up again and winged away, another Quick Attack from Swellow knocking him further ahead as he disappeared into another tunnel.

A few twists and turns later and he skidded to a halt yet again. "What?" he blinked. "How…?"

For he was facing Luxray yet again. Luxray grinned and suddenly his body burst into a huge bright light for a brief second. IceDevimon wailed as the Flash hit his eyes and effectively blinded him, especially in the dark space of the cave, and he stumbled backwards, blinking wildly as he tried to see, only for Luxray to hit him in the chest with a Headbutt moments later.

He turned to scramble away in an undignified heap, trying to find his way around the tunnel system with his eyes hazy and unable to focus properly on anything. He ran headfirst into a wall and stumbled along, tripping over another boulder and almost falling flat on his face.

"Exit…" he hissed to himself. "Where's the way out? Where am I?"

"On quite a slippery slope it seems," said a voice he understood, and also recognised to be Impmon's. He pulled to a halt right as a Bada Boom hit him in the back. He grunted and winced and tried to turn around, believing that even in his blinded and weakened state he could deal with a simple Rookie. He was completely unprepared for the Focus Punch which slammed straight into his face courtesy of Sceptile, sending him flying back down the corridor to crash into another corridor wall.

"Oh, I bet that felt satisfying," Impmon chuckled.

"I know it probably shouldn't, but it did," Sceptile nodded.

"You little pests! How are you doing this?" cried IceDevimon, his vision clearing up as he beheld the small imp and the large green lizard standing in front of him blearily.

_That would be my doing,_ said another voice, and IceDevimon's head snapped around to see Lucario standing at the entrance of another tunnel, with arms folded. The jackal's eyes narrowed as he glared at him and said, _I have a lock on your aura signature now. I can trace your progress throughout these tunnels as if a tracker had been placed on you. And through a combination of mine and Gardevoir's telepathy, we're able to tell everybody else which directions to take to meet up with you. There's no escape for you, IceDevimon. You cannot avoid us._

"Then I shall kill you and be done with it!" IceDevimon threw himself at Lucario and raised his remaining hand to launch his claws right at Lucario's eyes. Lucario's eyes turned pure blue and his body suddenly blazed with pure aura as he raised a paw and seized IceDevimon's red middle claw, catching it mid-strike and halting its progress instantly.

_No,_ Lucario stated simply, throwing the stunned IceDevimon's hand aside. _You will not_. He brought his clenched fists together and spread them out, generating a long bone-like staff between them and lunging forwards in a frenzy of motion. IceDevimon was clobbered upside the head by the strike and span about only to be slammed in the stomach and then the back of the head moments later. Lucario span around to deliver a hefty kick to the small of his back before he could even fall over and launch him back down the corridor.

Determined not to give up on his life yet, IceDevimon threw himself into a stumbling run and hurried away, but there was one thing he still didn't know. The Pokémon were pulling their punches. They were deliberately making sure that they did not kill IceDevimon with their hits, and the Digimon was so wounded that it was possibly any one of them could finish him off now.

But first they wanted him to understand. To understand the fear that been coursing through IceDevimon's own victims before he brutally killed them. They wanted him to _know_ what he had done before they finally destroyed him.

And so IceDevimon ran on, unaware that he was effectively being toyed with like a mouse by an entire colony of wild cats.

"Someone order toast?" Houndoom asked, as he was the next to run across IceDevimon. IceDevimon couldn't understand but he recognised the voice even though he was still finding it difficult to see and immediately back-pedalled as Houndoom sent a huge plume of flame down the corridor, filling the space from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. IceDevimon dived round a corner and just missed the flames, but as he ran on he suddenly ran into Gardevoir again.

Gardevoir's fist was already flaming as she reared it back and teleported behind IceDevimon to hit him in the shoulder-blades with a Fire Punch attack. IceDevimon cried out and fell forwards, but Gardevoir seized him by the bases of his wings and suddenly teleported away, dragging IceDevimon with her as she re-appeared in another cavern nearby.

A cavern that was full of water.

Gardevoir dropped IceDevimon in the shallows and he turned around to swipe at her, but she was already on the other side of the room before he could hit her. Moments later, there was an explosion of water from the middle of the in-cave lake and IceDevimon whirled around, wide-eyed, as Milotic fountained upwards from down beneath the surface.

"I just wanted to get in on the action," she said, having swum through one of the underwater tunnels the Lapras had pointed out to her to get in here. She then raised the water around her in a colossal wave, a Surf attack that washed right over IceDevimon and dunked him beneath the surface. Coughing and struggling for breath, IceDevimon was washed by the attack down another tunnel, and twisted through several more in the watery torrent before it petered out and deposited him in a heap on the floor…

…right in front of Kyubimon and Rika.

"You liked inspiring fear and watching the suffering of others," Kyubimon said as IceDevimon's head snapped up to look at her. "Do you enjoy it as much when you are on the receiving end."

"RAAAAAGHH!" IceDevimon screamed as he reared up to his feet and prepared to slash out with his claws and launch a Tundra Freeze at the same time, but before he could do any more than scream, Aayla suddenly vaulted past Kyubimon and spun around a stalagmite to crash the bottom of her foot straight into the side of IceDevimon's now hornless head, making him smash head-first into a wall.

"Nice, Aayla," grinned Rika.

Aayla looked like she didn't know whether to smirk or sigh. "I'm not entirely sure that I approve of this, you know," she said.

"This isn't the Galactic Republic, Aayla," Kyubimon said. "I'm afraid that the realities in this situation are far different from back home."

"I know," Aayla replied. "We don't have the facilities to keep him prisoner for one thing. And he has indeed gone too far here for us to allow him to go for it. That doesn't mean that I have to like this though."

IceDevimon coughed as he stumbled to his feet again, barely able to stand by this point. "You pity me?" he sneered at the Twi'lek.

"I pity anybody that strays from the path of the light," Aayla shrugged. "Even you. But I do agree with one thing about this – you should indeed be made to understand some of the suffering you have caused in your life."

IceDevimon sneered. "That pity may lead to your undoing," he said. "You may have won and gotten the advantage over me this day. But trust me when I say, your triumph will be short-lived. I decided not to follow _him_, but this world shall burn at his hand, and I highly doubt that there is anything you can do to stop him."

"Him?" Aayla raised a brow. "What are you talking about? Does this have anything to do with how you got to this…?"

IceDevimon yelled and slashed at her with his claws, trying to catch her off guard while she was distracted by his words. But IceDevimon clearly had no idea what he was dealing with. It took a hell of a lot to take a Jedi off guard and Aayla reacted almost at the same time as IceDevimon. Her blue lightsaber was in her hand and activated almost the microsecond he started moving and the humming blue blade cut through IceDevimon's fingers as easily as butter.

IceDevimon howled as he reared back, staring at his hand in disbelief, only his thumb remaining of the five fingers that he had used to have. Aayla threw her hand out and blasted him with the Force to toss him against another wall.

"What did you mean?" she demanded of him. "What were you talking about before?"

But IceDevimon merely shot a Tundra Freeze at them both and scrambled to get away again. Both Aayla and Kyubimon dived aside to avoid it and IceDevimon scrambled away, forcing his tattered wings into motion once more as he mad one last desperate bid for escape. He piled on all speed, determined to finally outrun his dogged pursuers.

He did not succeed. Everywhere he went, there seemed to be somebody there to meet him. He encountered Glaceon again about half a minute later, and the small fox lobbed a Signal Beam at him, forcing him to retrace his steps and dive through another corridor, running wildly and flapping to try and stay aloft. But about twenty seconds later both Sceptile and Scyther sprang out of the shadows ahead of him, preparing a Leaf Blade and a Night Slash respectively and cutting deep lines into either of his flanks as they barrelled straight past him.

IceDevimon gasped and scrambled away, but Houndoom was waiting for him round the next corner and bit into his arm with a Super Fang attack. IceDevimon gasped as he felt his remaining energy and health suddenly deplete by exactly half and he knocked Houndoom away desperately and rushed on. He ran past another corridor completely and then came to a T-junction, scrambling to the right without pausing for thought.

Absol was blocking his path, and IceDevimon swiftly tried to go the other way as Absol's eyes flashed, but other than that nothing happened in this particular encounter. But as IceDevimon tried to go down the other tunnel of the T-junction he found his route cut off again by Lucario, who threw an Aura Sphere at him and blew another hole in his wing.

IceDevimon struggled back the way he had come and took the passage he had bypassed before, sure that he must be close to an exit somewhere. He had to be… surely… But there was nobody ahead of him in this corridor so…

CRASH!

Swellow cannoned into his back, having rounded the corner behind him and shot after him at incredible speed and slammed him in the back of the head with a Steel Wing. IceDevimon collapsed to his chest. Oh, what was the use? These creatures. They had him well and truly cornered. IceDevimon could feel it. The fear inside him. Was this really what the fear of being hunted felt like? This was what all of his prey had been feeling as he chased them.

He looked up blearily as Swellow flew on, leaving him behind. The bird Pokémon curved upwards when it reached the end of the tunnel and disappeared from sight and up into…

…daylight?

IceDevimon gasped. He knew this place. Just up ahead was the main entrance and exit to the Seafoam Islands that he had located – an enormous hole in the ceiling which would provide space for a very large avian being to move through and was partially concealed from the outside due to an overhang. He could do this. He could escape.

Fuelled by his desire to get away and recover he threw himself forwards again, spreading his tattered wings and lifting himself into the air, flapping hard and gaining speed, dragging his battered body along as if his life depended on it, which it did. As he soared into the chamber, he found that the majority of his pursuers were already there, watching impassively from the along the edges of the enormous chamber.

"You are too late!" IceDevimon screamed in delight as he shot up towards the huge gap in the ceiling and the daylight up ahead. "I am free! You will not catch me now! I have done it! I've escaped! I HAVE ESCCAAAAAAARRGGHH!"

Suddenly he was hit by yet another invisible force that seemed to imperceptibly seize him in mid-air and shove him back down towards the floor, slamming him into the ground slap-bang in the middle of the huge, icy chamber. The Pokémon and the few Digimon lined the walls around him impassively, keeping their distance.

"No!" IceDevimon cried as he struggled to get up and failed. "Who…?"

And he saw them. Two draconic creatures with red and blue markings on their bodies hovering in the gap in the ceiling side-by-side. One carrying a human girl and a Lopmon on its back and the other carrying a human male and a Terriermon. Both with eyes glowing with Psychic energy.

Latios and Latias.

"Noooo!" IceDevimon cried. "Not when I'm so close."

"You were never close," said Felkan as he folded his arms from nearby. "These guys saw to that. And I think it's time for the big finish wouldn't you say, you two?" he looked up towards the gap. For a moment, IceDevimon thought the was talking to the two dragons… and indeed he _was_ talking to two dragons. But to two different ones. Moving into view to hover on either side of Latios and Latias were two new figures, who had been sent outside by Felkan to await their turn at the action.

Tail tip and eyes blazing alike was Charizard.

And fangs bared and huge claws brandished was Garchomp.

These two were the largest of Felkan's Pokémon and would have had a more difficult time moving around in the tunnels, which is why they had not been used up until this point. But here, they had all the space they needed to carry out their task.

"This guy's time is up," Charizard remarked, his body lighting up with an intense orange aura.

"Let's give it to him," Garchomp snarled, his body glowing with orange light that concentrated into a ball at his chest.

IceDevimon watched with wide eyes as their glow around the two increased tremendously, seeming to pulsate up towards their throats and up closer to their mouths, which opened and began to glow from within with burning orange and red light. IceDevimon felt the psychic energy pinning him to the ground dissipate, but he found himself paralysed with fear as he felt the power building up in both of them.

He then blinked in surprise when Garchomp fired a small orange ball straight towards the ceiling and Charizard spat out a small red glob of flame that arced down to the floor so it would land in front of him instead of hitting him.

IceDevimon could help but burst out in derisive laughter. "That is it?" he cried. "That is all you have? Looks like I was beginning to overestimate you after all if those measly things are all you can…"

"Wait!" Aayla cried as she and Kyubimon finally entered the room, but it was too late.

The moment the small glob of fire hit the floor it erupted into _HUGE_ inferno that spread out from its point of impact across the floor like a small napalm bomb. Simultaneously the glowing orange ball exploded near the ceiling and replicated into a dozens of huge orange meteors which thundered down to the ground like the comets they were. IceDevimon barely had a moment to scream as the firestorm washed over him and the meteors pummelled down on top of his body all at once. He was obliterated instantly and fractured into millions of particles of data which floated out of the blazing remains of the two attacks.

As the group watched, a small black hole seemed to appear in the air before them and suck all the bits of data inside, before closing again in a snap.

IceDevimon was finally on his way to meet with Anubimon. And he would _not_ be making a surprise return again this time.

"Whoa…" Henry breathed as he took in the fractured burning remains of the middle of the room – the fire attack from Charizard had stopped before it reached the edges, so everyone crowded around the was perfectly safe. "That was… intense…"

"I should hope so," Garchomp nodded. "Those are the most powerful moves in our arsenal. Draco Meteor, the strongest Dragon-type move any non-Legendary can learn."

"And Blast Burn," Charizard added. "Only a very few Fire types are able to learn that one."

"Heh," Sceptile said from down below. "I could have wiped him out with Frenzy Plant if I wanted to."

"Course you could have," Charizard grinned. "But we're the ones who did it."

"Seems you were right Kyubimon," muttered Rika from her partner's back. "Looks like there is no kill like overkill after all."

"Hey, is that a Ninetales?" Garchomp asked.

"Er… long story," said Terriermon.

"It looks like we've finally did it," Kyubimon glanced up at the Tamer on her back. "We've finally got rid of the icy git for good."

"We thought that the last time," pointed out Rika.

"True. But I don't think he will be able to come back from Anubimon's realm. I don't believe there has ever been a case so far of that happening to an evil Digimon. He is truly gone this time."

"Yeah," Rika breathed and then smiled. "To say I am relieved would be an understatement. He's finally gone. And he perished in fire at the hands of dragons, just like last time."

"It would have been more satisfying if I had been the one to defeat him," Kyubimon replied. "But I think that this will have to do. Thank you, Charizard and Garchomp. In fact, thank all of you. You have rid Rika and I of a pestilence on our lives. Not a frequently recurring one, but a serious one nevertheless. And in quite the display as well."

"I take it you liked our performance then?" Charizard chuckled.

"I never had doubts that you were strong. But to see it first-hand is quite special. Both of those techniques were extremely impressive."

"What, don't we get a mention for preventing his escape?" Latias pouted.

"Yes, well done to you too, but as remarkable as that was," Aayla said, stepping forwards. "I fear that it would have been better if we had kept him alive a little longer."

"What do you mean?" Felkan asked, a little derisively. "That guy needed to die. You said it yourself that we couldn't afford to show sympathy this time."

"I'm not referring to sympathy." Aayla shook her head. "Nor I am I referring to mercy. I just mean that there are still a few questions that it might have been better for us to have answered first. There are many things that we still don't know about this. Such as… how did he get here?"

"Surely he must have fallen through a rip in time and space like those last guys?" Felkan pointed out.

"No, I don't think so," Rika shook his head. "That wasn't the impression that I got from his story anyway. It sounded more like he found himself here by… other means. It didn't sound like an accident to me."

"Yes and there is one other thing," Aayla added. "He also made a reference, during our stand against him in the tunnels, to a "he." He said that the world 'shall burn at his hand.' What was he talking about there? Who was he referring to? What relevance does his have to IceDevimon's appearance here in this world? There must be some if IceDevimon knows about it."

"Excuse me?" Luxray frowned. "Are you saying that there's some other evil being out there who this IceDevimon could have been working for or something."

"It sure sounded like it," Rika grimaced. "And that makes me worry. IceDevimon wouldn't work for just anyone. He's one of the most prideful idiots I've ever met in my entire life."

"Could it not have been some kind of tactic to try and throw you off pace?" Glaceon asked.

"I don't think so," Aayla shook her head. "I could sense no deception from him when he was making those comments, though he did attempt to use it to strike at us, that much is true."

"But what does all this mean?" Swellow asked, perched on a boulder as he was. "What exactly are you implying?"

"I am saying that our problem might be even worse than we initially realised," Aayla mused. "The arrival of the Seadramon and Plesiomon was just a coincidence, which was swiftly dealt with but there has been a lot of mystery regarding this quest and the circumstances around it. But I do not think that running into yet another Digimon in such a short amount of time can be a coincidence. Either they are much wider spread and numerous than we thought… or something peculiar is going on. Something… sinister."

"Or we've just been veeery unlucky," suggested Sceptile.

"Somehow I doubt that," Aayla shook her head. "One thing the Force has always taught me is that nothing happens by accident. Luck, or lack of it, has nothing to do with this situation."

"IceDevimon said that he received help in getting out of the Dark Ocean, which is an alternate universe that once existed where darkness ruled," Rika explained.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Houndoom yawned. Everyone glanced at him and he said, "What? I _am_ a Dark type you know."

"Be that as it may, in this sense I mean evil," Rika said. "But the Dark Ocean was meant to have been destroyed when GranDracmon was killed, so if anyone escaped from it they must have done so at the last second."

"But that doesn't make sense," Impmon shook his head. "According to the Celestial Angels, only GranDracmon and the Seven Demon Lords had the ability to make a portal out of the Dark Ocean to the Digital World. Who could have helped IceDevimon escape. GranDracmon and Belphemon were both killed that day. That's why…" he faltered. He was about to say, "That's why GranDracmon needed me because I used to be a Demon Lord," but he faltered. He wasn't quite ready to share that bit of information with everyone here yet.

"Exactly," Rika nodded. "But someone evidently _did_ help him escape. And if he can create a way out of the Dark Ocean… who's to say that they can't create a portal here too? But Parallelmon's been destroyed and I can't think of anyone else who could have done this so… who is it?"

There was an ominous silence as everyone digested this piece of news. Was it possible? Was it possible that there was some malignant force out there causing all of this in the first place? There was so little that they knew about the fact that the universes were colliding with each other… but could it really be orchestrated by a 'someone?' But if it was… what possible reason would that someone have for _wanting_ the Digital and Pokémon worlds to collide?

One unpleasant thought did occur to Aayla, and it spread across the group with the mind-link instantly. Was it just misfortune for the Pokémon world that this was happening to them? If there was some evil Digimon out there doing this, was he maybe trying to destroy the Digital World, and the Pokémon world had just been the unlucky candidate for the universe that it would collide with? They did not voice this out loud, but it was still a disturbing thought.

"What's your verdict Absol?" Gardevoir suddenly asked, making everybody look round.

Absol had his eyes tight shut and was shuddering slightly, but after a moment he opened his eyes and said, "I'm not sure. When I focus on the subject I can sense… something. Like there is some kind of force out there that this is causing all of this to happen. I think the Jedi, Aayla, is right. I don't think this is a coincidence. But as to how it's _not_ a coincidence… I have no idea."

"But IceDevimon definitely mentioned a 'he,'" Lucario uttered. "Is there no chance that you could have misheard him?"

"We can hope. But I'm afraid I don't think so," Aayla stated. "I am certain that he mentioned a 'he.'"

The silence that fell over them once again was extremely palpable. All of them were beginning to feel a certain sense of unease, as they wondered together exactly what it was that they were up against. Saving the universe was one thing and it was hard enough seeing as they had to find twenty-five beings that were almost impossible to find within two to three months. But the thought of something deliberately trying to do this… something they would have to overcome in order to succeed…

That was a scary thought.

Eventually, Terriermon suddenly broke the silence and said, "Oh look at us… just worrying on about what might be going on. Everybody's being so negative. Why don't we look on the bright side of this little altercation with IceDevimon?"

"And what would that be?" Latios asked him.

"It would be that this is the first true boundary that we have faced on our quest to awaken the gods and we have overcome it. Yes, it was a threat which probably could have been dealt with quite promptly by either of our groups, but still… we actually managed to work together to achieve a common goal. Maybe Loppy and I didn't really do much but you guys all rescued Rika and stopped that guy by working together, right?"

"He is right," Lucario nodded, a small smile appearing on his muzzle. "We did indeed co-ordinate ourselves together to overcome this threat to one of our number."

"Yeah, Digimon and Pokémon fought side by side," Glaceon cried gleefully as he bounced up and down on the spot. "That's gotta be the first time that's ever happened. Me and Houndoom were totally fighting in sync with Renamon when we were fighting against that guy. We were so epic together I can't really believe it."

"You were very good fighters," Kyubimon chuckled. "It was a pleasure to fight beside you today."

"I'm sure it was," Houndoom smirked.

"I must admit," Aayla said, turning to face the Pokémon. "I was very impressed with your co-ordination and skill with working together. You were bouncing off one another and moving with the speed and skill of a team of Jedi that have been working together for years to reach that point. And while you might not have a specific mind-link like we do, you utilised what resources you did have such as your telepathy, to create a stunning display of harmonisation in the face of the enemy. I thoroughly believe that IceDevimon would not have stood a chance against you if he had been at his full strength."

"High praise indeed," Gardevoir chuckled.

"It reminded me a lot of ourselves," Aayla nodded. "Back when we had the other Jedi in our group and we formed the Tenacious Ten. We used to exploit our mind-link to pull off missions which would have been exceedingly difficult for anybody relying on ordinary transmission means, and you did the same thing here. And you integrated us in too. This gives me a great deal of hope for the future, regardless of what we may face. Milotic and I found that we were capable of working together yesterday, but with the display today I think that the same thing applies to us all. We might come from two different worlds… three if you include myself and my own universe… but we are none of us so different from one another at all really."

"She has a point," Glaceon grinned. "Maybe we can really do this after all. Maybe we can save the world."

"We just need to make sure that we work together to achieve our goal," Scyther nodded firmly.

"And to kick the butt of any Big Bad Guys who dare to stand in our way," Terriermon added. "Like we did here today."

The silence that fell after this was not the same tense one as before, but a silence of companionship. As Rika clambered off Kyubimon's back and the fox de-digivolved back into her Renamon stage, startling those who had not yet witnessed such as thing, the whole group noticed that they were not standing in two separate groups like they had mostly been doing so far. Sceptile stood next to Renamon, Impmon next to Absol, Rika next to Swellow… they were all intermingled.

The Pokémon and Digimon were beginning to feel a strange sense of unity springing up among them now that they had accomplished this first thing together. An odd sensation, but a familiar one to them all, like they were completely surrounded by comrades. That they could trust one another completely. Like they had been fated to meet or something like that.

Grins began to break out as the sensation of camaraderie settled over them like a blanket. They had seen today a little of what the other group was capable of. Perhaps the situation was not so hopeless as it had been painted out to be after all, even with the addition of this new possible thing they might have to face at IceDevimon's hint. As far as the monsters, Pocket and Digital, were concerned, they could and _would_ unite under one banner.

Predictably, Felkan was the one standing to one side and surveying all of this as if he was an outsider. He wasn't sure what to make of all of this really. The fact that his family of Pokémon were mingling well with the newcomers both gladdened and worried him. He liked to see them happy, but he still worried about the long-term implications of this. And whether it was the right thing to do.

He was rather startled when Ai and Mako ran up to him and looked up at him with shining eyes. "Felkan, you were really awesome," Mako cried.

"Yeah," Ai agreed. "Those things that you said to IceDevimon before he attacked us… that was so cool. You just like standing there all cool and what you said annoyed him so much…"

"I hope that I'm as cool as you when I grow up," Mako nodded eagerly.

"Er…" was about the only thing that Felkan seemed capable of mustering, as he stared at the two small kids. That was the first time in his living memory that another human had referred to him as 'cool.' At least in front of him, and Felkan was willing to bet it had not happened often when he wasn't in earshot either. He had been keeping his distance from the other humans for the whole journey and only an hour ago he could see that Ai and Mako were nervous around him.

Now they were standing next to him as if they'd known him forever.

He was suitably unnerved by this and didn't quite know how to react, but before he could recover himself another thing happened which blew his mind. Rika moved past Luxray and Scyther to stand close by, rubbing her arm and looking down at the floor so as not to see Felkan's face.

"Look," she said, before Felkan could say anything. "I just wanted to say… I just… wanted… look, I'm sorry, okay," she said, looking up and then looked back down at her feet immediately. "I… I was cold to you before but… even though I said some stuff that I… that I shouldn't have… I heard that you were against the thought of leaving me behind too. And you called out your whole team so that you could help me. I… I might have misjudged you a little bit and… I wanted to say thanks."

Felkan just stared at her like she'd grown an extra head for several moments. No human had, to his memory, thanked him for anything in years. He didn't know how to respond at all, so he merely said… "Er… you're welcome...?"

Rika blinked. She herself had been certain that Felkan had been about to make some snide comment. Something like, "I did it for Renamon, not for you," or "I just wanted to be part of kicking that ice guy's ass." She looked up, bemused, and saw Felkan looking as uncomfortable as she felt.

Before she could stop herself, she immediately said, "'Course I still think you're an anti-social jerk… but maybe you're not all bad after all."

Felkan raised a brow at that and Rika looked away, wondering why she had felt the need to say that. But Felkan just rolled his eyes and said, "Always nice to feel wanted." And that seemed to settle things a bit more back to normal. But Felkan did not fail to catch the significant look and smirk that Gardevoir was throwing his way.

"I really hate to put a negative spin on all of this," Latios said after a moment. "But what are we going to do now?"

"Do now?" Felkan asked him.

"Yes. I don't really know the full extent of the situation with this IceDevimon guy, but apparently he's been here for a while. Long enough for him to murder several Pokémon and for the rest to run away. And that definitely proves one thing to me… Articuno isn't here."

Another heavy silence fell once again.

"Are you sure?" Aayla asked after a moment.

"Dead sure," Latias nodded her head. "Articuno's always been a very warm-hearted Legendary. If she was still here then she would have noticed what was going on and she would have put a stop to it. She would have done something about that guy straight away. And if he's been here for some time that means Articuno hasn't. Latios and I have looked all over the islands for her mental signal but we can't find her."

"I cannot sense her with my aura either," Lucario agreed. "And I am sure that I would have done by now if she were here."

"So this is a dead end?" Impmon asked. "We came all this way looking for her and she's not here?"

"Pretty much," Latios nodded.

"Maybe she just hasn't visited for a while," Suzie suggested. "When might she come back?"

"We don't know if she even will," Aayla said. "Sightings of her here have decreased dramatically according to what Oak said. It seems that she may have indeed stopped coming to this place after the volcano went off. If we waited for her to come back we might end up wasting a lot of much-needed time."

It was a blow they all felt. Finding a Legendary after only two days had been a long shot but that didn't stop them from feeling disappointed at the fact that she wasn't here and obviously hadn't been for a while.

"So… what do we do now?" Suzie asked.

"We move on, I guess," Charizard snorted.

"But where do we go?" the little girl asked. "Where do we look next?"

"And wherever we do go, can we leave soon," Felkan piped up. "Gardevoir had to hypnotise the human we found here so he wouldn't see Absol and I would personally like to be somewhere else by the time he comes round and starts looking for us. In fact, he probably already has. I have no interest in resuming our battle."

"Shame," Houndoom wrinkled his nose. "I would have kicked that Rapidash's ass into next week."

"I guess we have no choice but to attempt option number two," replied Aayla. "Who knows the way to the Kanto Power Plant?"

* * *

There you go. This wasn't quite like I was originally planning this arc to turn out. The idea of re-introducing IceDevimon at all was quite a late one, but I think that it all worked out very well. Unfortunately they haven't found any more Legendaries yet, but perhaps they will eventually. Hehe. Hope you liked this chapter everybody and I WILL see you soon. I swear it this time. If Chapter 20 is not up by the end of Tuesday feel free to scream at me. Geehee.

* * *

Next time…

Those in the Pokémon world are not the only ones with an icy problem. The other Tamers, led by their new guide, must continue on their way across the Tundra Level in search of the castle of the Royal Knights. But a couple of their encounters will leave them a little more hot under the hood.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 20 : Tundra Troubles**


	20. Tundra Troubles

Hello, everybody. Here I am with the next chapter on schedule. I can scarcely believe it myself and my elbows are aching from doing so much typing, but I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the twists and turns that it takes. It is not at all like I was originally going to make it, but I am quite pleased with the result. I hope that you will be too.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 20:- Tundra Troubles**

* * *

While IceDevimon had been a temporary icy trial for the group that had found themselves in the Pokémon World, those that had been left to take care of the problems in the Digital World had their own much more permanent icy problems that they had to get through, namely the incredible and constant coldness of the Tundra Level that they were trying to traverse.

Most of them had managed to get a good rest in the small home that they had found accidentally when Guilmon had fallen through the entrance hole in the snow. It was relatively warm and cosy in comparison to the icy habitat above, and a few of them had even unzipped their parkas which had been provided to them by HYPNOS. Apparently sweating in this environment would be a very bad thing, because any excess moisture would freeze quickly if exposed to colder temperatures before it had a chance to disperse.

When they had woken up and discovered that the occupant of the place was actually a SnowAgumon, there had been a mixed amount of reactions. But the most notable were easily those of Kazu and Kenta, who had all immediately prostrated themselves on the floor and pressed their faces into the ground beneath them and started screaming muffled "We are not worthy! We are not worthy!"

Takato was not that much better off to be perfectly honest. He was all of a twitter and immediately rushed over to the SnowAgumon and asked him if he could sign his shirt. He was quite insistent about it until it was pointed out to him that they didn't have a pen by Ryo, that SnowAgumon couldn't actually hold a pen if they did have one by Jeri and that he didn't even know what an autograph _was_ by SnowAgumon himself.

After that Takato looked very sheepish but cried, "Still, it's really cool to actually meet a real Agumon, even if it's not the same kind as the one from the TV show. It doesn't get much better than this."

"It probably could," Ryo muttered, but said nothing more than that, though there was a distant look in his eye that nobody else picked up on when he said it.

"SnowAgumon's said that he can take us to a nearby village," Guilmon informed them happily. "He says that there should be somebody there who can take us straight to the castle of the Royal Knights so we don't get lost."

"Wouldn't want you kids to get lost," SnowAgumon agreed. "The Tundra Level can be a treacherous place if you don't know where you're going. Your boy, Guilmon, tells me that you found my house by literally falling through my front tunnel. That could just have easily been a ravine or another narrow gap if you had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'll find you someone who'll take you."

"Just like an Agumon," cried Kazu.

"Always so dependable," Kenta agreed.

"And awesome."

"Yeah, awesome."

"Come up with your own adjective."

SnowAgumon rolled his eyes. "I know that you said that they might be a bit excited but this is over the top isn't it?"

"Not if you've seen the TV show," Takato said.

"Even then," Ryo coughed. "It's a bit too much. Cool it, guys. But seriously, thanks for your help, SnowAgumon."

"There's no time like the present," SnowAgumon grinned. "Let's get moving. The blizzard let up a little while ago and it would be best to get moving again before another one hits. They can be quite common in this environment as I'm sure you can guess."

They all had to use SnowAgumon's back door tunnel in order to get out, as it was much less steep, but there was still a good deal of straining to try and get Guardromon out through the gap, as he was almost too big to fill it and couldn't get any purchase on the slippery surface on his hands and legs… he didn't really have any decent knees. Takato, Kazu and Guilmon had to work together from inside to push him, while Monodramon digivolved back into Cyberdramon and reached through to heave on the outside.

"This is like pushing my mum's car in winter," groused Kazu, but eventually they managed to get his partner free and they all continued on their way.

* * *

The going was fairly easier. Without the snowstorm battering at them constantly they could make some much more decent headway and they could actually see where they were going a little better, though the brightness of the snow always made it difficult to look at things properly. And it was still freezing cold, but a little less windy so the cold was not as pounding. Even Calumon and MarineAngemon came to worm their way out from the warmness of the coats where they had been engulfed for most of the time, and had a look around before the cold began to get to them again and they ducked back in.

And of course, there biggest issue was having to shove all of the snow out of the way, which the Digimon did with a renewed will as SnowAgumon led them along.

"You know what's really annoying about this?" Ryo asked. "It's that this isn't even real snow. Not like the snow that we have in our world, I mean. Unlike a Digimon this stuff really is just a pile of data, but it's doing a very good job of getting in our way."

"Like a firewall," Jeri suggested.

"A snowwall," Takato murmured. "Still, we could do with a bit more fire. More burning, Guilmon!"

"Gotcha, Takato," Guilmon called as he lobbed another Pyro Sphere at the wall of frozen water in front of him.

"Wow, you lot are slow," SnowAgumon observed as he walked back to where they were for the tenth time of getting too far ahead. "The village isn't that far away from here and we've already been going for some time."

"Well excuse us for not being able to walk on snow like you can," Leomon chuckled slightly as he shovelled aside another large armful, nodding towards the smaller Digimon's feet which were indeed resting on the snow with absolute ease.

SnowAgumon chuckled. "I guess it's a talent. Then again, I've been living on the Tundra Level all my life. It's hard, even for a snow Digimon like me, but I get by. But I would really advise you trying to hurry up. There's no knowing when the next blizzard will strike and I could have been there and back already by now if I had been going at my regular speed the whole way."

"Hey, I just had a thought," Takato cried. "Didn't Rika once say that she and the others made some good progress on a snow planet in Aayla's world by using a Flamedramon card to melt their way through the snow quickly?"

"Hey, yeah, I remember her telling us all that," Guilmon looked up and grinned.

"Anybody got a Flamedramon card?" Kazu asked, rifling through his deck. "Oh, come on! I know that I have one. Flamedramon's one of the coolest Digimon there is – I should definitely have him on me. If I don't then that just makes me a total failure of a Tamer."

"Typical Gogglehead fanboy," sighed Jeri. "Only the Digimon of the leaders are the cool ones in their eyes."

"That's not true," Kazu objected. "I think the others are wicked cool too."

"Maybe, but Veemon and Agumon always win," Jeri shook her head and chuckled, before pulling a card out of her own deck. "Anyway, I have a Flamedramon card right here, so we can use this to get through the snow. Here Leomon, have an upgrade. Digi-modify! Flamedramon's Fire Rocket activate!"

"Much obliged," Leomon said, stepping to the front. **"FIRE ROCKET!"** he cried and suddenly burst into flames, which immediately caused the snow around him to begin to melt away.

"Hey, hey, watch it!" SnowAgumon cried, backing away quickly. "You do know that I happen to be quite icy too, right?"

"Oh, sorry," Jeri covered her mouth. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," SnowAgumon nodded. "Though I guess that this does make things quickly," he looked over at the flaming Leomon. "Alright then, follow me. We can make it to the village quickly this way. And watch out for patches of ice. Wouldn't want that fire of yours to melt that, would we?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Jeri muttered.

"It's fine," Ryo urged her on. "But SnowAgumon's right. We do have to get a move on. Let's keep going."

* * *

They made much better progress after that and they moved through the snow which split away before them like the Sea of Reeds in front of Moses, thought they still had to shovel away some of the thicker parts and some bits that threatened to slide in over the top of them, with the larger Digimon surrounding the Tamers to help them along. They seemed to be doing much better than yesterday, though it was still bitingly cold on their faces when they were out of range of the fire's heat and the sky in the distance looked like it was curling into another snowstorm.

"Not far now," SnowAgumon called from the front. "Just a couple-hundred more yards and we should be there. In fact, I can see it up ahead now. It's just…"

The fact that SnowAgumon's voice just stopped dead was no encouraging for those who could not see above the level of snow that was fading away in front of them, but it did not take long for the group to draw level with the white lizard Digimon.

"What is it?" asked Takato curiously, but then faltered.

SnowAgumon's eyes were wide and his jaw was hanging open slightly, a look of intense horror and disbelief on his reptilian features. "No," he breathed. "No, no, no, no! What… How… I was… GUYS!" and suddenly he dashed away across the snow, taking absolutely no notice of the yells of the Tamers asking what was wrong behind him.

"What's happening?" Kenta asked.

"I don't know, but something's obviously wrong," Ryo said. "I don't think I even need to point that out. Cyberdramon, let's fly!"

Cyberdramon snorted as Ryo bounded onto his back and flexed his slightly frost-covered wings, throwing himself into the air and shooting off after SnowAgumon. The other quickly pressed on, the flaming Leomon drawing his sword and using it to help him slash and melt his way through the snow passage in order to get to the village faster while Guardromon and Guilmon shoved the snow out to the side.

It was bitterly cold up in the air, unprotected from the walls of snow from what wind there was as they now were, but when Ryo got a look at what had so perturbed SnowAgumon, he felt a chill that the cold itself couldn't have hoped to match ride up his spine.

"Oh no," he muttered.

As SnowAgumon had described to Guilmon last night in the snow cave where he made his home, the village itself wasn't exactly a village. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. What it really was, was a large cave system that was set in the side of a giant cliff and had numerous openings out from the rocky wall, all at various height, but Ryo guessed that they were all connected together somehow inside the cliff. Ryo could see makeshift buildings and dwellings inside the entrances to the cave and felt it safe to assume that there were more inside, where it would be darker but also much more sheltered from the fierce weather that the Tundra Level produced.

It was like a little community of Digimon that all lived together in the caves, which was quite a nice thought. It would have had a nice municipal feel to it despite the adverse conditions outside.

That is, if there was anything left of the place.

Ryo's blood was running colder than the ice around him as he and Cyberdramon approached, but he could see the damage that had been inflicted on the place even before he got close. The buildings, mostly made of rocks and various bits of wood, had been utterly pulverised, and Ryo could quite clearly make out the huge claw-marks in the shattered remnants of the boulders that were now scattered around the place. The wooden planks had been shredded and tossed everywhere and there were even a few fires burning here and there.

A couple of the cave entrances had collapsed inwards on themselves, so Ryo could only tell where a cave had once been by the huge pile of rubble that contrasted with the rest of the cliff. In other places there were enormous cracks, rents and depressions in the rock walls where things had been torn or had heavy objects thrown at them.

And as Cyberdramon landed at the entrance of the cave main entrance cave and Ryo got a good look inside, he could see quite clearly that the carnage and destruction extended right the way through the tunnel beyond, at least until the point where Ryo could see no further, and he was willing to bet the whole place would look similar if he ventured further in.

"No," breathed SnowAgumon in sheer horror as he reached the entrance to the cave at the same time as Cyberdramon. "Guys! Everyone! Hello? Where are you?"

"They're not here," Ryo said resignedly, and he knew that this was true without him having to take another step.

"Mojyamon! Frigimon! Kumamon! Gotsumon! Icemon! Hello? Anybody, answer me!" SnowAgumon shouted at the top of his voice and dashed into the cave. Ryo just sighed and turned to wait for the others to arrive. As he did, he noticed Cyberdramon was growling lowly to himself, his claws flexing and his teeth bared as he stared at the wreckage.

"Cyberdramon. Steady," Ryo said. "Whatever did this, it's not here anymore."

"Evil," Cyberdramon growled, taking Ryo by surprise. "This is the work of pure evil, Ryo. I can sense it. And also… also the work of… mindlessness. This place was attacked brutally and instantly. I can smell the ferocity of the attack. It smells like… something I would have done. Back then."

That was hardly something Ryo wanted to hear, but he knew what Cyberdramon was talking about. Though he seemed calmer and less prone to quick action now than he used to, there had been times when Cyberdramon had gone on a rampage during their earlier days as Tamer and Digimon together. Ryo had always found it difficult to control him, having to use a special whip function in his D-Arc to get Cyberdramon to even acknowledge him sometimes.

And during those times where Cyberdramon had lost his head, there had been the occasional casualty. It was something that Ryo never liked to talk about… but he knew full well the reason the Cyberdramon had struggled to control even himself in the early days – a reason he had still never told to anybody else. Fortunately Ryo had always managed to get him under control before too much damage was done, but Ryo knew that if he had not stopped his own partner, it would have been a massacre.

And now Cyberdramon was claiming that this, right in front of him, was the work of something just like how he would have been in one of those rages. Only perhaps even worse. Ryo didn't question how Cyberdramon knew this stuff. Cyberdramon just knew. His senses when it came to opponents, especially evil ones, was unparalleled.

It didn't take long for the others to arrive and when they did, Leomon extinguished his flames and everyone else joined Ryo in staring in utter dismay at the sight before them.

"This is supposed to be the village?" Guardromon asked.

"Where is everybody?" Kenta asked fearfully.

"Not here," MarineAngemon added helpfully.

"Yeah, but… where?" Kenta added, equally helpfully.

"I would have thought that would be obvious too," Ryo said sadly, looking up at the rocks again. "This place was just attacked by something. Very recently too."

"Then… all of the villagers?" Jeri asked, looking like she was going to be sick.

"I cannot say for certain," Ryo replied, shaking his head. "But my guess is that this place became a death trap. You can just tell, can't you? This cave system might protect them from the harsh weather but if an enemy went charging in there to attack the village members there wouldn't be any way of getting out. It's like that Watership Down film. No escape. For almost everyone. Any of these Digimon would have been very lucky to have survived an attack as ferocious as this one clearly was."

"But what could have done this? How could this have happened?" Guilmon asked.

"I don't know," Takato said. "But whatever it is, I think Ryo's right. This attacker showed no mercy at all. It'd be a miracle if there are any Digimon left alive in there at all."

"Well, we have to check," Leomon said, stepping forwards. "If there are any survivors then it is our duty as the first to find this place to help them in any way that we can. This might be unpleasant, but I certainly won't stand by and walk away if there's someone who might need help."

"I'm with you," Jeri agreed, hurrying after her partner. Everybody else followed on at a slower pace.

It was as unpleasant as they had expected inside the caves, which were mostly quite dark but had a couple of lights from fires licking hungrily at the remains of bits of wood. Takato briefly wondered where these Digimon had got wood from in this bleak environment but dismissed it. It wasn't important. As they delved into the caves, and found various branches they split up, each searching the avenues for any signs of survivors.

"But stay alert," Leomon suggested. "We do not know for sure if the attacker has actually left."

"Though he probably has," Ryo added. "I would suspect that Cyberdramon would have sensed him by now if he were still here. Nevertheless, he is right. Be careful."

It was an abysmal looking place. Every nook and cranny of the place looked like it had been thoroughly torn to shreds. It was impossible to tell just how many opponents had attacked the place, but they were beginning to suspect it was only one. Or at least only one type of Digimon for all of the claw-marks in the rocks had the same shape and size. They were glad that they had not been here when the attack had happened. It would probably have scarred their minds for life.

Jeri was the one who came across SnowAgumon again. She found the poor guy kneeling in front of what was almost definitely the ruined remains of a Digimon's dwelling, which now resembled a pile of gravel and splintered wood. SnowAgumon looked absolutely shell-shocked, as if unable to believe what he was seeing all around him.

Jeri moved over to him and placed a hand on his head as she knelt by his side. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Kumamon lived here," SnowAgumon gasped pathetically. "This was his house. We used to go out into the snow and play together when we were younger. He was my best friend. Where is he now?"

"I don't know," Jeri sighed. "Not for certain at least. But… I have a bad feeling I do."

"How could this have happened?" SnowAgumon shook his head. "I was here, at this very village, only a few hours ago. I was right here at this spot. I gave Kumamon a high-five before I left for my own home. Everyone around me was laughing and talking and happy with their lives and with one another. And I leave for a few hours to find everything just… gone, when I get back."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Jeri sighed, her own eyes filled with a pain of their own.

"My friends… they're dead aren't they? All of them," SnowAgumon muttered.

"I'm afraid it looks that way," Jeri sighed. "But we have to keep going, even with the loss of all this. I lost my mother a few years ago you know, and I just stopped moving ahead. I was so determined to remain in the past and remember my mother as she was before my stepmother came into the picture… well, bad things happened to say the least. And when I lost my partner too," she grimaced. "But stopping will get you nowhere. I don't know what happened to all your friends but you are still alive. And you have to keep living for their sakes."

SnowAgumon stared blearily ahead of him for several moments, at the lump of debris that had once been his friend's small dwelling before he swallowed and stood up again. "I don't know if I can forgive myself for this. I was safe while everyone in here was slaughtered," he said.

"There is nothing for you to forgive yourself for," Jeri said. "This was a coincidence. And you're still alive. That's what Kumamon and the others would have wanted if they couldn't have survived right. Don't let this get to you, okay? Just keep going into the future and look back only fondly, if you can."

"I don't know if I'll be able to after this," SnowAgumon inhaled slowly. "But I'll try." He sighed and said, "But I want to know how this could have happened. What could have attacked this colony so ferociously?"

"Jeri!" Leomon's voice called from further down the tunnel. "Over here. I found a survivor!"

"A survivor!" Jeri and SnowAgumon both cried at the same time and they both dashed off in the direction of Leomon's voice. When they found the tall lion he was bending over a pile of ice-covered rocks and propping some of them up… no, wait, it was not rocks. It was an Icemon. An Icemon that had evidently been buried underneath a large amount of rubble and had escaped by blending in with the surroundings. But as Jeri approached, she could see the huge rent marks on the small Digimon's chest.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Jeri cried.

"Icemon!" SnowAgumon shouted, running up to him. "Icemon, are you okay? It's me, SnowAgumon. What happened to you?"

Icemon barely moved, only coughing slightly as his eyes rolled downwards to look into SnowAgumon's face. His pupils were like tiny dots in his eyes and his entire body was shaking, and he seemed to be looking through SnowAgumon rather than at him.

"No warning," gasped the Icemon. "Charging through the cave, claws slashing everywhere. No chance for any of us. No escape. Like a Demon with no conscience. Everybody murdered. Everybody dead."

"Hang in there, Icemon. We'll get you some help," Leomon said, keeping him upright in his giant hands.

"No!" Icemon suddenly yelped and writhed, clutching at his chest. Jeri and SnowAgumon started backwards in surprise as Icemon seemed to be trying to escape and bury himself back in the rocks, but Leomon kept a firm and gently grip on him.

"All dead. All gone," moaned Icemon.

"Don't worry, you might see them again," Jeri smiled reassuringly. "They'll have all gone to Anubimon's realm now and I'm sure that they'll all make it back to the Digital World somehow."

Icemon's face suddenly took on a highly disturbed and slightly mad look which startled them all again. "To Anubimon's realm? No, not there. They will never go there now. Too late. The brutal monster saw to that. Every attack the same. Every one of them now doomed to remain within him. The cores! Their Digi-cores!" He suddenly laughed maniacally. "It won't be enough! It will never be enough for him! He will keep hunting, I know it. For he will never be sated."

His head snapped up and his eyes suddenly bored into Jeri's own. "Those eyes!" he hissed. "Look out for those soulless, red, evil eyes. And beware. It's still out there. It will strike again. It will always strike again."

And then Icemon split into data particles and floated away in many pieces, leaving a thoroughly traumatised Jeri standing there, watching as the small yellow pieces vanished into thin air themselves.

"What… w-what… what did he mean?" SnowAgumon asked. "What did he mean by all of that?"

"I don't know," Jeri shook her head, struggling not to cry. "I just don't know."

"I do not know either," Leomon said. "But one thing is clear. There might be more to this than just a savage, random attack."

The group all met up again at the entrance to the cave, all of them trying not to look behind them at the mess that had been made. None of the others had encountered any survivors, not any other clue as to what might have transpired here. It seemed that everyone in the colony had truly been taken care of.

"If only we'd got here a little faster," Takato sighed. "We might have been here when the attack happened and we could have done something."

"'Might have beens' won't help us at this stage," Ryo shook his head. "We were too late. Who knows how many lives we could have saved if we _were_ here, but it's best not to dwell on it."

"So, what do we do now?" Guilmon asked. "We have absolutely no idea what did this?"

"I thought the Digital World was quite a violent place anyway," Kazu said. "Remember when we first got here there were lots of Digimon that were just killing each other for fun."

"That was before, Kazu," Guardromon informed his Tamer. "Ever since the D-Reaper, when this world learned the value of unity in the face of the common enemy, things have always been much easier and the locals are generally more friendly. Besides, they've usually been friendly anyway except for the survival of the strongest concept that happened in the harsher places. Things are not as much like that anymore as they once was."

"Well, that makes sense, I guess," Kazu shrugged. "But if that's the case then what happened here?"

"I believe I might have a clue," Leomon muttered, his claw scratching at his chin. "I do not know the identity of the attacker, but if you recall this is not the first place to have suffered such a tragic and swift attack. Remember what the Sovereigns told us when we spoke to them before."

"Hey, that's right," Ryo smacked himself in the forehead. "How could I have forgotten that? The Sovereigns said that they were investigating to see if they could find and destroy some kind of new threat that had emerged and attacked many villages, seven I think, at random across the Digital World and its various levels."

"And the only clue they managed to get from a survivor was that it had red eyes," Jeri gasped as she too remembered this conversation.

"That's what Icemon said," Leomon agreed. "That's what made me think of it. Like I said, the identity of the killer remains unknown, but I would say that it was the work of the same Digimon that has already attacked several other villages. It would seem that not even the harsh land of the Tundra level is safe from whatever this creature may be."

"Then it could still be in the area," Kenta looked around nervously. "What if it's standing behind a boulder and watching us right now? How would we even know it if we don't know what it is or what it looks like?"

"I'm sure it's long gone, Kenta," Jeri said reassuringly. "It's like whatever it is, it's only attacking villages and then leaving straight away before the Sovereigns can find it. It's been eluding detection so far so I doubt it would stick around."

"But still, what could it have been?" Takato voiced.

The group lapsed into silence once more, each lost in their own thoughts and theories, but none of what their fevered brains could come up with sounded feasible.

"There's little that we can do about this situation now," Leomon eventually said. "What's done is done, and our efforts to think of the identity of the killer will not bring back those that he has killed. I believe it might be best if we were to push on and try and find the castle of the Royal Knights. Not only do we have our own quest to complete, but perhaps they are aware of this attack and its perpetrator too."

"Yeah, I agree. I think that would be best," Takato nodded. "But we don't have a guide now because… you know…" he nodded towards the cave that none of them wanted to look at.

"Then we'll have to press on without one," Ryo said. "SnowAgumon, perhaps you could at least tell us the way if nothing else. Please, we really need your help."

SnowAgumon was still staring vacantly in the direction of the cave, as if hoping that if he stared at it for long enough then the place would restore itself and it would be revealed as some horrible trick. But eventually he shook his head and said, "No. I will not tell you where it is."

"What? Why?" Kazu objected loudly. "Look, mate, I know that you're hurting right now because of what's happened here but the whole world's at stake here. Two whole words."

"I didn't finish," SnowAgumon replied, his claws clenching into as much of a fist as he was capable of making. "I will not tell you – I will show you. I will continue to guide you to the castle, but you must do something for me in return."

"What kind of something?" Guilmon looked down at his fellow lizard.

"Ask the Royal Knights who did this," SnowAgumon growled. "If they don't know then fair enough but when this whole saving the world thing that you've got to do is done then you use any information that they give you to track down who did this and destroy them so that they can never do this again. And if they don't give you any information then track this guy down anyway and take him out. Make sure that he doesn't get anybody else like this as soon as you can."

"The Sovereigns are already looking for them," said Takato. "I'm sure they'll find out who it is and deal with him sooner or later. But if they haven't by the time we're done with what we have to do… then yeah. We'll find him ourselves. We'll destroy him. And we'll come and let you know when we're done, if you like."

"Good," SnowAgumon nodded grimly. "Make sure you avenge my friends if the Sovereigns are unable to do so. Do all of you swear it?"

There was a chorus of nods from human and Digimon alike.

"Alright then," SnowAgumon's face hardened. "We're taking the short route, and it looks like another blizzard might set in soon. We do not want to be caught up in it… but I also do not want to take shelter inside that cave. Not considering what it looks like now. We've got to get moving."

The party agreed with his sentiment. Resting in a place that had been a slaughterhouse only a few hours ago would give them all the creeps and a large pile of guilt, so SnowAgumon turned and headed onwards, with the group continuing to force their way through the snow after him.

* * *

The going was better this time, because of the Fire Rocket card which was now used by Ryo and Cyberdramon. The dragon seemed to enjoy venting his frustration on the snow and bulldozed his way through it like a slow but steady oncoming train, with everybody else following on in his wake. SnowAgumon led them alone and they made reasonable progress before they began to enter more dangerous territory.

Every so often, SnowAgumon would stop and point something out to them like a drop they were coming towards that they had to carefully avoid or a slippery patch of ice that blended in with the snow and a sudden section that ran downhill which even despite his warning to be careful caused Kenta to lose his footing and slide downwards to plough into a wall of snow and disappear through it with a Kenta-shaped hole. Guilmon and Takato had to work together to prize him out of the thing.

The blizzard did indeed hit them a couple of hours later and SnowAgumon estimated that they could keep going for another half an hour before it became too dangerous to go on, so they group went on for another fifteen minutes and used the remaining fifteen minutes to fashion a snow-cave that they could all take shelter inside.

The blizzard blustered around them and all but sealed the entrance to the cave they had made, which was only kept open from occasional blasts from Guilmon and it lasted for another several hours, during which the group could do nothing but just sit there and wait for it to come to an end, in a most frustrating wait.

When it finally died down and they were allowed to continue onwards they continue to soldier their way forwards. At one point though they spotted something else that made them pull to a stop, this time for a large herd of Mammothmon which were making their way across the snow ahead of them. They walked in single file so ease their passage through the snow, and the one at the front seemed to just walk straight through the snow like some sort of giant bulldozer, occasionally flicking his head to get rid of the excess snow building up around his face, and all the others could walk through the channel that he was digging through it.

This gave Takato an idea that he had seen in a Disney movie once and he hailed the lead Mammothmon as it passed. "Um… helllllooo?" he cried, waving his hand.

"Takato, what are you doing?" Kazu hissed, but Takato ignored him and continued waving until the enormous beast spotted him and turned to face him with his single, yellow eye that had been painted on the metal armour in the middle of his face. Takato had never been able to fathom exactly how a Mammothmon saw out of that thing, but he decided asking that might be rude.

"Who are you?" trumpeted the lead Mammothmon. "I have never seen you or your kind out on our level before. What do you want of us?"

"Um… we've got a long journey that we need to make," Takato called to the Mammothmon. "We're Tamers, you see, and we're on an important mission to help save the world?"

"Save the world?" the Mammothmon asked. "Tamers? You mean those Human children who bond with Digimon that we have heard about now and again. We don't get much news up here but we have heard of Tamers sure enough. Were you not the ones who helped to defeat GranDracmon last year?"

"Yeah, we were," Takato nodded, eagerly. "And we're on another mission now. We need to get to the castle of the Royal Knights to ask them some questions. The fate of the world could depend on the answers. But we're finding it a bit difficult to get through all of this snow, so I was wondering if you could give us a lift."

"We'd be really grateful," Guilmon agreed.

The Mammothmon seemed hesitant, but after a few more choice words from Jeri and Leomon, as well as a brief outline of the situation from Ryo, he raised his trunk and let rip with a huge bellow. "Well if that is the case, then of course we shall help out. If the world's in danger and we can help save it in this manner then we'll do what we can. Mammothmon herd, we are altering our course. To the Royal Knight's castle!"

The trumpeting roar that followed pounded the ear-drums of all the Tamers, but they didn't object to it nonetheless. There was a brief scramble as the first few Mammothmon knelt down and allowed a various human or Digimon to clamber up through its fur and onto its back of fly up to land there instead before the lead Mammothmon turned around and headed away in the same direction the Tamers had been taking, shoving his way through the snow as before.

"This is a much better pace," SnowAgumon said. "We should make it before dark at this rate providing nothing else interferes."

"Aaw. You just jinxed it," Guilmon muttered.

"Hup! Two! Three! Four! Dress it up! Two! Three! Four!" Calumon was cheering as the Mammothmon stomped their way across the ground. "By the rank or single file! Over every Tundra mile! Oh we stamp and flail, through the snow and hail!" He then made a noise which sounded like a feeble attempt at an elephant trumpet. "Like a great, big, furry whale. Like a great, big, furry whale."

"Perhaps it might not be a good idea to refer to these guys as whales," muttered Jeri to him.

"Why? Whales are awesome!" Calumon grinned. "You know, I speak whale. Moooooooweeee neeeyeed…"

"Yes, yes, we've heard you do it before," Jeri smiled, patting him on the head.

There was a smattering of chuckling around them. Sometimes Calumon was exactly what anybody needed to lift their spirits after a traumatising experience, for the little guy could bounce back from almost anything remarkably well.

* * *

Other than this there was not really much more to say about the journey, except that they ploughed heavily onwards and in fact, did _not_ jinx the journey, for they eventually came to its end towards the end of the day having much, _much_ greater progress on the backs of the Mammothmon than they would have done if they were all still trying to force their way through the snow. The Mammothmon was resilient to everything around them, truly built for the Tundra Level as they were.

And their fur helped to keep their riders warm.

But eventually SnowAgumon pointed ahead and called, "There it is."

Everyone quickly sat up and looked, peering through the bright whiteness. For a moment most of them couldn't see anything but through the swirling bits of snow they could soon make it out.

"The Royal Knight's castle," Guilmon muttered.

None of them were sure what they were expecting it to be like but it seemed to be a vast structure which stretched up into the sky in one enormous building. Huge walls of stone and sheets of metal reared out of the ground and separated into many spires with levels that seemed to stack up on top of each other around the corners and edges of the main bulk of the building's citadel. Every spire was topped with either a set of ramparts or a spiked roof that all compacted together to create a solid fortress against everything. As far as they could see the only way in was a giant portcullis and the only way to the portcullis was from quite a long, winding bridge from the ground up.

"It's so huge!" Takato muttered. "It's amazing."

"Yeah," Guilmon breathed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

Takato frowned and glanced across at his partner, who was staring at the castle with an expression he couldn't read. But for Guilmon, he was once again getting that incredibly strong feeling of nostalgia that he'd had when they set off on the journey, only it had returned in spades. He felt like he couldn't take his eyes of the place, and as if there was something inside him that was calling to him to come closer, to come inside.

_Home_, that deep voice inside him said again, and Guilmon wondered what the heck it might have been.

But he had to agree with it. In some strange sense it felt like this was where he had belonged. But that didn't make sense. He lived with Takato in his bakery. He always had. Takato had created him from a piece of paper and a Digivice so why was this place so… _familiar_ to him. He knew he was a Royal Knight Digimon himself when he ascended to the Mega Level with Takato. Was that the _only_ reason?

Or was there something else?

Before he could ponder on it much further, Kenta raised his voice and said, "Does anybody else besides me notice that that castle is in a _freaking giant plateau surrounded by a huge drop on all sides!"_

Guilmon blinked and looked, to find that Kenta was right. A short distance from the castle walls in all directions and there was a humongous drop that descended into darkness too far for their eyes to make out the full depth. It seemed that short of flying, there was no way that they could get across to the place.

"Well that's no problem, Kenta," Kazu grinned. "We'll just change into our forms that can fly and we'll be over that gap in a jiffy. Nothing to worry about."

"It won't work," SnowAgumon shook his head. "I've never been over there myself but I know enough about the place. There's a huge, impenetrable force-field surrounding the plateau from all directions, including from above. You can't see it, but it's there. Flying over there is impossible. You'd smack right into it."

"Oh, come on!" Kazu moaned. "Is there ever a time where we can ask for something to be easy?"

"No, probably not," Ryo muttered. "Remember what the Sovereigns said. The Royal Knights don't just let anyone enter their castle. There will be tests of some kind that we'll have to pass to prove our worthiness."

"Oh wonderful," Kenta muttered. "So what are we supposed to do now? Break the force-field?"

"Impenetrable generally means impenetrable," Ryo replied. "No, going by air is impossible so we'll have to find another way to…"

"Below," Guilmon suddenly interrupted. All eyes turned to him and he looked slightly confused, but he said it again anyway. "You have to go in from below?"

"You think we should try and dig a tunnel?" Takato asked, nonplussed.

"No," Guilmon shook his head, then lifted his nose to sniff the air. "It's this way. Follow me," and he rolled straight off the Mammothmon and into a snow-drift, before setting off across the thinner layers of snow. After making their thanks and goodbyes to the Mammothmon as well as renewing their promise to SnowAgumon – and Jeri telling him to keep moving into the future – the group hurried off to follow Guilmon.

Guilmon led them a short way away until they were close to the edge of the ravine. "What's going on, Guilmon?" Takato asked. "Where are you taking us?"

"We need to stand on this patch of snow," Guilmon said, nodding towards a faded piece of wood that was sticking out of the ground in front of him. It was a little difficult to read but they could just about make out the words… "Entry point here."

"Entry point?" Kazu frowned. "What entry point? There's nothing around for miles and… WHOA!" He suddenly tailed off when the entire piece of ground that they were standing on suddenly jerked and began to sink downwards into the rest of the ground, the snow spilling over the edges as they descended into darkness.

"A lift?" Jeri asked. "The Royal Knights have a lift?"

"Looks like it," Guardromon nodded. Somehow.

They lapsed into silence as the platform carried them down, down, down, down into the bowels of the Digital World's level. The cold grew significantly less in the sheltered area down here, and suddenly they found themselves coming to a stop in an area illuminated with torches held in brackets on the walls around them.

Ahead of them was a tunnel lined with more torches, and that seemed to be the only way out.

"We're supposed to go in there?" Takato asked.

Cyberdramon growled.

"I don't like this," Kenta murmured. "I don't like this at all. It's weird and who knows what will be waiting for us in there?"

"Not to worry Kenta," Guardromon patted him on the back and almost flattened him. "You can always use that device over there if you so desire once the rest of us are on our way." He pointed to a large red button on a wall nearby with another wooden sign above it, illuminated by a flaming torch on either side, which read, 'PUSH THIS BUTTON TO RETURN TO THE SURFACE AND BE BRANDED A COWARD!'

"That sounds a little unfair, doesn't it?" muttered Kenta. He sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. Shall we go?"

Guilmon was already walking towards the tunnel and Takato hurried to catch up with him as the two of them took the lead.

"Careful everyone," Leomon said. "We don't know what tests the Royal Knights have in line for us."

"If I wanted _any_ tests I could have stayed in school with Ms. Asaji," Kazu muttered to himself.

As they walked into the tunnel, Takato lowered his voice and muttered to his partner, "Guilmon, how did you know that that lift was going to be there?"

"I don't know, Takato," Guilmon shook himself. "It's like when I got here and we were wondering how to get there, a voice in my head said, 'Over there.' And then I just knew what to do, even though I've never been here before and never seen this place."

Takato frowned. "How could that be, do you think?"

Guilmon shrugged, "I really don't know Takato but the voice was a nice and friendly one. I think that we can trust it."

"If… if you say so," Takato murmured, but then subsided. He'd never seen Guilmon like this before and Guilmon had never mentioned anything about weird voices telling him things before either. He was worried, but he decided to put it aside. This was stuff to do with the Royal Knights. How could it possibly be bad? Right?

* * *

They followed the tunnel for some time, and it seemed to lead even further downhill, taking them deeper into the icy ground. Nobody said anything, but the shadows made them all a little uneasy. What sort of things would the Royal Knights try and test them on before they were allowed entrance to the castle?

They soon found the first test and balked when they saw it. They had just entered a large chamber with yet another enormous drop right in the middle of it. A huge chasm that stretched across the room from end to end, and on the other side they could see another platform with another door that would allow them to continue on.

And there was only one way to cross the chasm.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kazu yelled.

The only way of getting across seemed to be a series of several upright ice pillars that extended out of the chasm with flat tops like a series of stepping stones. Really, _really_ treacherous stepping stones. Except they were also about a metre wide and would only be reachable by jumping, so perhaps 'stepping stones' really wasn't the right word after all.

"We're supposed to get across that thing?" Kenta asked. "Oh, please tell me we can just fly now."

"Doesn't look like it," Ryo nodded up towards another sign at the edge of the chasm. The group stepped forwards to read it and it said:-

TAMERS AND PARTNER DIGIMON. THIS IS THE TEST OF YOUR COURAGE. YOU'RE ONLY OPTION TO PROCEED IS TO JUMP ACROSS ON THE PLATFORMS. ANY PERSON WHO FLIES TO THE OTHER SIDE WILL BE PREVENTED FROM PASSING ON BY A FORCEFIELD. HAPPY JUMPING.

"Happy jumping?" Kazu cried incredulously. "What they think this is funny or something? And how did they know it was us who were coming?"

"The cave system is capable of changing shape," Guilmon replied immediately. "When someone steps on the initial platform it reforms itself to become appropriate tests for whoever it is that's coming to challenge them."

Everyone was staring at him and Guilmon looked a little unnerved himself. "I have no idea where that came from," he said a moment later. "The thought just popped into my head again."

"But it does makes sense," Ryo muttered. "I mean if you think about it, if one of the Mammothmon had wanted to get in here it never would fit through the tunnel we just walked through. And the Digital World has many different Digimon in it. So this time it's calibrated itself to a test just for us."

"A test of courage," Takato agreed, looking down into the chasm. "Still, that's a long way down, isn't it? What happens if one of us falls off?"

"Don't know," Guilmon shrugged. "But let's get going."

"Wait, Guilmon!" cried Takato in alarm, but he was too late to stop the dinosaur from springing to the edge and taking a flying leap. The Tamers and the rest of the partners watched with wide eyes as Guilmon sailed across the gap and slammed into the top of the first pillar, his claws digging into the top and anchoring himself in place before he could slip. He flexed his tail on the spot slightly and then grinned.

"That wasn't so hard," he said. "Come on Takato. I can catch you."

"Erm… okay," Takato shivered and before his nerve failed him he took a jump and sailed across the gap himself. He landed erratically and skidded a bit but Guilmon seized him round the chest with one arm to steady him. "Yipe!" Takato cried. "Okay… next time I'll take my time."

"This is mad, I tell you!" Kazu cried.

"But it looks like we've got no choice," Ryo grimaced. "Come on, guys. Let's get going."

They made slow progress, but Guilmon always took point and helped to steady Takato when he made the jump on the next go, with Leomon and Cyberdramon helping Jeri and Ryo in a similar fashion. The dragon Digimon had folded his wings over his back in a rest position to avoid the temptation to use them.

Kazu and Kenta made slower going, with Guardromon using his jets to push him forcibly into the air, but not to fly with, allowing his huge bulk to clear the gaps himself, but the fact that whenever he landed the ice beneath him split was extremely unnerving. Still, after a couple of false starts, Kazu managed to clear the first one and to continue on his way.

Kenta, on the other hand, went up to the edge and faltered, staring down into the abyss below him. He remained standing there, willing himself to jump, but for some reason he found himself unwilling to do it. He'd never been a particularly courageous person at the best of times. In fact it was one of the things that he most loathed about himself. He had always wished that he could grow the spine that the other Tamers seemed to have, but it had always seemed beyond him.

"Kenta," muttered MarineAngemon. "We go now?"

"I can't," Kenta shook his head. "I can't do it. I can help go into battle against an enemy Digimon but jumping across ice pillars. I can't do it."

"Come on, Kenta," Kazu cried from halfway across, while everybody else had already made it the full way and were waiting for them. "It's not so hard."

"Easy for you to say with a Digimon to help steady you," Kenta shook his head. "I'm sorry, I just can't do it. I'll fall."

Despite numerous calls of encouragement from the others, Kenta would not be budged and he just sat down at the other end of the gorge and refused to move. Eventually Kazu and Guardromon crossed to the other side as well and a sign suddenly descended from the ceiling which read, KENTA HAS FAILED THE TEST AND MARINEANGEMON AND CALUMON ARE DISQUALIFIED. THEY WILL BE TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE LIFT AT THE BEGINNING. THE REST MAY PROCEED.

"Disqualified?" Takato blinked and looked down at Calumon, who was standing next to him. "Calumon did you fly across?"

"Yeah, it was fun," Calumon grinned.

Takato smacked his face into his forehead. Moments later, Calumon, Kenta and MarineAngemon all vanished, presumably having been transported back to the start of the test lift.

"Guess we've got little choice but to go on without them," muttered Ryo. And Guilmon was on his way before he'd even finished speaking. The whole group entered what appeared to be another winding corridor filled with torch brackets and once again.

* * *

They walked along it in silence before they reached yet another chamber. This chamber seemed to be just a regular cave, except for the fact that it had several large metal rods extended from the ceiling.

"Oookkaaay," muttered Jeri. "So, what's this supposed to be?"

"There is another sign," Leomon said, indicating the wooden board off to the left. The whole group gathered around it and when they read what it said, all four of the remaining Tamers balked in alarm.

THIS IS THE TRIAL OF THE FLESH, it read. TO PROCEED YOU MUST STAND BENEATH THE RODS IN THE CEILING WHERE YOU WILL BE SUBJECTED TO BOLTS OF ELECTRICITY STRONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE INTENSE PAIN IN ALL OF YOU BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KILL ANY OF YOU. YOU MUST MAINTAIN FOR THREE MINUTES BEFORE YOU CAN PASS ON.

"OH COME ON!" Kazu shouted. "WE COULD HAVE DIED IN THE LAST ONE BUT THIS? THEY'RE USING TORTURE ON US? WHAT KIND OF SICK ROYAL KNIGHTS ARE THESE?"

Guilmon growled at him and couldn't work out why that comment had suddenly made him flare up, but Kazu looked alarmed and lapsed into silence.

"I don't like the sound of this," Ryo muttered. "Kazu's right. It sounds very much like some kind of torture."

"I would not say that that is its intention," Leomon replied. "I would say that it is a test of our endurance, for a Knight has to be strong to fulfil the tasks that are required of them. But I agree that I do not like the sound of this. I do not like the sound of putting Jeri in harm's way."

Jeri swallowed but clenched her fists and said, "Well… I'm going to do it. If this is the only way we can proceed then I'm going to do it. We've got to pass all of these tests that the Royal Knights give us if we're going to see them and we need to see them to help save the Digital World. Aayla said that she was tortured with electricity once and she managed to withstand if for over twenty minutes. I can do this."

"Ryo?" Cyberdramon asked with a growl.

"I hate to say it, considering what it means, but Jeri's right," Ryo grimaced. "We have to do this. The Royal Knights say that it won't kill us, but even if it does cause us all immense pain then we have little choice if we want to proceed forwards."

"Oh, I really don't like the sound of this," Takato sighed. "This just doesn't sound like something a Royal Knight should do to me. But… if it's the only way."

"It seems that it is," muttered Ryo.

"I'm ready to take any test that stands in my way," Guilmon said firmly, stepping up closer to the lightning rods.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kazu cried, waving his arms wildly. "Are you listening to yourselves? You're talking about being tortured, just for some dumb test? You're really going to put yourselves through this?"

"We must," Guilmon said. "We've gotta go forward. We can do it, can't we?"

"If we believe in ourselves, we can stand up to a little pain," Takato nodded.

"A LITTLE pain?" Kazu practically cried. "INTENSE! You can't dismiss intense pain as a LITTLE! Look, I can't do this guys. I can barely handle paper cuts. I'd never stand lightning bolts for three straight minutes. Sorry but… I won't do some stupid torture test."

The other three Tamers sighed. "Well, I guess that's it," Takato said. "You ready, Guilmon?"

"Born ready," Guilmon replied, with a fierce glint in his eyes.

"You guys are nuts!" Kazu cried as Takato, Guilmon, Ryo and Cyberdramon all stepped up, with a more nervous looking Jeri moving up beside Takato, who grasped her hand reassuringly as Leomon stood beside her.

"Nuts!" echoed Guardromon helpfully.

But the others ignored him and all six of them braced for the shock that would surely follow, particularly when the metal rods in the ceiling began crackling with electricity, first steadily and then in earnest.

"Three minutes," Takato grimaced, waiting for them to lance out and strike them with the dancing bolts.

Suddenly… the electricity died away and a wooden sign descended from the ceiling which read:-

LOL. JK. THIS WAS ACTUALLY ANOTHER TEST OF COURAGE. KAZU HAS FAILED THE TEST AND GUARDROMON IS DISQUALIFIED. THEY WILL BE TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE LIFT AT THE BEGINNING. THE REST MAY PROCEED.

"What?" Kazu asked. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me?"

"LOL?" Jeri blinked. "JK? The Royal Knights used text-talk on their signs? What's up with that?"

"I… guess they don't have many things to amuse them so this has to do," Ryo muttered.

"Oh man. I can't believe I fell for that," Kazu cried as he and Guardromon both faded away into nothingness.

"We're sure that they're alright, aren't we?" Takato looked at the spot where they had faded away.

"I'm sure they're alright. These are the Royal Knights we're talking about, right?" Ryo muttered. "They're noble beings. I'm sure that Kazu and Kenta are fine."

"How many noble beings do you know who right 'LOL' on important notices?" asked Jeri.

"In any case we may now proceed," Leomon pointed towards the distant door, which had appeared when a chunk of the wall had rolled aside.

"And without having been shocked," Takato grinned. "Alright then. Let's go."

The group had been narrowed down to six now, three humans and three Digimon, but once again Guilmon took the lead as they moved their way through the next corridor of torches and little else, until they managed to reach their next objective.

* * *

They entered a chamber much like the last one, but instead of metal rods jutting out of the ceiling there appeared to be some kind of mist filling the room.

"Now what?" muttered Takato.

"Another sign," Jeri pointed, and they gathered around it once more.

THIS IS THE TRIAL OF THE SPIRIT (AND THIS TIME WE MEAN IT). TO PROCEED YOU MUST FACE… YOURSELF!

"Huh?" Takato blinked. "Face… ourselves? What does that mean?"

There was no answer. Takato blinked and looked around him. Guilmon was still standing next to him, but Ryo, Jeri and their partners were gone.

"Hey, where did everybody go?" Takato cried, looking wildly around them.

"Where did the chamber go?" Guilmon blinked. Takato blinked too and then realised the mist had enveloped the entire room around them. The board with the words on it in front of them had vanished, as had all of the walls around them, so that there was nothing around them but missed.

"Are you getting freaked out too, Guilmon?" Takato asked.

"Uh-huh," Guilmon murmured uncertainly.

"Got any useful bits of information coming into your head now?"

"Not this time, Takato."

Suddenly a horrible scream of despair rent the air close by, causing both of them to turn around and cry, "JERI!" at the same time, for they recognised that scream anywhere. But before they could do much more than run a couple of steps the mist began to clear around them and they pulled to a stop in horror at what they saw…

A red, metal floor sweeping away into the distance on one side and a chasm with a giant waterfall on the other, with only a small bridge heading across to the distant horizon. A group of humans… no, it was the Tamers themselves. All of them except Ai, Mako and Ryo – younger versions of themselves, standing together and watched something in horror. Rika, Henry and Suzie were there too, the last holding Lopmon close and staying close to Henry. MarineAngemon, Leomon and Calumon were nowhere in sight either, but Rapidmon and Kyubimon were lying half beaten nearby.

But most worrying of all was the fact that Takato and Guilmon could see themselves standing there with the others, the latter in his Growlmon form, and watching as Beelzemon, in his former Demon Lord wingless shape, sucked many particles of data into his chest.

"No," the Demon Lord growled. "To have power _is_ to be strong. I'll keep loading data until no-one can stop me. No-one! NO-ONE!"

Growlmon looked scared and was stumbling over his next words a little. "Uuh, but… he was just trying to help us… and YOOUU…!" suddenly his face took on a much more feral look as his mood changed to rage. And Takato didn't need to look at the face of his younger double to know that it too was twisted in fury.

"No," Takato gasped. "No! I don't want to see this! Not this!"

Guilmon recognised the scene too. This was what had happened years ago. The data that Beelzemon had just sucked into his chest belonged to Leomon, who he had just killed. And they were well aware of what was about to happen next.

"Stop it!" Takato cried, but his younger self had other things on his mind.

"How could you?" he snarled, his teeth clenched so hard it was a wonder they didn't break and his fist clench so hard his nails were digging into his palms. "How could you do this horrible thing!?"

"Stop!" Takato yelled.

"I'll make you hurt!" younger Takato cried. "I'll make you pay!" And suddenly Growlmon was WarGrowlmon and both of them were roaring.

"No! Make it stop!" Takato cried.

Guilmon said nothing, watching with eyes wide, knowing full well what was coming up but this being the first time he would see it happen from another's perspective.

"Nice outfit," sneered Beelzemon. "But you're still no match for me, you big lump. Just so you know, little whelp, when I'm done with you I'm going to finish your friends off one by one!"

"You're wrong! You're the one who's finished!" younger Takato snarled. And WarGrowlmon took that as his cue to roar and spring into the attack.

"STOP! STOP!" Takato was yelling as WarGrowlmon and Beelzemon slugged it out, firing guns and gnashing teeth, while the younger Takato yelled encouragement and ignored Jeri's cries of distress from behind him.

Guilmon remained rooted to the spot as he head the younger Takato cry, "You cannot lose! I won't allow it! I… order your to digivolve! Digivolve! NOW!"

And that was when the bright red light appeared from nearby and the Hazard symbol on WarGrowlmon's chest started flashing, followed by the pillar of light that rose around him.

"That's it! Do it! Digivolve! I order you to digivolve to MEGA!" screamed younger Takato.

"PLEASE! DON'T DO IT!" Takato yelled at the top of his lungs but to no effect. But as the visionary WarGrowlmon warped into the shape of the Digimon that Guilmon had never seen from another set of eyes and hoped he never would, everything else around them blotted out. Beelzemon, the younger Takato and all the other Tamers vanished along with the landscape, leaving Takato and Guilmon hanging in darkness with the enormous form of…

"Me," Guilmon breathed with horror-filled eyes. "That's… me. Megidramon."

The Megidramon turned its feral red eyes towards them and looked down at the Tamer and Digimon standing beneath it, a low growl emanating from its drool-filled jaws and rows of vicious teeth. It made no move towards them but just hung in front of them, casting a shadow which bathed the two of them in darkness as its spread its huge wings and snarled.

"You… you're… you are me," Guilmon breathed. "You're what I became that time." Both times that Guilmon had become Megidramon before he had very little memory of what had happened by the time he had turned back. He certainly had no memory of what he looked like and nobody had wanted to show him a picture. Nor had they wanted to tell him much about what he had done, but Guilmon knew enough that the last time he had become this monster, he had killed people. Killed humans. He'd gone on a rampage in Tokyo and had only been stopped by his own friends.

Was this him? Was this what he was really capable of? Cyberdramon had nothing on this. He was just a berserker. Guilmon was a _monster_.

"You… you can't… really be me…" Guilmon stammered. "Can you?"

"No, Guilmon," Takato sniffed, without looking up, crouching on his hands and knees and with tears dripping onto his clenched fists. "That's not you. That was never you. That is _me_. It was _me_ who turned you into that thing. Megidramon is my fault. I… I can never forgive myself for what I did that day but I was just… so… so angry."

Megidramon lowered its head towards the slightly and seemed to leer at them somehow, though its expression in its eyes never changed from his simple-minded anger.

"No… Takato," Guilmon shook his head. "It _is_ me. I was angry with Beelzemon too."

"No, it was my fault. My fault alone. I should have controlled my emotions better. I should have thought what might have happened. I'm the one who ordered you to digivolve to the Mega level like that. I'm the one who forced you to do it. And that's something that I'll never… _never_… be able to take back."

Guilmon looked aghast, staring at his Tamer with round, yellow eyes. He'd seen the way that Takato's face had always turned a darker shade whenever the topic of Megidramon was broached, and an intense look of guilt always appearing in his eyes. Despite everything that they had gone through and achieved together, Megidramon had always been their black spot. The part of their adventures that they most wanted to forget.

Takato never liked to think about it. Whenever he did, he would forcibly try and wrench his brain onto something else, but not before he felt his blood run cold once more at the thought of what he had done to his partner. And the thought of what might have happened if Megidramon had actually defeated Beelzemon. In a bizarre twist, Beelzemon had saved the Digital World that day by stopping Megidramon before his mere presence alone destroyed everything around them.

If he had failed… everything would just have been obliterated. And even if it hadn't Megidramon would have gone of a rampage that even the Digimon which had attacked the cave system back outside could probably never hope to have matched. Nobody would have been able to stop him. He would probably have turned on his comrades without a second thought and smashed them all into pieces.

And it had all been Takato's fault.

He remembered what Aayla had said about her own Jedi Order. About how she had to control her own emotions to stop anger, fear and hatred rising up inside her, for if that were to happen then she would be more easily tempted to delve into the Dark Side of the Force to achieve a victory in a dangerous situation. While the Force could not be applied to Takato, the principle behind it could.

And he had always… _always_ lived in fear of it happening again. He never mentioned it but his biggest worry was losing control all over again and causing a repeat of last time. While Guilmon _had_ become Megidramon a second time, _that_ had not been his fault – it had been GranDracmon's thanks to his Eye of the Gorgon attack.

Guilmon had never really been able to comfort Takato about it, for he could barely remember anything about either time. His mind had been consumed, wrapped up in that of the beast that was Megidramon and the rage and the bloodlust that obscured everything else from his mind. He had been the one member of their group who had not seen what he was capable of when he became this creature, and now it was standing right in front of him.

This was the thing he was capable of being. This was the monster that everybody feared would return. Guilmon knew this to be true, for Takato was not the only one who didn't like to talk about it. It had been a traumatic experience for everyone when it had happened, and while they didn't really realise what they were doing, their silence drove Guilmon into deeper guilt. What had he been like? What had he been capable of?

And now he knew.

Now he could see the full horror of Megidramon standing before him. The slavering, evil-eyed, vicious creature in front of him was _him_. A stark contrast to the way he normally was in his Rookie form but just looking at it gave Guilmon the shivers.

"I'm sorry, Guilmon," he said. "I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry for… for everything that I did back then. I can never… forgive myself. I don't expect you to forgive me either. I'm the one who twisted you into that thing."

Guilmon frowned. He had seen the moment replayed when he had been twisted into Megidramon and while he had given into his instincts at the time, he still remembered how he had felt against Beelzemon when he was Growlmon or WarGrowlmon. He had felt rage… pure, unadulterated, complete rage coursing through him.

And it had been his own.

He had barely heard Takato's commands. He could remember that now. He had been filled with such a rage and such a desire to hurt Beelzemon, to maim him and kill him, that he had lost all reason right there. He remembered Takato's voice on the edges of his consciousness but it had seemed like an annoying buzzing in his ears at the time and he had paid it no heed.

Yet, having re-watched the scene, he had heard Takato's demands properly this time around. Takato had been consumed with the same rage that had possessed him at the exact same moment. For that moment, Digimon and Tamer had been of one and the same mind.

Guilmon suddenly smiled and looked up at the towering hulk of Megidramon once more. "It was _our_ fault," he said.

"Huh?" Takato blinked, looking up at him with tear-stained eyes.

"There's no point in saying anything else," Guilmon said, his eyes hardening. "It was _our_ fault, Takato. Not my fault. Not your fault. Ours."

"But…" Takato sniffed. "I… I ordered you…"

"I was barely listening," Guilmon said. "I wanted to take Beelzemon down just as much as you did, and I was determined to make myself do it. Megidramon was as much my fault as it was yours. I threw myself into the digivolution. I didn't hold back. I didn't even try. We worked together to create this thing, just as much as we both work together to become Gallantmon when we biomerge together."

"Guilmon…" breathed Takato.

"Don't you see?" Guilmon turned to look at him with a smile. "That's how a relationship between Digimon and Tamer works. It's not all about the Tamer and it's not all about the Digimon. It's always about both, working together to achieve the same goal. Good and bad. But we both wanted the same thing then and it went wrong for both of us. You've been blaming yourself about what happened to me all this time, but it was never just you."

Takato's eyes were shining now, but Guilmon ploughed on before he could interrupt.

"And you know what?" he said. "We can work together now, to make sure that this never happens again, right? I've always been a bit wild when I face down an enemy on my own, but when I'm at your side, I'm always fine, because you're there to guide me. And when I face down an enemy, I'm always doing it for you to protect your future. We always work together."

Takato's expression suddenly hardened and he cried, "Yeah, you're right. It was never about just me in our partnership, so why did I think that it was this time? Now that we know that Megidramon was as much a team effort as Gallantmon is, we can make sure that it never happens again, right? I'll watch your back and you can watch mine. We'll guide each other to the right path. We've been doing that all along when we become Gallantmon."

"And as long as we stand together, we can never make the same mistake twice," Guilmon said firmly. "With the both of us, Megidramon is now extinct!"

Neither of them quite knew what impulse seized them, but they suddenly both jumped forwards together, much higher than the laws of physics should have allowed for either of them, and bulldozed straight into Megidramon's chest. The image of the dragon howled and vanished, and suddenly the cavern returned with a smoky 'foof' and the mist receded away into the walls. Takato and Guilmon looked around them and quickly took stock of the others.

Both Ryo and Jeri were lying on the floor, with their partners standing over them trying to help them up. Jeri had tears streaming down her face and Ryo was as white as a sheet, and looked like she was going to be sick.

A sign nearby which had not been there before read, JERI AND RYO HAVE FAILED THE TEST AND LEOMON AND CYBERDRAMON ARE DISQUALIFIED. THEY WILL BE TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE LIFT AT THE BEGINNING. TAKATO AND GUILMON MAY PROCEED!

"Jeri, are you okay?" Takato rushed over to her quickly.

"I'm sorry," Jeri whimpered. "It was all my fault. The city, Beelzemon… all my fault. I couldn't do anything."

Leomon grimaced. "She was shown a vision of how the D-Reaper used her as a puppet to help itself to take over," he said quietly. "She couldn't cope with it. It looks like it is up to you two now."

Cyberdramon looked up and surprised them both by growling, "Do your best," before both he and Leomon, and the other two Tamers, vanished, leaving Takato and Guilmon alone in the chamber. Takato frowned. Okay, so he could understand what had traumatised Jeri so much. She had let Leomon's death get to her and the D-Reaper had managed to exploit that. But what in the world had Ryo seen which had caused him such distress? Perhaps Cyberdramon on an rampage? But no that didn't sound right – he was used to that happening.

It was a puzzle. And one that Takato didn't have time to work out.

"We've gotta go now, Takato," Guilmon said. "The Royal Knights are waiting and I don't think the tests are over yet."

"Yeah," Takato said, clenching his fist. "But we can do it right? Together, I mean."

"Forever and always," Guilmon grinned and the two of them hared off into the next corridor.

* * *

Up until I started trying to write this chapter I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do for the trials that the Royal Knights would set out for the group, so I decided to pinch a couple of ideas for this chapter and do my own spin on some of the tests which are required to become a Jedi Knight in the official trials of the order, which I never got to cover for my last story. I thought that some of them seemed appropriate for this chapter. Geehee.

And it seems that, like the people in the Pokémon world, the collapsing universes might not be the only thing they have to deal with. XD

I have to write the next chapter of TBAK now, but before I move onto chapter 21 of this story after that, I am going to write out a couple of oneshot requests that have been waiting in the wings for many months. I hope that I can do them justice. Hehe. Well, see you soon with a new update, I hope.

* * *

Next time…

With a failure to find a Legendary at the Seafoam Islands behind them, the party moves on north towards their next destination. They decide to stop overnight in a city, much to Felkan's chagrin, but it soon becomes clear that there are mysterious goings-on here too.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 21 : Ninja City**


	21. Ninja City

Hey guys. Sorry about the humoungous delay to this story, but as you know I've been doing a couple of oneshots for some of my readers and let me tell you, that is the last time I am doing a oneshot for at least another 100 chapters on BOTH stories. They take soooo long for me, to plan them out and write them, because I can't seem to condense them down to something the length of a single chapter anymore. And then there was the other stuff that was getting in the way, and then after Christmas I was focusing on the revision for my extremely important exam, which I took earlier this week. So, it's business as per normal from now and I have set myself a new aim – to post AT LEAST ten new chapters a month (meaning five from either story).

So, I think this story has been on break for long enough. Let's get back to it, shall we?

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 21:- Ninja City**

* * *

Silent as breath, the cloaked figure bounded across the rooftops before it, feet hitting the tiles and stonework with no more sound than a moth faintly fluttering its wings and failing completely to disturb any occupants in the houses on which they tread. Bolting on tip-toe to the edge of another roof the figure vaulted right over the edge and into the streets between two houses, bounding across the road as silently as a wraith and practically flipping its way up the side of another building, using the window ledges as holds and somersaulting back onto the rooftop once more.

The figure crouched low, pulling the cowl that concealed its face closer to it, narrowed eyes glaring out across the night sky of the city as it hunkered down. To any observer, not that there were any, it would have been obvious that this person was on a mission not just because of its behaviour, but because of the fire in its eyes. A deep, burning determination from the visible portion of its face.

But nobody was watching… at least, the figure was sure of that. But said figure had learned long ago that things were not always as they appeared to be. And just lately, it was sure that there were many things that did not appear to be what they seemed. But that was all it knew, and it was determined to find some answers. Tonight.

It had begun a couple of months ago as far as the figure could tell. People of the city who had been out walking late at night had reported the creeping sensation that they were being watched as they walked along, and a few of them had said that they had seen some form of shadow or blur in the distance or around a corner for a brief second before it had disappeared. There seemed to be no correlation between who was reporting these cases. Men, women, children, wandering trainers, local businessmen. Even some of the local nurses at the Pokémon Centre has described the similar feeling.

And as Gym Leader of the town, the figure was ready to go out there and try and find the answers to the questions in order to protect its citizens.

Yes, the Gym Leader. The figure in question was the young woman who was in charge of the Fuchsia City Gym – Janine.

Being a Gym Leader was far from easy for many people who took up the challenge, but for Janine it was often extremely difficult due to the fact that she was also a ninja. She had been training since a very young age under the guidance of her father, Koga, who had once been the city's Gym Leader before her but was now a member of the Johto and Kanto Elite Four. Janine hoped to one day be as good as him in both being a ninja and at being a Pokémon trainer, but right now she couldn't hope to match him in either regard, though she was still plenty skilled at both.

There were quite a few ninjas that took up residence in Fuchsia City but Janine was considered by many of them to be the best that still lived there. As Koga's daughter, she had had a lot to live up to and had taken to it with a will, but now that Koga was gone, she had to take over his former duties and that included looking out for the people of the city and trying to take out any potential threats that might harm them. It was the secondary role of any Gym Leader to help look after the town, but Janine took to it with a more personal will than a lot of the other Gym Leaders.

Nightly patrols such as this had not been something she had done until fairly recently, when the reports had started coming in. At least not on a regular basis – she had originally gone on one maybe once or twice a month, if that. For despite the role of a Gym Leader, there had never been much of anything that they needed to do to actually protect anyone – the Pokémon World had mostly long been at peace. But then the reports had started and Janine had gone looking for clarification on the matter.

And the more she patrolled, the more convinced she became that it was not some kind of coincidental hoax.

She had to admit that despite her ninja skills there had been times when she too had felt like she was being watched, sometimes even during the day and when she was on patrol at night like this. And once a night at least she too would spot something that looked like a shadow slipping around a corner but every time she went to check it out, it would be gone.

Well, not tonight. Tonight, she was going to find out what the heck was going on, and she was going to do her father proud. And she would do it alone, for it was her duty to commit the safety of the people into her own hands.

She wrapped her light pink cloak closer around her and pulled the cowl further over her head to hide her spiked purple hair. She was now crouched in the spot where she had seen something strange only the previous night – something small but swift and something that was definitely trying to keep itself hidden. Many scenarios of what it could possibly be flashed up inside Janine's mind – anything from a strange, rogue Pokémon to a rival clan of ninjas seeking to come in on their turf, thinking that perhaps without Koga there they could win a battle for the city. The latter was rather unlikely, even she knew, but it paid to be cautious.

"Come on," she muttered to herself so quietly the noise barely reached her own ears. "I know you're out there. Show yourself to me. I will find you sooner or later so why don't you make it easier on yourself and come out, come out, wherever you are."

She rotated on the spot, scanning the area and pulling herself flat to make herself as indistinguishable as possible, pressing her body close to the shadows of a chimney stack so that she blended in almost perfectly. Few casual observers would have been able to make her out.

But whoever she was tracking was _not_ a casual observer.

And then… she saw it.

A brief flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her head snapped around swiftly, just in time to see some kind of shape, something that looked vaguely human sized and shaped, moving across a gap at high speed. Definitely not a pedestrian. That had been someone who did not want to be seen.

Janine was off like a shot, vaulting off the roof and flipping over to another nearby one with light steps, her cloak billowing behind her slightly but making nothing more than a faint flapping noise. She paused at the edge of another roof, scanning everything and her eyes whipped around at a shift of movement in the shadows not far away.

"Got you," she smirked, reaching for her belt and pulling off a single Pokéball and enlarging it. "Go, Crobat."

A brief beam of light emerged from the ball in her hand as it opened, which moulded itself into a four-winged bat like creature, with a small body but a large wingspan of almost two metres. The Crobat turned to her expectantly and she pointed and hissed, "I just saw something in the street down there Crobat. Don't let it get away."

Crobat nodded and immediately spun away and flapped off at high speed – Crobat were among the fastest Pokémon the known world and as she went she began letting off series of ultra-sonic clicks that were too high for human ears to hear, searching for any sign of the mysterious person that her trainer was following as she whooshed into the street.

Janine was already in motion behind, flipping down into the street and landing with legs bent to absorb the shock before he seized a second Pokéball and summoned forth another Pokémon – this one looking like some kind of bipedal frog with a red throat pouch and a long red claw on each of its hands.

"Toxicroak," she said. "Follow us from the rooftops and be ready to jump in if I give you the word."

Toxicroak gave her a wide grin – the only kind of grin that she was able to give, before she bounded away with the typical enormous leaps of a frog and back onto the roof-tops. Toxicroak had taken part in a lot of the ninja training that Janine had done, and was almost as good as her. The two of them ran after Crobat, listening for the sounds of her squeaks and flapping wings as Janine dashed through the streets and Toxicroak bounded across the roofs.

Janine had a plan all set out and ready, which she had already gone over with both her Pokémon. Once she caught up with the figure, Crobat would get in front of it and drive it back towards her, where she would call out her Ariados to trap it in a web, and therefore they could get finally get some answer on identity as well as possibly from word of mouth. Toxicroak would be on stand-by just in case something went wrong or they tried to escape upwards. There was no way that whoever it was would be able to get away this time.

* * *

Crobat swept through the streets, beating all four wings furiously as she shot after her target, whom she could now clearly detect in front of her. She didn't know what it was, but her sonar blasts allowed her to know exactly where it was despite its obvious skills at hiding. Though with her eyes she still couldn't make out its form properly. Nevertheless she had been given her task and she intended to follow it through, chasing after the mystery person and trying to keep in in range but not get too close until Janine gave the word.

Janine ran along behind while Toxicroak bounded across the rooftops and tried to keep the fast moving Crobat and her quarry in sight, which was not easy. Even Crobat was having to pull off some tight acrobatic moves in order to keep following as the figure whipped around corners at incredible speed and bounded over walls with relative ease.

_I've got you now,_ Crobat thought to herself as she dodged a box and whooshed under a clothes line and corkscrewed around another corner, her sonar clicks registering the body form of the thing that was practically leaping from wall to wall. Janine ran across the same area approximately five to seven seconds later, determined not to lose out this time around.

"Yes," she muttered as they came to a stretch of long and narrow lane between two streets. "This is it! Now Crobat!" she called.

Crobat responded immediately and surged forwards, her four wings blurring as she zipped across the gap between her and her quarry, preparing to overtake and unleash a Whirlwind attack right back at it in an attempt to push it back towards Janine, who was readying the Pokéball of her Ariados.

The quarry finally responded and turned around, hurling what appeared to be a pair of large shurikens towards Crobat. But Crobat was used to this being the partner of someone like Janine, and easily avoided both attacks with a Double Team, splitting off several illusionary copies that too the hits instead while she zipped still faster, taking the stranger completely by surprised as she surged overhead and span around, ready to lash out.

But then, the situation drastically changed. Out of the corner of her eye, Crobat saw the shadows condense and pool together right before she could unleash her Whirlwind and a split second later, faster than a striking Seviper, a large humanoid shape that had _definitely_ not been there before burst out of the darkness right at her. Crobat had no warning at all – her sonar had not picked up anything in the shadows and suddenly something had sprung up and was attacking her.

Crobat was fast, and some even said that she was fast for her kind, but the surprise of the attack caught her off guard. Nevertheless, she veered sharply to the side and managed to avoid getting sliced in half by the long, thin sword that slashed through the air in her direction. But not fast enough to avoid the tip of the sword, which cut a tear right out of her wing membrane, eliciting a pain-filled shriek as she plummeted to the ground and tumbled over to crash into the wall.

Janine, who had just seen that, screamed in shock and horror, pulling briefly to a numb stop with widened eyes. Now there were two humanoid figures in the alleyway but the newer one was taller and much darker, though she could still make out the forms of either of them properly. But then she saw the new one turn to the pursued and heard a voice – a voice that spoke her language – utter, "Get out of here. I will take care of this."

"Y-yes sir!" the other stuttered fearfully and hared off again, bounding away down the street and onto a rooftop and moments later it was gone. The dark silhouette that remain turned and lifted its large hand, which was holding a long thin and wavy sword before turning to look at Crobat, who was lying helplessly on the ground, unable to move with her wing torn since she had no legs or arms.

"Crobat!" Janine yelled and dashed forwards as the figure raised the sword and slashed brutally down at the helpless Pokémon.

At the last possible second the sword was countered by one of Toxicroak's red claws, the frog having dived off the roof and slashed out to knock the sword aside before she'd even hit the ground and flipping over to land protectively in front of her comrade. The silhouette barely flinched and raised its other hand, a similar long thin, wavy sword seemingly appearing from nowhere in it and slashing at Toxicroak with it.

The Toxic Mouth Pokémon lashed up to counter with her other claw and the silhouette spun around to deliver swift slashes with both of its blades, which Toxicroak swiftly deflected too, followed by somersaulting backwards as it slashed back at her stomach. Her legs just cleared the sword as it slashed beneath her and she flipped herself up so her feet hit the wall behind her, legs bending as she impacted and then springing off to slash forwards with a powerful Cross Chop, one of her most powerful moves.

The silhouette crossed its swords before it and caught both Toxicroak's claws on the blades, blocking the attack but being pushed back slightly at the strength behind it. Toxicroak pushed, determined to put everything she had into the attack, but then the figure did something that completely caught her off guard. With a flash of light, a red laser seemed to erupt from the silhouette's chest and slammed straight into Toxicroak's throat poach, knocking her backwards with a croak of agony where she was slammed right into Crobat.

Janine, who had almost reached the action by this stage, froze in shock again in that moment. For the flash of light had, for a split second, illuminated the figure and she knew then that it was nothing human. But at the same time, it was a nightmare vision unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

What in the name of Arceus was this thing?

"Pitiful," the figure said in its dark voice. "Potential is there but that was pitiful if you would be knocked down by such a small attack. I understand that when you Pokémon are killed, there is no way for you to return to life as it is with my kind. It will be a pleasure to dispatch creatures such as you for simply that reason alone."

Janine reacted instantly even as Toxicroak was pushing herself back up, not out for the count just yet but not ready to block the slash that was suddenly sent her way. But right before the sword could connect with her, twin beams lanced out and hit her and Crobat from their respective Pokéballs and warped them into energy, retracting them back into their balls as the sword slashed harmlessly through them.

"Ah yes," the silhouette turned to face Janine, but she still couldn't make out much detail – not that he wanted to if what she'd seen in the brief flash was anything to go by. "The humans are the ones who rule here. How these creatures came to be serving the likes of your kind I'll never understand, for although they are weak compared to the likes of us they are still far stronger than you measly creatures."

"What are you?" Janine demanded, eyes narrowing at her adversary as she reclined into the shadows, pulling her cowl tighter to keep her face hidden. "What are you doing here? You speak as if you are not a Pokémon, but you cannot be a human."

"Correct," the silhouette laughed. "I am much more. But my breath would be wasted on someone such as yourself. Your feeble mind could never comprehend what I am or where I came from. Now… try to make this quick on yourself. It'll be much less painful if you do." And he slashed his sword through the air, generating a red energy blade that lashed down the narrow street.

Janine was not a ninja for nothing though. She didn't know what she'd been expecting but she had quick reflexes and somersaulted over the energy blade, which sliced through an old litter bin as if it was butter. Even while still in the air she summoned forth another member of her team from her Pokéball – a purple, cloud-like creature with two heads, one large and one small, connected by two small appendages that locked onto a third small globe behind it.

"Weezing, SmokeScreen," Janine cried. She knew she wasn't going to face something like this unless she knew what she was up against or she'd be very lucky to make it out in one piece. As she seized her Weezing's third globe in her hands and hung there, the Weezing coughed a huge cloud of smoke from both its mouths the enveloped the street and engulfed the silhouette. Weezing quickly rose higher, depositing her trainer on the nearest roof. Janine quickly recalled the Pokémon and fled, barrelling over rooftops like a madwoman in a bid to escape from whatever that thing had been.

"What's happening?" she muttered to herself as she fled. "What's going on with all this?"

* * *

Back in the alleyway, the figure stepped out of the smoke, apparently unconcerned that its quarry had escaped from him and in no particular hurry to track them down. "Well," he said. "They are clever, I'll give them that. And resourceful. Run, run, little human. There's nothing that you can do to stop us when we decide to finally make our moves against you. It won't be long now. And then you will all burn."

The figure briefly considered going after the human anyway, but decided it would not be worth it. The human had a significant head-start and it hadn't seen her face so trying to track her down might be next to pointless. A lot of humans looked the same to it anyway. Besides, one person seeing something they shouldn't was hardly going to do any damage. The idiots that lived around here would just assume that he was a particularly rare local and try and find him, but they wouldn't have the first clue where to start. He had seen enough about these humans over the last couple of months to know the behaviour of most of the populace.

"Enjoy the remainder of your freedom while you can, human," it said as it melted into the shadows by the wall and seemed to merge with them. "It will be fleeting."

And then the street was empty again, except for the sliced bin that lay in two pieces nearby.

* * *

All that had taken place last night, and now the following day was beginning to draw to a close once again, with the sun sinking down the sky once more as the residents of Fuchsia City brought their day to an end once more.

And there were some new arrivals in town, though the residents were unaware of their presence. Or at least the presence of many of them. For some of the others were walking in plain sight, but nobody took any notice of them. And those newcomers were the five Tamers and Felkan, the latter of which was walking along in the rear and keeping his head down and his eyes firmly fixed on the road in front of him, unable to believe that he was actually doing this.

After the showdown with IceDevimon at the Seafoam Islands that had occurred earlier that day, the sense of unity that had sprung up between the Pokémon and the Digimon was still burning relatively strongly. Granted the enemy which they had defeated had not really required their combined efforts once they had gotten him to release Rika, for either party would have been strong enough to handle him with only one of their members, or possibly two considering some of the Pokémon's disadvantages against Ice. But that didn't matter. In their eyes they had accomplished something together and had even taken out an arch-nemesis of one of the Digimon in the process.

But the disappointment of not finding Articuno at their first destination had still been fresh in their minds too, and so, with relatively different levels of disappointment between them, they had headed back to the Lapras group, who were still dutifully waiting for them, and they had set off back into the ocean, and started deliberating about what to next.

Rika had shivered and asked if it would be possible to head to a town somewhere where they could get an actual bed for the night. After the horror of IceDevimon and what he had tried to do to her, she thought she could do with the comfort of a mattress and a pillow tonight, as well as a few covers.

And guess who had loudly objected to that idea.

"Are you insane?" Felkan had asked. "I came on this quest to help some friends of mine but I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to go anywhere where there is human civilisation. What if somebody recognises me? They'll know I was the human with the Absol from five years ago if someone does manage to place my face and you know that that's not going to go down well with anyone! If they come for me and try and take Absol away… or any of my team…"

"Felkan, we know how you feel about this," Renamon had said, bounding over to the Lapras that Felkan was sharing with Gardevoir and the Absol in question. "Believe me, we understand that you're looking out for your team. But it couldn't hurt to find a warm place indoors to recharge and figure out what we're going to do next. And besides, I think Rika deserves a bed after being held in an ice cage like that."

Felkan had muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.

"And don't you guys get free medical attention for your Pokémon?" Lopmon had asked. "That could be helpful too."

"We're fully capable of performing our own first-aid," Felkan muttered, but he just sighed and said. "Alright then. But nobody is to even mention Absol and I want Gardevoir on stand-by to get us out of here if something goes wrong, alright?"

"Understood, Kapitan!" Terriermon saluted in an accurate French accent.

"I asked you not to do French accents," Aayla chuckled. "It sounds too similar to my own when I know that you're not copying _my_ accent."

"Yes, ma'am," Terriermon grinned.

"Where's the nearest town or city then?" Henry asked.

"Well, that would probably be Fuchsia City," Rika said, checking the map that had been given to them by Professor Oak yesterday morning. "Doesn't look that far away from here and it could be a good stop to rest and get our bearings right again. I can't tell where anything is on the ocean part of this map."

"Well then," said Gardevoir. "Let's head to Fuchsia City. Don't worry, Felkan. We'll be fine. And Houndoom and Glaceon could use a slight patch up."

Felkan nodded and said no more on the matter, but that didn't mean he was any more comfortable about it. Which was why, when they entered the city, he tried to avoid making eye contact with people as he trailed behind the Tamers. The group said goodbye to the Lapras, and thanked them for everything, and then made their way in. Felkan recalled all the Pokémon he owned except for Gardevoir and the Digimon moved through the air and across the roofs, invisible to all passers.

It did not take them long to find the Pokémon Centre, but when they did, they found a woman standing at the front counter and talking anxiously to one of the nurses.

"…fine," the nurse was saying. "It really is delicate work to patch up the wing of a Crobat when something happens to them, but she'll be okay. It's not the first time it's happened – they're so delicate after all. And Toxicroak has already fully recovered."

"Thank Arceus," the woman breathed a sigh of relief, and she had already caught the attention of the others due to her long pinkish cloak and her purple attire.

"May I ask what happened to get your Crobat into such a condition?" the nurse asked.

"Training accident," the woman replied. "A wayward shuriken, but it was still a scary moment."

The nurse chuckled. "Honestly I don't really understand why people become ninjas like you, Janine. It can only be a dangerous life."

"Oh, it is," Janine nodded. "But I'm still going to follow in my father's footsteps. So, when can I pick Crobat up."

"She should be alright by tomorrow. The Chanseys have her well in hand."

Janine smiled and turned around, striding out towards the doors with a determined expression on her face as the Tamers approached the front desk and asked the nurse if they had anywhere to stay for the night. Felkan quickly stepped out of the way as she moved passed but Janine paid little attention to him, her mind pre-occupied on other things. Felkan looked on after her suspiciously for a moment - he did not like the sound of being in a place where there were ninjas running around. But he shrugged it off and stepped inside, hoping the nurse wouldn't recognise him.

_Don't worry, Felkan,_ Gardevoir's voice repeated in his head. _You have changed more than you might think in your five years away. Just don't draw attention to yourself and you'll be fine._

Felkan nodded, then realised nodding to thin air might be a bad idea so he just stepped further in, didn't look for any security cameras and let the Tamers do the talking.

* * *

But outside, Janine was striding down the street when there was a slight rustling in the branches of one of the trees near her, causing her head to snap around as her finely tuned ears picked up the noise that most other people might have missed. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the foliage, trying to penetrate its depths for any sign of something that might be hiding.

She saw nothing.

But she heard something. Voices, coming from the leaves and only just distinguishable to her.

"…still, Impmon… helping at all…know."

"Look, I'm… to all this… alright. I'm not… being quiet…"

"…you'll have to… and learn fast…"

Janine's head slowly turned back and she continued walking on her way, trying not to glance back or give any indication that she had heard anything. But she knew it had been something. And despite last night's encounter, she was still determined to have some of her questions answered.

But of the small group that were hanging around in the trees, with Renamon patiently explaining to Impmon that this was a perception filter and not an audio filter, meaning that he still had to be as quiet as he could despite their concealment, Lopmon had noticed Janine's pause. She stared after the departing ninja for several moments before she shook herself and turned away again.

Still, there was something unsettling about the frustration that she had seen in her eyes and the way she had looked directly at them. But the bunny tried to put it out of her mind for now.

* * *

The acquisition of a room went much better than Felkan could have been expecting. The nurse didn't ask any questions when she saw the Pokéballs that each member of the group were carrying naturally assuming them all to be young trainers. Houndoom and Glaceon were taken from some brief treatment for the scrapes that they had undergone against IceDevimon and everyone else was shown to their room, which was large enough for all of them. Felkan was a little unsettled at being separated from a couple of members of his group, but he was assured they would be fine and thankfully nobody seemed to place his face.

As soon as they were alone in their room, Henry opened the window. Moments later and Terriermon and Lopmon swooped in, followed by Renamon carrying Impmon on her shoulders, while Gardevoir teleported into the middle of the room, with Latios and Latias in tow.

"I don't like this," Latios said, rather suddenly, as he looked around the room. "We've never been inside a human building before. I don't like the walls and the ceiling being so close. It feels like they're trying to cut us off from escaping."

"Escaping what?" Latias giggled. "There's nothing here you big worrywart. Nothing that could be gunning for us anyway. We'll be fine."

"You don't know that for sure," Latios said. "In the open sky we have freedom but this… we can't achieve anywhere near our top speed without crashing into something."

"You and Felkan both really need to lighten up," said Latias with a snicker. "Come on, this is exciting! I've always wondered what it was like to sleep in a human bed," she grinned as she glided over and alighted on some of the covers nearby. "Oh wow, that's soft. I could get used to this."

"Yes, but I don't want you to get used to this," muttered Latios, but Latias didn't hear him.

"You really do worry about her, don't you?" Lopmon asked.

"Well, wouldn't you?" Latios turned to her. "Your brother might be a lot like her in many ways but he's still seen conflict. He's been in battles – he knows how to fight. Latias has never been in a proper battle in her life – that part where we pinned that IceDevimon to the ground doesn't count since that was more of smackdown and he was weakened anyway. She's never had to fight against anyone or anything before and now, with this… who knows what might happen? We've been thrust into the middle of a quest that apparently we were destined for. I wish I'd known about this before – I would have made sure Latias _could_ protect herself."

"I understand how you feel," Lopmon smiled. "But you don't have to shoulder your sister's safety entirely yourself anymore. You have us now too. You think we'd stand by and let something happen to her? We too would protect her with our lives you know."

Latios said nothing more, but he looked reassured and he offered Lopmon a smile. Moments later, and Aayla vaulted into the room through the window.

"Where were you?" Henry asked.

"Doing a quick reconnaissance," Aayla replied. "I was using Force cloak to allow me to walk unseen through the streets."

"What do you need to do a recon for?" asked Suzie. "We're not in a war anymore, are we?"

"Maybe not," Aayla said. "But there is still something rather unsettling about all this. And the encounters with three different types of Digimon in the space of two days in this world is a clear indicator that the problem is greater than anticipated. I just wanted to make sure that there were no suspicious beings around here either, but fortunately the coast seems to be clear."

"You can't be too careful," agreed Renamon. "But now, we should probably plan out what we're going to do next. Did you guys get it?"

"Yep," nodded Henry, producing a large and more detailed map of Kanto than the world map that had been given to them by Professor Oak, which had been given to them for free my the nurse below. Taking it to the nearest table he unfolded it and a number of the others gathered around, forming a circle as they studied the various routes and cities around the region.

"Okay," Henry nodded. "So, we're here, right? Fuchsia City," he tapped the southern-most city feature that was connected to the mainland.

"That's it," Felkan nodded.

"We started here in Pallet Town," Henry said, "and we trailed all the way to Cinnabar, across the Seafoam Islands and then to here. I have to admit that's a fair distance to cover in a couple of days."

"True, but we were riding on a bunch of Lapras who knew where they were going," said Gardevoir. "We'll have to navigate our own way now."

"Not a problem," Terriermon grinned. "We've all got some experience at this kind of thing. So, now that Articuno turned out to be a no-show, what are we going for next?"

"Well," Latios swung around to hover over the map. "According to what that Professor Oak guy said, the other most frequently sighted of the birds was Zapdos. And he's supposed to be seen at some kind of Power Plant, right?"

"That's what I heard," nodded Renamon. "So, we're looking for Kanto's main Power Plant."

"That would be here," said Felkan, tapping a finger down close to the north-east corner of the map. "Supplies power to most of the region apparently."

"That's a long way off," said Rika. "Don't we have any other options?"

"Not really," sighed Henry. "This mission is so vague on the locations of all these guys. This Power Plant is probably our best shot at finding another one of them. And preferably not having it run away this time."

Impmon grumbled and muttered something about, "Stupid Entei."

"Hey, watch what you say about Entei," Latios said. "He's a proud Pokémon. Call him stupid to his face and he _will_ take offence at that."

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever actually _see_ his face again," Impmon said.

"Well then," Terriermon interjected. "Looks like the quickest way to get there would be to fly up here," he pointed to a city north of Fuchsia, "To this Vermilion City. That doesn't look too far away as the Crowmon flies, though we will have to cross another water body to reach it."

"Still, it should be relatively simple," nodded Renamon. "And from there, we can cut overland round to the east, head through this place… Lavender Town… and then over the mountains and the Power Plant is just on the other side."

"Well when you put it that way it doesn't sound far away at all," chuckled Henry. "Though it is definitely some distance off. How long do you think it will take us to get there?"

"If we fly all the way," shrugged Felkan. "Maybe a couple of days. If we walk all the way though it might probably take us around two weeks."

"Looks like we're flying then," Aayla said. "We cannot afford two weeks in the search for one of these Legendaries. We don't know how many weeks we have remaining, but there are not that many of them."

"I'm still not comfortable with going into these human settlements, you know," Felkan said. "It would be shorter if we just flew there in a straight line."

"True, but we wouldn't know if we were on the right track," Aayla said. "We still have to navigate and the roads are our best bet on that. But not to worry. If you really feel uncomfortable then Renamon can hide you under her perception filter with the others."

Felkan looked placated but still a little disgruntled.

"Anything we should know about the route we've chosen?" asked Lopmon.

"Well, according to the guide book that came with the map," Rika said. "Vermilion is a popular sea port and holiday destination."

"Joy. That'll mean a lot of people there," said Latios.

"And Lavender Town is a place where ghosts are commonly sighted," Rika said, her eyebrows raising at that sentence.

"Ghosts?" Ai and Mako blanched, and both started shivering. "There are… there are really ghosts in this universe?" Ai shivered.

"Ghost Pokémon, yes," Felkan smirked. "One of the three types of Pokémon that I don't have in my team, the others being Rock and Poison. There are many kinds of Ghost type Pokémon. But you've got nothing to worry about with them. Most of them just like to scare people for fun sometimes." He grinned and added, "But I always heard that Lavender Town was a place where ghosts of other kinds of Pokémon did show up quite often."

"Alright, alright," Aayla interrupted, giving him a stern look. "Let's not try and scare one another, shall we?"

"I met a ghost once," Suzie smiled. "He was a very friendly Jedi Ghost."

"That's true," chuckled Henry. "Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't your typical ghost."

"But there aren't ghosts in this place," Rika said. "There are _ninjas_ here. And actual ninja. I don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh before, in any world. Though Jedi are cooler of course," she turned to aim a grin at Aayla.

"Why thank you," the Twi'lek smiled.

* * *

After that, the company began to settle down for the night, while the sun began to cast pale orange rays across the land as it began to dip below the horizon. Felkan had to admit that sleeping in an actual bed again was rather nice. For the last five years he'd been sleeping on the ground of the nearest cave, which had never exactly been comfortable even at the best of times, and the feeling of a mattress beneath him again was a pleasant one. Though Terriermon had to refrain from making some kind of suggestive comment when he allowed Gardevoir to climb onto the bed next to him and snuggle up to him. He slept in the same bed as his own partner all the time so he couldn't talk.

And besides that wasn't the kind of relationship that Felkan and Gardevoir held, though sometimes it was difficult to see where the distinction lay except for a lack of kissing and intimacy beyond close hugs.

Renamon also decided to go to bed this time – she had spent quite a lot of energy in the fight against IceDevimon and she needed to sleep it off almost as much as Rika did. The Digimon and Aayla huddled close together in the corner where they would be hidden from sight if someone decided to open the door, while Latios and Latias went back outside – the former claiming that they'd find a more comfortable and open space to sleep for the night and find them again in the morning.

But even as night fell and the moon rose, Lopmon couldn't get to sleep. There was still something bothering her – the matter of the ninja woman who had looked at them earlier on. She hadn't mentioned it to anybody else just in case she was being overly paranoid, but at the same time she really, really didn't think that she was.

Frustration, resolution, annoyance – she had seen all those things in the ninja's eyes when she locked her own invisible ones with them.

Admittedly she really didn't know much about ninjas… only what she had gleaned from a few movies that she had seen them in, but apparently they were masters of stealth and lightning-fast attacks, making some people believe them to be something akin to assassins though that wasn't really the case. If a normal person had looked in their direction, Lopmon might have overlooked it, but this time she decided she couldn't. Paranoia or no, as they had said before, you couldn't be too careful.

Extricating herself from the pile of Digimon she stepped smoothly and quietly over towards Suzie, hopping onto her bed and shaking her awake.

"Hmm," Suzie muttered. "W'a's g'n on?"

"No need to worry, Suzie," Lopmon smiled reassuringly. "But I feel it might be better if somebody was to stand guard. You know, just in case something does happen, though I doubt it will. I just wanted you to digivolve me to the Champion level so I can keep a lookout on the roof."

"Oh, okay," Suzie muttered, reaching for her D-Arc.

"Thanks, Suzie," she smiled and then moved to the window, slipping it open and flying into the night and up towards the roof – they were on the top floor of the Pokémon Centre so it would be easy to guard the room from the window. Moments later she felt the digivolution begin as Suzie swiped the card. She didn't call out the process, trying to keep it silent as possible, but she alighted nimbly on the roof as Turuiemon a few moments later.

_Go back to sleep now, Suzie,_ she said with her mind. _I'll just keep an eye on things from here._

_Okidokie,_ Suzie yawned and then proceeded to do just that.

Turuiemon nodded. In this form she was practically a ninja herself, so she hoped she'd be able to keep an eye out for any other potential incoming threats. Though her confidence in that endeavour dipped slightly when she turned around and almost jumped out of her skin when she found that she was not alone on the roof.

"Hello," said Scyther, with a grin. "If I hadn't seen you swooping out of the window and changing shape I would have thought you were another stranger and attacked you."

"Scyther," Turuiemon blinked, struggling to regain your composure. "What… what are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you of course," Scyther chuckled. "I presume that you came out here to keep watch and stand guard did you not?"

"Yeah… yes, I did," Turuiemon nodded. "But why did you come up here to do it?"

"Felkan asked me," Scyther chuckled. "You didn't really expect him to just fall asleep in a bed without taking some kind of precautions do you. While it looks like nobody has recognised him so far, he wanted insurance to make sure that if the police suddenly turn up in advance someone could wake him up and warn him."

Turuiemon chuckled too. "Don't you feel that he's being overly paranoid sometimes?"

"No," Scyther said firmly. "You weren't there. You didn't see the manhunts for us after what happened at Hearthome City back then. We saw them plenty from our hiding places. The humans were sure as heck determined to root us out. And you know what they would have done if they had. To be honest its strange for me too to be back in a human settlement like this. We haven't spent the night in a city since… well, the night everything went wrong."

"Fair enough," Turuiemon said. "We'll just have to be lenient with him I suppose."

"And we had better hope that nothing that he fears will happen," Scyther agreed. "So, what are you doing up here?"

"I'm not sure," Turuiemon said. "I guess I can't really talk about paranoia. The ninja that walked passed us earlier today looked at us even though we were hidden under the perception filter. I'm sure she couldn't see us, but there's no guarantee she didn't know something was there. I just wanted to make sure."

"Protecting your partner," nodded Scyther. "I'm the same. Someone comes after Felkan and they'll have to go through my blades… Nice form, by the way, Lopmon."

"Oh, thanks," Turuiemon smiled. "Though my name is Turuiemon when I take this shape."

"Well you've certainly got the stature and build of a fighter," Scyther said appreciatively. "A fast and powerful one too. And are those switch-blades I see on your hands?"

"Yeah," Turuiemon laughed, squeezing her fist so the switch-blade lashed out on its hinge. She held it up to the light of the moon but then said, "But I think that your arms have me beaten in this category."

"Maybe," Scyther said. "But sometimes I think it would be nice to have hands. Trying to pick up anything yourself is a nightmare when you have these. Unless whatever you want to pick up can afford a hole in it."

Turuiemon snorted. The two of them lapsed into silence for a moment, staring out at the horizon in any direction, keeping up their own vigils in the guard duty they were supposed to be doing. But then Turuiemon turned round and said, "Do you think we have a chance?"

"Excuse me?" Scyther blinked, turning back to look at her.

"Do you think we have a chance?" repeated Turuiemon. "At all this? At finding all of those Legendary Pokémon that we're supposed to be looking for and stopping our two worlds from obliterating one another? I've faced many grave threats before, but they've always been something that you can face head on in a battle. Granted often it's taken a trick to beat them but you can hold them at bay. The D-Reaper, Ogudomon, Darth Sidious and his armies. All of those were physical opponents that we could tackle and keep from advancing. But this…? This is beyond anything I've ever faced before. This is something that we can't by battling it. There is only a small amount of time to do what must be done to save the worlds… And all our battling skills are useless in this endeavour."

Scyther looked at her for a moment and then he said, "I don't know. I don't know if we can pull it off. The odds do seem to be very much stacked against us. But you know what? I don't care. I'm not going to endlessly worry myself over what might go wrong or what we might fail at? If you start doing that, where can you stop? No. I'm going to do my damnedest to fix this collision of our universes and I'm not going to give up until the very moment that my body is wiped out along with the rest of the world. If we can get it done, then we can. If we can't, then we can't. But I'm not going to quit no matter how bad it gets. You wait and see."

Turuiemon was surprised by the resolve in Scyther's voice. The reality of what they were trying to do was only just sinking in even for her, but it seemed that it had already hit Scyther full force. And she knew that he wasn't used to this. This was the first time that Scyther, or any of the other Pokémon in the group, had been called upon to save their world or any world. But the will with which he, and presumably the others, had taken to it, was extraordinary.

She smiled. "You're right. And I'm sure that if we all commit, we should be able to succeed anyway. We can do this."

"And if we don't," Scyther said. "At least we won't be around to remember how we failed."

"That's an… unusual way of putting it," Turuiemon said.

"True. But no matter how close it gets to that possibility, I'm going to keep on fighting. That's what I do, after all. Giving up is not in my nature. It's not in the nature of _any_ Scyther."

"I can tell," nodded Turuiemon. "But you especially, I think. That's why you don't want to evolve, isn't it?"

"Yes," Scyther nodded, a little vehemently. "I don't care if I'm the only member of the group that hasn't reached their final evolution stage. You aren't going to see me changing into a Scizor anytime soon."

"What's the difference between the two forms exactly?"

"Right now I'm a Bug-slash-Flying type. If I were to evolve, I would become a Bug-slash-Steel type, and I don't want that. Scizor are more durable than a Scyther, but they're slower and they lose their ability to fly. They still have wings, but they're just used for regulating body temperature not for flying. And my blades would also turn into pincers. And that's not something I want. I have trained my whole life to use my blades, strike from the air and do so with the speed no Scizor could hope to match and I'll be damned if I give any of that up. No, I'm never giving up my flight thank you very much."

Turuiemon chuckled. "You are one determined Pokémon. You remind me a little of another Jedi that I knew a year ago, back when I was stranded in Aayla's world. Anakin Skywalker was his name. And when he focused on something, there was nothing in hell's earth that could stop him from carrying it out. And he was one of the most stubborn people I've ever met in my life."

"Well, that's me too," grinned Scyther. "If I had more than one name, then my middle name would be 'stubborn.'"

"And I think it suits you perfectly."

Scyther grinned. "You know, you're alright. You Digimon. I have to admit I was a little dubious about adding you guys to our fold – we've always relied only on each other over the years. But I'm starting to get used to having you around."

"And it's our pleasure to work alongside you," Turuiemon raised a blade. Scyther smirked and raised his own blade, clashing it against Turuiemon's. The two of them the sharp edges of their weapons across each other at such speed that sparks flew, which seemed to be some kind of salute to one another that they both understood.

"You know, at some point when this is all over, I'd like to challenge you to a duel," Scyther said.

"I look forward to it," Turuiemon chuckled.

Then, her ears pricked, and she looked up sharply, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the area around them. Scyther caught her body language instantly and raised his blades, copying her as he scanned for any potential threats.

"Did you hear something?" he hissed at her.

"I think so," nodded Turuiemon. "Something like… a croak."

"A croak?" Scyther repeated.

Moments later and a sudden shadowy figure leapt out of the night and into the air nearby, cloak billowing out around it and instantly attracting the attention of both of the occupants of the roof. With a lash of both arms, several small metal shurikens were flung forwards from the figure's grasp, glinting in the moonlight as they cut a beeline straight for Turuiemon, whirling through the air like buzzsaws.

Turuiemon was no easy target though and her switchblades were already aside and ready, batting aside three of the shurikens with swift and precise counters of her blade and cartwheeling to the side to neatly dodge the other four, which embedded in the roof where she had been.

Turuiemon rolled to a stop and glared up at the figure which landed on the roof with near inhuman light-footedness. Yet Turuiemon could easily see that the figure was the same size and stature as the woman who had looked up into the trees at her that morning, and she was under no illusions, despite the fact she couldn't make out a face due to the darkness and the cowl that covered it, that this was who it was.

Nevertheless, she demanded, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I should be the one to ask you that, stranger," the figure said in a voice that could only be a woman's. Whatever you and your kind are doing in my city, you are not welcome here."

"My kind?" Turuiemon asked sharply. "What do you mean, my...?"

A loud, croaking noise behind her alerted her to another presence and she spun around to see a humanoid frog-like creature with red claws on its hands leaping towards her with said claws raised. But before it could get close to her, Scyther was in motion, launching himself off the roof and so fast that even Turuiemon only had time to see him in a blur of motion that almost made it seem like he had teleported before he crashed one blade into both of the frog's claws and flung the surprised creature backwards, following up with a Slash from the other blade that cut a line across the frog's stomach.

"I'll handle the Toxicroak," he said as he landed behind Turuiemon and the frog went rolling but pushed itself back up anyway. "You have a talk with Mrs. Ninja over there."

This told Turuiemon that the frog was definitely a Pokémon, though she had already recognised that it wasn't a Digimon. But before she could say any more, Scyther had shot back towards the Toxicroak in another blur of motion and delivered three lightning slashes to the Toxicroak's torso, the first two of which the frog was only just able to block before it took the third in its side and croaked in pain.

Scyther skidded to a halt behind the Toxicroak as it fell to one knee, whipping around and assuming that the fight was not over yet. And indeed, he was right as the Toxicroak scrambled upwards and turned to face him, glaring angrily as her throat pouch pulsated.

"What's going on?" Scyther demanded. "Why are you attacking my friend?"

"She is an invader," the Toxicroak replied. "Just like the other one last night who attacked and hurt our team-mate. You think we can stand by and let them do what they want to this city? You won't get in our way."

"What other one?" Scyther asked, but his words fell on deaf ears as the Toxicroak vanished. Scyther, not fooled, spun around and deflected the Faint Attack which had been launched at him from behind. Toxicroak pulled back and attempted to get a Poison Jab beneath his guard but Scyther shot skywards with a blur from his wings, flipping overhead and whooshing down surrounded by the white streaks of an Aerial Ace. Toxicroak rolled aside but Scyther turned on a penny and struck her anyway for super-effective damage that sent her rolling right across the roof, with Scyther unrelentingly shooting after her.

Toxicroak dug a claw into the roof and pulled herself to a stop before she fell over the edge but Scyther hit her with a Quick Attack the instant she stopped, knocking her onto her back. The Mantis Pokémon placed a foot on her stomach and held one sickle before her eyes, glowering at her menacingly.

"I think you've got yourself a little mixed-up," he said. "That one over there isn't a threat to anyone in this city. Why don't you just tell me what happened and I'll tell you what's happening now?"

"I don't think so," Toxicroak uttered, annoyed that she had been defeated so quickly, though admittedly she wasn't on top form since she hadn't fully recovered from the attack the previous night.

"Make it easy on yourself and…" Scyther stopped, his senses kicking in and yelling at him to jump out of the way, which he swiftly did just in time to avoid a series of Pin Missiles that came streaking in from the side. Scyther landed smoothly a short distance away to see an Ariados – a large orange spider-like Pokémon with large mandibles and a horn on its head, but only six legs, two of which were sticking out of its back – standing on the trunk of a tree that overlooked the Pokémon Centre.

"You're not going to hurt my team-mate," the Ariados said, as she sprang off the trunk and landed spider-like on the roof beside Toxicroak as she got up and glared at him.

"Look, just tell me what…" Scyther began, but the Ariados clearly wasn't in the mood for listening as it spat a crackling Electroweb at him.

Across the other end of the roof, Turuiemon was squaring off against the masked human ninja. She narrowed her eyes, fixing them onto the adversary's own and said, "What are you here for? I know that you looked in my direction earlier today? What did you come for?"

"To find some answers," the ninja said with a growl. I believe it's about time that I got some after all this time. I thought I heard something in those branches and I know it wasn't a Pokémon because I heard human speech. But I know it wasn't a human either because I could see nothing. And it turns out I was correct. It is one of you strangers after all."

"Strangers?" Turuiemon asked. "What strangers? Tell me what you know!"

"Don't play dumb with me," the ninja snapped. "You know as well as I do that you and your kind of whatever you are have been sneaking about in the shadows here for the last couple of months."

"No, I didn't," Turuiemon said. "I only arrived here today."

"Like I'm going to believe that," the ninja scoffed, producing another shuriken in one hand and a Pokéball in the other. "Now tell me what you are and what's going on here or I will be forced to try and fight this out with you."

Turuiemon hesitated. She had no quarrel with this ninja woman and from the sound of things there was something far more urgent that needed to be looked into around here, so her natural instinct would be to tell her what was going on. But at the same time she had no clue who this woman was and who she might tell. And what was she supposed to say? That the world was coming to an end? She didn't even know if the things that this ninja said were sneaking around were Digimon, though she suspected that they probably were.

And if she revealed what was happening, she could accidentally reveal Felkan as well. And that was not something that she wanted to do now they'd gained the trust of his Pokémon, if not completely the trainer's.

She hesitated a little too long for the ninja's taste and she growled, "Very well then. I have no other alternative but to take the answer from you by force." And she sprang into the air and flung three shurikens with just one hand while flinging the Pokéball skyward with the other. Turuiemon lashed up her blades and pirouetted around to knock the three shurikens aside, but she had to shield her eyes from the flash of light that occurred right in front of her as the Pokémon burst free.

She blanched a little when she found herself facing some kind of giant scorpion creature with a segmented purple body and three large pincers, one on each long arm and one on the tail, standing on four comparatively short legs and with a gaping toothed mouth set in his head.

"Drapion, Cross Poison," the ninja ordered. "Get her!"

"Cough up what she wants to know," the Drapion snarled, thundering towards Turuiemon and raising its pincers across its body, which glowed with a luminous purple light and slashing down with a pattern that left a purple, poisonous X in the air that fired straight towards Turuiemon. The Digimon darted backwards and brought up her own blades swiftly, launching a Gauntlet Claw in the exact same pattern and the light erupting from her blades so the two Xs crashed into one another and cancelled one another out.

The Drapion was clearly not expecting this and reared back as the light blinded him momentarily, only for him to look back and find Turuiemon already in his face, whereupon she nailed him right between the eyes with a Ninja Fist. He reeled backwards under the blow, momentarily dazed as Turuiemon hopped over his head and slid down his segmented back to flip off, only for Drapion's tail to suddenly lash up and the claw to close around her ankle and fling her back upwards.

"Toxic Spikes, Drapion!" the ninja cried.

Drapion turned and opened his jaws, a large purple orb forming inside it which he fired upwards. The orb shattered into dozens of others which scattered around the roof, littering the place with vicious looking purple glowing spikes that vanished moments later. But Turuiemon was not fooled – she knew that something had to still be there or they wouldn't have used an attack like that, so she did the first thing that sprang to mind – she flipped over and landed on the tips of her blades, perfectly balanced upside down.

The ninja blinked, impressed by the feat of athleticism. But then she glowered and said, "Alright then. Let's see how long you can stay like that, shall we?"

"I don't want to fight you!" Turuiemon protested.

"Then tell me what I want to know," the ninja glowered.

"I… can't… I…"

"Wrong answer. Drapion, Night Slash."

The Drapion charged towards her, with his claws held at the ready, beginning to glow a dark black. Turuiemon grimaced and flung herself upwards into the air again, twirling around to hold her switchblades in the attack position and lashed out to counter the Drapion's strike with a steely clang. At the same time, she seized the Drapion's arm in the other hand and bodily hauled herself over until she was clinging to the Pokémon's back.

The Drapion, clearly not happy about that, immediately began bucking and writhing, and lashed its tail forwards to try and grab her, only for Turuiemon to crouch over so the clawed tip of the tail hit Drapion in his own back. The Drapion snarled at the blow, and then did something that took Turuiemon completely off guard. He twisted the entire top half of his body around so that he was facing backwards and brought his claws hammering downwards for a double Night Slash.

Turuiemon grit her teeth as she brought up both her blades to block the strikes, starting a straining match between the two. But Turuiemon was not built for this kind of thing and the Drapion had the weight advantage, meaning that it began to push her down into its own back, her legs buckling underneath the strain.

The Drapion smirked and raised its tail, bringing the pincer on the end of it closer, clacking the claws together menacingly as she did so. Turuiemon heard it coming and saw it out the corner of eye and in desperation she did something Terriermon would probably call insane – she flung her feet upwards while still under the pressure from the claws. As she was slammed into the Drapion's back shoulders first, her foot smacked the Drapion right in the face a second time, making him flinch backwards and pull away his claws. Turuiemon flipped back upright and bounded off his back, landing on her blades yet again and spun off onto an area of roof that the Toxic Spikes had not landed on.

Only for the ninja to come flying towards her with a spinning kick to the head.

Turuiemon ducked into a roll and went beneath the ninja's strike, but the ninja was up again instantly and aimed another kick right at Turuiemon's face. Turuiemon's hand lashed up to block the kick and retaliated in kind, resulting in a flurry of lightning punches and kicks between the two of adversaries so fast the eye could barely follow them for a couple of seconds before Turuiemon skipped to the sight and leapt high into the air to backflip across the roof and away.

Moments later and the Toxicroak landed in a heap right next to her, causing her to blink in bemusement and turn to look briefly at the other fight. Scyther was currently lording it over his opponents. Having just hit the Toxicroak a devastating Wing Attack, he turned to look up as the Ariados fell down towards him with a Bounce attack. Blurring his wings he shot out from underneath the Ariados and whipped around to impact a second Aerial Ace against the other Bug Pokémon's flank and knock it into the air.

The Toxicroak clambered back upwards, ignoring Turuiemon as she darted back towards the fray, moving much slower than before due to the damage she'd taken and trying to launch forwards with a Sucker Punch. But she just fell to the floor because Scyther used Double Team instead, causing Sucker Punch to fail as that wasn't an offensive attack. Now there appeared to be four Scythers standing on the roof.

The Ariados launched an Elecroweb at them which landed over two and cancelled them out. Toxicroak clambered to her feet and lunged forward to hit the other two with Poison Jab… also cancelling them out.

"Huh?" Toxicroak blinked, after all four Scythers had gone.

"Over here," Scyther said from where he was hovering about thirty feet above her. As she and Ariados looked up, Scyther launched a pair of power Razor Winds from his scythes that cut down through the air and slammed into both of them, knocking them back and knocking them out.

"And that is one of the reasons why I love flying," Scyther grinned.

Turuiemon nodded with a smile of her own, but turned around as she heard the Drapion thundering towards her, his claws readying another Cross Poison attack. Turuiemon's eyes narrowed and she decided to employ a trick that Aayla had once taught to her and charged straight for the opponent.

As Drapion flung the Cross Poison, Turuiemon fell backwards and slid across the roof on her back, shooting straight through the bottom two prongs of the X and then right beneath Drapion, flattening herself against the roof as much as she could in order to slide through his legs. Before Drapion could figure out what had happened, Turuiemon had seized the pincers on his tail in both hands and used them to swing herself up into the air, whereupon she span around and flung two blades of light down from her blades.

Before the energy blades could even strike, Scyther shot across the rooftop like a green comet and spun around to slam Drapion in the neck with the back of his scythes in a full-powered Brick Break attack. Drapion gasped in surprise and struggled to get more air as Scyther shot past him, and then then the Gauntlet Claw hit him in the back. Stunned by the double impact, Drapion fainted and collapsed against the roof, out cold.

Janine looked on, stunned at the sight of Drapion, one of her strongest Pokémon, falling to the swift efforts of both the Scyther and the strange rabbit. After a few moments of feeling stunned, her eyes narrowed as she produced yet more shurikens from nowhere as Scyther landed beside Turuiemon and they both turned to glare at her – Turuiemon looking a little scuffed and Scyther completely uninjured.

"Will you please just stop now?" Turuiemon asked.

"You beat up three of my Pokémon and expect me to just step off?" Janine growled. "I heard what your comrade said last night. You find attacking Pokémon fun. I don't know why that Scyther has decided to side with you but I won't stand for it."

"Comrade? What comrade?" Turuiemon pressed. "We don't…"

But Janine had already leapt into a spin, hurling another volley of shurikens at the pair of them and really wishing she had brought her katana as she prepared to launch another spinning kick right for Turuiemon.

Scyther and Turuiemon both made ready to spring aside and dodge the attack.

But there was no need. To the surprise of all three of them, the shurikens suddenly stopped in mid-air, each one surrounded by a glowing blue aura and just floating in front of them. For a moment Janine thought she was going to crash into her own shurikens, but then she too jerked to a halt and hung there. She blinked, half panicked, and struggled furiously to break loose but she was held firmly upwards.

"A Psychic attack?" she asked. "Who…?"

_That would be me,_ said a voice the resounded through all three of their heads. All three of them looked up and Janine balked at the sight of the white and blue Dragon type Pokémon that was hovering a short distance over her head.

"A… a Latios?" she breathed.

"Hey, Latios," Turuiemon grinned. "Good timing."

"You… know each other," Janine breathed.

_Just one word of advice, _Latios said, flying closer to Janine and looking her in the face. _Next time you try and pick a fight with someone and they're trying to reason with you, just listen to what they have to say, alright? Because maybe, Janine daughter of Koga, they might not actually be your enemy._

"But… but I…"

_No buts,_ Latios said, as the shurikens clattered to the floor harmlessly behind him. _Now I'm afraid I don't know any moves that will put you to sleep, so I'm just going to have to knock you out. This might pinch a little._

"Wait, I…" Janine started by Latios' eyes flashed slightly and Janine slumped over, out cold. The Latios lowered her to the roof next to her unconscious Drapion.

"Remind me to stay on your good side," Turuiemon muttered.

"Excuse the interruption," Latios said. "We saw the flashing lights going on over here from the roost we found and decided to investigate."

"That was a little heavy-handed, don't you think, brother?" Latias said as she hovered down next to him. "I mean, she was just trying to protect the citizens of this city."

"Very rashly," Latios said. "But I suppose you might be right. Still, it won't have caused any damage. More to the point we have a slightly bigger problem on our hands, and that's what we gleaned from her mind."

"You read her mind?" Turuiemon asked. "Isn't that an invasion of privacy or something?"

"It would be if we read her mind, but we didn't," said Latias, with a reassuring look. "We just read her thoughts. If we were reading her mind we would have penetrated deep into her memories and stuff and that would be an invasion. But we just mentally listened into the stuff she was thinking about, and… well… it wasn't brilliant."

"Not brilliant in what way?" Scyther asked.

"She kept saying stuff about a bunch of strange creatures that weren't Pokémon showing up in the city," said Turuiemon gravely. "She seemed to think I was one of them. And if I've guessed correctly, she was right and wrong at the same time."

"Probably," Latios nodded. "From what we gleaned, people have been reporting seeing shadows slipping away and having feelings of being watched for a couple of months, but most people think nothing of it because of the ninjas that train in this city. But Janine here, who is actually the local Gym Leader, knows that it isn't the ninjas. And it's not Pokémon either. There is definitely something happening in this city."

"Digimon?" Scyther asked.

"I don't know," said Turuiemon. "But probably."

"Swell," Scyther muttered. "Should we…" He stopped, and his eyes suddenly narrowed. "Look!" he cried, pointing with a scythe. Turuiemon, Latios and Latias swung around to stare into the branches of a nearby tree. And all three of them saw quite clearly the humanoid shape which started at apparently being noticed and then sprang away.

"That ninja's not the only one who wants answers," said Turuiemon. "Quick, after it!"

"Come on, brother, let's go!" Latias said as she swept around after the rapidly departing figure.

"Latias, wait!" Latios cried as he shot off after her.

"Scyther and I will take to the streets," Turuiemon shouted as she bounded off the roof. "You guys try and make sure that it doesn't get away." _Guys, do you hear me? Is anyone awake?_ She added with her mind.

* * *

_Yes, I am,_ Aayla replied, from where she was standing at the window and trying to get a look upwards. _And so's Terriermon. We heard some thudding going on up there – I'm surprised Renamon's still out of it. What's happening?_

Moments later, they received a mental bubble from Turuiemon that enclosed all the information that they had just learned and about what had happened. It took them a second or two to process everything but then both of them took on relatively grim faces.

_Well, this is just peachy,_ Terriermon muttered.

_See if you can catch up with that errant shadow,_ Aayla said. _Terriermon, you stay here and make sure that nothing comes. And see if you can do something about the unconscious Gym Leader on the roof, or at least make sure that she doesn't find you guys in here if she wakes up. I'll go out and join the others to see if they need any help._

_Will do,_ said Terriermon. _Nothing's getting in here._

Aayla was about to bound out of the window when suddenly there was a burst of light from within the room, causing bunny and Twi'lek to turn to see that one of the Pokéballs on Felkan's belt that he had slung over the side of the bed had spontaneously popped open, seemingly of its own accord, and the light that came from within formed itself into the shape of Lucario. The jackal-like Pokémon looked up with a smirk and said, "You weren't thinking of leaving me behind as you went out there, were you?"

Aayla chuckled. "How much do you know?"

"Enough," Lucario said. "My aura is limited when I'm inside a Ball but I'm still aware of my immediate surroundings. Enough to pick up on the telepathy. I'll come with you if you're going out there."

"A pleasure to have you," Aayla nodded. "Come on. Let's move." And she bounded out of the window and into the branches of a nearby tree, Lucario dashing across the room and following her out with a mighty pounce, the two of them briefly ricocheting from branch to branch before they landed on a nearby roof side by side and dashed along, following the mental signatures of the others as they pursued the mysterious, fleeing shadow.

The interaction had caused some of the others in the room to stir, and Henry sat up from his bed and muttered, "What's happening?"

"Not totally sure yet," Terriermon said. "We're working on it. But there in an unconscious ninja on the roof. Think we should do something about it?"

"An unconscious…?" Henry blinked and then ran a hand over his face. "Alright then. Start at the beginning. And where did Aayla go?"

"Short answer," Terriermon sighed. "The amount of Digimon in this universe might be even more than we thought."

* * *

So, I hope you found this chapter entertaining. I wanted to demonstrate that not all of the problems would be coming from the Digital side of things in this story and I wanted a couple more of the characters to have some nice bonding moments too and I think I managed to get all of that into this chapter. Not to mention get in some more action. Anyway, hope you like it and that you are now wondering what the heck is happening in this world. Hehehehe.

* * *

Next time…

A chase has begun through the night streets of Fuchsia City, but what exactly are the small group chasing? As they will shortly find out, things are more drastically wrong then they realised. This is not just some lone Digimon who got lost in this new world. Far, far from it, in fact.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 22 : A Greater Force**


	22. A Greater Force

Hey guys. This chapter took slightly longer to get out than I was originally hoping but hopefully you will enjoy it anyway, for parts of it were quite difficult to write, though I still very much enjoyed it while doing so. Not much else to say about it on that score so… hope you like.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 22:- A Greater Force**

* * *

Turuiemon bolted across the top of a narrow wall, her feet hitting the brick-work beneath her like hammers as she kept her narrow eyes focused on the faint shape that she was following in the darkness. Sure-footed and swift she didn't even have to look where she was putting her feet as she dashed along. What was harder was keeping the mysterious shape in sight, for it was not only enshrouded in the shadows and doing a very good job of keeping itself in them, it was also just about as fast and agile as she was.

The shape bounded up the side of a building and rebounded off a fire-escape to swing itself around a corner, and Turuiemon noted that its arm seemed to elongate as that happened before it disappeared around the corner with the rest of it.

There was no longer any doubt that this thing, whatever it was, was not a human at the very least. Either it was some Pokémon that she had not yet encountered or… it was the other option.

She pursued without delay, leaping from the walltop and running through momentum across the side of a building before bouncing off and swinging from the same fire escape to roll around the corner with a swift burst of speed, not even pausing for a moment as she sought out the shape of the dark figure again. She spotted it quickly, leaping over the roof of another building and she was instantly up after it, displaying her tremendous leaping power as she almost cleared the building in a single bound, seizing a gutter and flipping herself over onto the roof to thunder across it in continued pursuit.

As the shadow flitted down through another side-street, Turuiemon landed feet-first on another wall, pushed off to seize the bar of another fire escape and swing from it, tucking in her legs and rolling towards the ground in a ball, seizing what appeared to be a clothes line in the process and pulling it down with her, stretching it at its moorings until she hit the floor with it in her hands. She stepped back, stretching it a little further and then used it like a slingshot to catapult herself through the air and fling herself straight towards the shadow with a single, almighty leap.

The shadow seemed to notice her soaring towards him and dodged around the nearest corner, but Turuiemon seized a drainpipe on the side of the building and swinging herself around the corner in pursuit. Her feet thudded straight into the back of the shadow and shoved it away with a powerful kick, sending it rolling to the floor with a grunt until it skidded to a halt against a nearby wall.

Turuiemon landed and looked up at it with a glare. "Enough running, whoever you are," she said. "I know that you're not from around here."

"Neither are you," replied the figure as it clambered upright, revealing it to be a male. "Why am I the one that gets chased anyway. First the human woman last night with her stupid pets and now you."

"Go skulking about in the shadows and when you get seen, expect to be chased by someone," Turuiemon said. "Now… who are you. Show yourself."

"No, I don't think I will," the figure replied and it spun around, hurling what appeared to be a massive shuriken straight towards the rabbit champion. Turuiemon prepared to block or jump but almost before she could twitch Scyther appeared out of nowhere in front of her and caught the spinning shuriken on his crossed blades and hurling it straight back at the shadow, which rolled aside as the shuriken embedded itself in the wall behind him.

"Where did you go?" Turuiemon asked the Bug type with a smirk.

"I was around," Scyther said enigmatically. "This one's a slippery one though, isn't he?"

"Got that," Turuiemon nodded.

"Another of the locals," the shadow grunted, pulling the shuriken off the wall. "Well that's just peachy, you Snimon rip-off."

"Excuse me?" Scyther blinked, but before he could get any further suddenly the shadows legs elongated like a pair of huge springs and catapulted it into the air, flinging it across several buildings. Scyther's head snapped up and he yelled, "Grab on!" blurring his wings and shooting up after him. Turuiemon leapt up and seized his ankles, the Pokémon bearing the Digimon upwards to the roof where she let go and dashed across it after the retreating shadow, Scyther right beside her.

"What was that about a rip-off?" he asked her as they went.

"Let's just say Ninetales isn't the only Pokémon that bears a resemblance to a Digimon," Turuiemon stated.

"Ah… fair enough. I'll look out for that explanation later." And the two of them piled on the speed to catch up again.

The shadow swung across the side of another building, and somersaulted down through the alleyway, with Turuiemon and Scyther in hot pursuit, the former seizing the other by the back of the scythe as she sprang off the roof and Scyther swinging her around and hurling her towards the shadow to close the distance. The shadow saw her coming at the last second and sprang aside on its strange legs as she slammed into the ground where it had been. It span around and slashed out at her with two hand-held shurikens, but she backflipped over the first and blocked the second, as well as the double slash it brought down at her moments later.

The shadow recoiled and turned back to flee, but also slashed out with a shuriken that it appeared to be holding in its foot as well as it did so. Turuiemon spun to the side and rebounded off the wall and moments later Scyther appeared right in front of the figure and slashed at it. The figure lurched to the side and avoided the vicious blade, dodging past Scyther but not without injury as the Bug twirled around a second later the tip of his blade caught the being in the side. He yelled and stumbled but sprang away again moments later, dashing into a deserted car park.

Scyther moved with blazing speed though, rebounding off the narrow walls several times and overtook the shadow, striking down at it from above as he did so while Turuiemon sprinted to catch up from behind. In an act of desperation the shadow twisted around and backflipped over Turuiemon, avoiding the Mantis' slash in the process and raising its shurikens up, preparing to launch them at Scyther's momentarily unprotected back.

That was when he was hit full-on in the back by a previously invisible Latios, who had swooped down to crash his head right into the centre of where the shadows shoulder-blades would be assuming it had shoulder-blades. The shadow was thrust forwards and moments later Latias appeared in front of it, locking it in a psychic attack and tossing it towards the ground and against another wall, stunned. And finally in the light, so that Turuiemon could make out what kind of Digimon it was.

"About time you two made your presence known," said Scyther.

"Apologies," Latios said. "We were keeping an eye on things from above. There are still quite a few humans out and about even at this hour. But we figured that here would be a good place to act since it's in a relatively old and abandoned part of the city."

"Meaning that he was being a worrywart again," Latias said with a slight sigh.

"Hey," Latios muttered. "I'm not that bad."

"Aww, momentai," Latias said. "So… who do we have here?"

"I was pretty sure from how the chase was going that this was our culprit," said Turuiemon, nodded at the ninja-like Digimon with a huge shuriken on its back, leaf-like shoulder guards, a face-mask through which only yellow eyes could be seen and long green limbs that were indeed coiled like springs, each one with a shuriken on the tip as if they were natural parts of its body. "Looks like I was right. It's definitely a Shurimon."

"Ungh," said the confirmed Digimon as it shook its head. "Four against one isn't fair. You caught me off guard."

"You cannot talk on that score," Turuiemon stated, folding her arms. "Shurimon are known for taking their opponents off guard, striking in blind spots when they least expect to be attacked. Now, I think that you would be wise if you were to start answering our questions. Such as, where did you come from?""

"You ask me a question like that?" Shurimon snorted. "You? A fellow Digimon? I came from the same place as you, of course. The Digital World."

"Indeed," Turuiemon raised a brow. "But how did you get here? The Digital World is a completely alternate universe to this one. So how did you wind up here? Did you get sucked through a portal like the Seadramon we found close to Cinnabar Island?"

"How did I get here?" Shurimon snickered. "Well, why should I tell you that? After all, you just attacked me."

"Yeah, because you were spying on us," Scyther growled.

Shurimon stared at the mantis Pokémon blankly and said, "Why don't you try speaking a language that I can actually understand you brainless local."

"You can't talk to him, Scyther," Turuiemon reminded him. "He hasn't received Uxie's gift of understanding."

"Right," Scyther nodded. "Easy to forget that really, since I can talk to you all the time."

"Indeed," Turuiemon nodded. "Anyway, Shurimon. You're going to start talking to us. Tell us. Were you sucked through a portal that opened up right next to you and somehow found yourself here?"

Shurimon remained silent for several moments, glaring at the bunny that was standing over him, before he said, "Is that what happened to you?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here," Turuiemon responded swiftly.

"Fine, fine," Shurimon growled. "Well, if you really want to know, then that is exactly what happened to me. I was sucked in through some strange wormhole like thing that hauled me through and I was deposited here in this human world place just under a week ago. I've been trying to find some other Digimon here for all that time."

Turuiemon raised a brow. "Then why did you run when you saw me?"

"I saw what you did to those natives and I thought that you would try and do the same again," Shurimon shrugged.

Turuiemon gave him a level look, and then said, "You know you're not fooling anyone. We know full well that there have been sightings of you or others like you skulking around in the shadows going on for about two months now. Two whole months of things like that and you're telling me that you got here a week ago and have not found a single Digimon here in all that time before me? I don't think so. Something tells me that you are not the only Digimon in this city and if that's the case then you would have found the others already. So… the question remains… how did you get here?"

Shurimon glared at her with irritation, but said nothing.

"Well that's definitely a sign that you're trying to hide something from me," Turuiemon said. "Latios, Latias… what say you?"

"His mind… is well disciplined," Latios said. "I can glean little from his thoughts, and there are a couple of thing that he's deliberately not thinking about that I can't quite reach with thought-reading alone."

"We could push deeper with mind-reading and unearth something," Latias offered.

"Only if he doesn't cough up the information voluntarily," said Turuiemon.

"Oh what are you talking to your friends about? Torturing me?" Shurimon asked.

"Just tell us how you got here and we won't have to make things ugly," bluffed Turuiemon. "But make things hard on yourself and they will. Now, I don't think you're the only Digimon here. I think there are a lot more Digimon around here than just you… so… tell me… how did you get here and why are you spying on the locals of this place?"

Shurimon again said nothing for several moments, but then his yellow eyes betrayed a smirk and he said, "You think I'm not alone? Well… why don't we clarify that with my buddies? GET THEM!" And suddenly Shurimon sprang up and his entire body shifted in and split apart into leaves which whirled away as if on a wind. Startled by this unusual tactic the others were a second or too slower in responding but before they could move more than a few inches there was a sudden shower of small shurikens from above that slashed down on the four of them and did _not_ come from Shurimon.

Latios shot in front of his sister and raised a Protect, to quickly screen them, the small metal stars bouncing off and clattering to the floor, while Turuiemon and Scyther swiftly separated and batted a few of them aside, rolling out of the way of as many of them as they could. One of them still managed to nick Turuiemon's arm regardless and another cut a line across Scyther's leg.

"What's happening?" yelled Latios, but they soon found out the answer by looking up for the source. The sky had suddenly filled with beings, holding onto large green sheets of cloth like parachutes and sailing down towards them. Small beings with a round head that was also their bodies and short arms and legs sticking out of either side, with a red hood over their upper heads that covered everything but their eyes, and each one with a short sword attached to their backs.

"Ninjamon," Turuiemon breathed. "And a lot of them."

"You can say that again," Scyther muttered, as the first ten or so of them folded their sheets and plummeted the rest of the way, some producing more shurikens from nowhere – others drawing their swords.

"Get them! Kill them all!" Shurimon cried from where he had reformed atop a nearby roof.

"**NINJA KNIFE THROWING!"** the foremost Ninjamon called, pulling a single enormous shuriken out of thin air and heaving over his head, hurling it down towards the group. They tensed, ready to deflect it, but they needn't have bothered, for moments later another figure dashed out of the darkness of the street behind them and sprang past them, revealing it to be Lucario with his Bone Rush staff already in hand and blazing with purpose. He rammed the shuriken head on with the Bone and turned it aside, slamming his fist into the startled Ninjamon's face as he dropped back down to the floor.

The other Ninjamon cried out in surprise and flung several smaller shuriken down but they all veered off course and flew straight into Aayla's hand, who landed behind Turuiemon and flung them back. Some of the Ninjamon blocked with other shuriken of their swords but two of them were not fast enough and were quickly deleted.

"More of them," the Shurimon cried. "All of you. Destroy them now." And he turned and bolted off into the night.

"Hey, get back here you!" yelled Scyther as Ninjamon were landing all around them.

"Aayla… what are you…?" Turuiemon blinked, having been unaware that Aayla was coming to join them.

"No time for that now," Aayla said. "That Shurimon seems to be an authority figure here. You four follow him. Lucario and I will take care of these guys."

"We'll see about that," a Ninjamon cried. **"IGA-STYLE SWORD DRAW!"** he shot forwards faster than the eye could track and sliced at Aayla's stomach with the blade in his hand. It was only after he came to a stop afterwards that he realised that Aayla's lightsaber had cut through his blade as she had activated it instinctively.

"Go!" Aayla cried. The others didn't need to be told twice and bounded away, flying or leaping over the building in the direction the Shurimon had taken and moving on after him.

Lucario readied his Bone Rush staff as Aayla pulled out her second lightsaber, the Ninjamon landing all around them until it seemed like there were close to forty of them.

"I have been looking forward to the day we could fight side by side," Lucario said to Aayla. "I had no idea it would be so soon."

"I don't suppose there is any way of resolving this peacefully, is there?" Aayla asked, knowing from everything she'd seen so far that she was clutching at straws. Moments later, loud screeching noises permeated the air as more shapes came leaping out of the darkness to land around the Ninjamon in the old car park. Humanoid creatures wearing red robes with long yellow sleeves and what appeared to be three faces set in pink flowers, one where its actual head was and the other two in place of hands.

"Does that answer your question?" Lucario asked. "What are these guys supposed to be?"

"Kabukimon," Aayla said, pulling up the information she had learned on Digimon in the last year. "Another Digimon that is good at sneaking about in shadows."

"Surrender to our might and you will only be taken prisoner," one of the Kabukimon cried.

"Yep, that does answer my question unfortunately," Aayla sighed. "These are _not_ just lost Digimon. This is an army. And an army that doesn't seem to be confused about where they are."

"I sense it too," Lucario nodded, as he and Aayla stepped back to back with one another, blades and staff held ready. "You take the tall ones and I'll take the little ones?"

"Sounds like a plan," Aayla said.

"A plan?" one of the Ninjamon laughed. "Give up. We have you surrounded."

"I may prefer more peaceful solutions to fighting," Aayla said, her eyes narrowing. "But I don't give up easily. Something tells me you guys have never met a Jedi before."

"Let's get 'em!" another Ninjamon cried and threw himself forwards, several others following their example. Aayla and Lucario exchanged a mental nod and they both shot apart, joining battle instantly.

Aayla blasted outwards with the Force, knocking four Ninjamon that were flying at her backwards to crash into the tarmac and forward-flipped onto a wall nearby. One of the Kabukimon screeched and somersaulted onto the wall in front of her, facing off against her and screaming, **"CHERRY BLOSSOM BLIZZARD!"** thrusting out its face-hands and unleashing a torrent of bright pink energy beams in the shape of leaves that swirled towards Aayla in a large vortex.

Aayla responded by backflipping and planting her feet against a lamppost pole to spring off it and sail over the top of the blast to slash down at the Kabukimon. While it was surprised by the attack it quickly rolled across the wall to avoid the slash and whirled around to try and lash Aayla across the face with its petal. Aayla's blue blade twirled up behind her and cut right through the Kabukimon's arm at the wrist, and was already in the middle of a follow-up twirling leap as the Kabukimon yelled, cleaving through its stomach and deleting it on the spot moments later.

"Why you…" cried another Kabukimon as the first ones two halves disintegrated into data particles. The new one squared up to her and began waving its head in wild circles, its long orange hair flailing around behind it as it shrieked. **"LION DANCE!"** and suddenly the eight large petals that made up the flower of its head split off, hardened into bladed spikes and shot straight towards Aayla in a random pattern.

Aayla spun around and brought her lightsabers to bear, spinning and twirling as she deflected and sliced several of this vicious blades in half, dodging about three of them so they hit the wall behind her instead. But as she did so, a second Kabukimon had snuck around behind said wall and suddenly sprang over it, dropping on Aayla from above.

Aayla sensed the presence and reacted right as several other Kabukimon charged towards her. Both blades came flying up and plunged into the Kabukimon's chest, arresting its fall until Aayla flung the disintegrating body off her and into another one just before it reached her, knocking them both rolling as the first still dissolved into nothing.

Another Kabukimon leapt in from the side and sweep-kicked at her but Aayla somersaulted over it and planted both blades through the tarmac floor, flipping her legs up and over to kick another in the face and send it crashing backwards even as the one that had attempted a kick waved its arm and sent another Cherry Blossom Blizzard at her.

This time the attack hit and the attack swept over the Twi'lek, pushing her backwards. However, since she already had her blades in the ground she was only pushed a short distance before she forced herself to a stop, the pink lights stinging at her and swarming around her like flies. The Kabukimon smirked, thinking its victory was assured, for it appeared to have her pinned down and it wouldn't be long before she succumbed to the effects of the attack.

Boy was he wrong.

For Aayla, even under the light of the attack, stretched out backwards until her arms were at full length and then used the lightsabers in the ground like picks, heaving against them and catapulting herself _through_ the Blossom Blizzard and drawing them out of the ground behind her as she did so. The Kabukimon squawked in alarm as Aayla twisted around and slashed through its stomach as she sailed straight past, rolling to a stop – a few purple welts on her blue skin but otherwise undamaged.

Another Kabukimon charged at her with lashing hands but Aayla responded by hauling her feet up and over to kick it in the stomach and knock it back, but only then saw the other Kabukimon coming in from behind her in a flying leap. The Kabukimon crashed into her stomach and they both went rolling, her lightsaber flying out of her hands to clatter nearby against the floor as Twi'lek and Digimon rolled over and over, eventually coming to a stop with the Digimon pinning Aayla to the floor by her upper arms.

"Say goodbye!" it cackled, whirling its head as the petals around it began to split off.

But it hadn't reckoned with the Force and Aayla was already summoning her lightsabers back into her hands, activating the blades and decapitating the Kabukimon with a flick of her wrists, the body splintering into particles before it could fall on her.

Another screeching Kabukimon sprang upwards and attempted to slam its fists, if you could call them fists, down on her from above, but Aayla kicked up her legs and flipped back onto her feet even as it hit the ground where her torso had been. But before Aayla could react further the Kabukimon sent another Cherry Blossom Blizzard right at her and this time Aayla was blown backwards fully. Though she didn't get very far because a second Kabukimon behind her had also unleashed the attack and the two intersected, both colliding with her and surrounding with her, holding her steady between the two.

"How do you like that?" one of them cackled as the energy leaves swirled.

"Not much," Aayla said as they seared at her and with a wrench of effort she flung her arms out to her sides and sent a blast of the Force out in each direction, telekinetically slamming the two of them off their feet to crash and slam head over heels across the car park.

As Aayla paused for breath another landed right in front of her only about ten yards away and yelled, "I've got you now! **LION DANCE!"** and it sent off its sharpened petals at her again, in a giant ring of blades that sought to pierce her body and not give her a chance to deflect them all in one go.

Aayla's eyes narrowed, and almost before she knew what she was doing she had sheathed her blades and dived through the air, pulling her arms and legs into her sides and, to the astonishment of the Kabukimon, she sailed straight through the middle of the circle of blades and sailed towards it, activating her blades at exactly the right moment to behead it.

"Five down," Aayla said to herself as the other Kabukimon gathered. "Five to go."

* * *

With Lucario, things were rather more chaotic, as he had many more opponents to face than Aayla did. At first the Ninjamon tried jumping at him en-masse, seeking to overwhelm him with sheer numbers and drag him down. However it soon became clear that wasn't going to work when the jackal-like Pokémon swept into their ranks with a Bone Rush attacking, ducking and dodging and weaving madly as he lashed out with his staff, knocking back swords and shurikens and bashing several of them between the eyes in the process.

After several of the Ninjamon had been knocked back and Lucario was still standing, two of them landed in front of him and tried a super-fast Iga-Style Sword Draw, sweeping past him so fast they didn't even leave blurs. And yet… somehow… they missed. Lucario had dodged aside through the use of Detect, the attacks missing him by less than the breadth of a hair, and in the process he somehow managed to disarm one of the Ninjamon and seized its sword in one paw.

Three more Ninjamon landed to try the same thing, but sprinted forwards in a Quick Attack to counter the sword of one and slice through another of the Ninjamon, spinning around to lob the blade at the retreating back of the others. Not looking to see which one it hit he flipped to the side to avoid two more lightning fast attack from the Digimon, re-formed the Bone Rush to slam another two aside and then spun around to jam his palm into the face of another, a blast of energy lancing out from the centre in a brightly-lit Force Palm that sent it flying, paralysed.

That was when several other Ninjamon managed to hit him with their fast attacks, slashing across the back of his legs with them and forcing him to buckle to his knees. They turned around, looking triumphant but Lucario was up almost instantly and slammed his Bone Rush staff down at them, forcing them to jump aside. If the Ninjamon thought that their attacks would make Lucario halt in pain they were mistaken. Lucario's ability was Inner Focus – he never flinched.

"You guys are fast," Lucario observed as the Ninjamon crowded around him.

"Get him!" the Ninjamon cried and about ten of them produced a huge Ninja Knife Throwing shuriken and lobbed them right at him. Lucario seemed to make no move and the ten huge weapons all crashed in around him, slamming into one another and in a huge pile of blades. The Ninjamon started to cheer their victory when suddenly one, then a second, and then a third, on and on until it reached about twenty, suddenly went flying through the air all in the place of about half a second.

Lucario pulled out of the ExtremeSpeed attack he had just used to avoid and attack at once. "I'm fast too," he said.

"How is he this good?" one Ninjamon cried.

"We can beat him," another yelled. "Come on! **DANCING LEAVES!"** He span around and generated a sudden tornado of leaves out of thin air that whooshed out and swept over Lucario, forcing him to brace himself against the force of them as the leaves battered against him. About seven other Ninjamon joined in, generating tornados at least as big and all of them gushing together, plastering Lucario with violent leaves.

"We've got him now," one of the others cried as they prepared to whoosh in with their swords when he weakened.

Lucario's eyes shot open even under the force of all their attacks and suddenly he thrust his arms out and roared, his body being surrounded by glowing blue rings that sprung out of nowhere. The Ninjamon watched in alarm as the rings formed into a multitude of sharp stones that circled around his body and with a clap of Lucario's paws the Stone Edge attack slammed out in all directions, slamming into many of the Ninjamon and sending them crashing backwards.

One Ninjamon who managed to dodged gasped, seeing Lucario still standing tall with a smirk on his face. "But how… how are you unaffected by our Dancing Leaves?"

_I'm a Steel type,_ Lucario smirked, using his aura telepathy to communicate with them. _Grass attacks like leaves don't have much of an effect on me. Plus I was boosting my special defence with Calm Mind for a moment there._

"Oh, is that so," smirked one of the Ninjamon, raising up its sword in readiness. "Well guess what? We've been doing so research into this world's inhabitants over our time here and I've learned enough to know that if you are a Steel type then you must be weak to fire."

Lucario's eyes narrowed as the sword seemed to catch ablaze as if by its own accord and the Ninjamon yelled, **"FIRE WALTZ SWORD**!" and began springing forwards in a frenzy of spinning slashes, the flaming sword curving through the air at the jackal-like opponent, almost as if the Ninjamon was dancing and whipping a flaming streamer around it. Lucario swiftly formed a Bone Rush and countered, the ground type attack repelling the flaming sword and pushing it back, but the other Ninjamon had got the idea and had leapt into the air around him, really coming for him en-masse now.

If it wasn't for a swift detect Lucario knew he would have been hit by the flaming swords and he still felt the sheer heat of them as he dodged at the last second, flipping over a sword aimed at his ankle and whirling around to face five Ninjamon soaring down towards him in rapid succession with flaming swords raised. Lucario slammed his bone staff into the ground and used it as a pole-vault, springing over the flying Ninjamon before they could hit him and coming to land sure-footedly on the top of a disused lamppost.

"Alright then," Lucario muttered, eyes narrowing. "If that's how it's going to be." And he sprang straight up into the air, sailing as high as he could in a single bound until he was right over the group of Ninjamon, who all looked up as he reached his peak. Bringing his paws together, Lucario formed a huge Aura Sphere and with a roar he flung it downwards towards the rest of the group. The Ninjamon contemptuously moved out of the way, several of them leaping up towards him at high speed, but before they could reach him Lucario flung a second, smaller Aura Sphere downwards right at the first, at higher speed.

Before the big Aura Sphere could hit the ground, the little Aura Sphere cannoned into it and the two of the fused and exploded, sending out a pulsing shockwave of Aura energy in all directions from the epicentre. Most of the Ninjamon were totally caught out by this and were flung away, wailing upwards and sideways, while those that were fortunate enough to get high enough to avoid the blast were quickly blocked by a combination of Bone Rush and Metal Claw.

Lucario landed in the middle of the destruction and immediately spun around as a Kabukimon flung itself at him. Moments later he dropped to the ground as Aayla span past him, her blades slicing over his ducked head and through the arms of the squealing Digimon, blasting it back with the Force. A pair of Ninjamon tried to run in and attack the Twi'lek but Lucario surged up and around, seizing their swords in his bare paws and wrenching them out of their grip, bashing them together as he did so.

The two of them turned and gave each other a nod, indicating their respect for their battling ability, before they both catapulted away again.

* * *

Shurimon was getting seriously ticked off. He was trying to lose his pursuers so that he could go and make his report but they were incredibly persistent and also incredibly agile. He was currently very hard pressed to hold them off, particularly the rabbit and the bug, as the two of them were in hottest pursuit, slashing at him as he ran off and following his every flip and twist through the alleys and over the roofs. His robes already had a couple of extra tears in them from close shaves with the pair of them.

Latios and Latias were hanging back a little more and trying to keep a look out for any additional incoming forces or locals, at Latios' insistence, who might see them during the chase. Latias was beginning to get a little exasperated. She appreciated that Latios wanted very badly to protect her, really she did, but he was just going so overboard with it that he was even hindering the current objective. They probably could have caught the Shurimon by now if Latios would just let her get a little more involved. She could do this, she was sure.

They were moving out to the northern outskirts of the city now, towards the Fuchsia Zoo, where there were quite a few Pokémon like Slowpoke and Chansey and other former residents of the old Safari Zone that had settled in for the night a while ago. As Latias watched the chase bound out of the buildings and into the park, she saw the Shurimon spring into the enclosure of one such Pokémon and spin around, hurling his giant shuriken back at Scyther and Turuiemon.

As the two of them dodged to the side, a roar came from behind the Shurimon, causing him to spin around in surprise and find himself face to face with a charging Kangaskhan, angry at having being disturbed and seeing this stranger as a threat to the baby peeking its head out of her pouch. Shurimon spun around to face her and, without a second thought, swung his two elongated arm shurikens out at her in a swift, brutal slash.

"NO!" Latias screamed and immediately plunged downwards almost faster than she'd ever gone before and slammed the stars aside with her high-paced Steel Wing attack. The Kangaskhan stopped in bewilderment as Latias swung in front of her protectively and blasted Shurimon back with a Psychic strike. Shurimon dug his feet shuriken into the ground to arrest his progress but he still crashed onto his back and cut huge grooves in the turf as he skidded to the side of the enclosure.

_You're not going to go harming any innocent Pokémon on my watch, buddy,_ Latias said, in an uncharacteristic display of aggression as Turuiemon and Scyther took up stock around either side of the enemy while he scrambled back upright.

"You are getting supremely annoying," the Shurimon reported to all four of them. He looked up and added, with a smirk in his voice. "But it looks like I am soon to have some extra aid. Stop them, if you can." And he back-flipped over the enclosure wall and took off again, right as a high-flying flapping noise registered in Latias' ears she turned to look up and gasped.

At first she thought the rapidly flapping shape flying towards them were a swarm of Crobats, but then she realised that these were not Crobats, nor were they any lower member of their evolution line. They were definitely bats though; blue-furred bats with a single pair of red wings, large ears, white faces with large jaws and four limbs and a tail each with a metallic sickle at the tip, as well as another pair of sickles on the joints on their wings.

"What are those?" Latios asked in alarm.

"Pipismon," Turuiemon's eye widened. "Oh, that's not good. There must be at least fifty of them and they are strongest at night."

"And they definitely don't look friendly," added Scyther.

Latias' eyes narrowed. "You two keep going after that Shuri-guy. Big brother and I will take care of things here. Quick before he gets away!"

"Latias, wait…!" Latios protested.

"But will you be…?" Turuiemon started.

"Go!" Latias said. "We can do it!"

Scyther needed no further encouragement and shot off after Shurimon once more. Turuimeon looked momentarily torn but quickly followed on. "Look after yourselves!" she called over her shoulder as she did so.

"What's going on?" the Kangaskhan asked.

"Take cover," Latias told her immediately. "We'll handle this. Latios, no arguments this time! We have to protect the inhabitants of this place – they can't go anywhere and those guys don't look like they want to start handing out flowers. We have to fight them. Before they continue after the others."

Latios' heart was in his mouth. "But Latias… you've never…"

"Yes, I know I've never been in a battle," Latias said. "But come on. We're Legendary Pokémon. This is the kind of thing the others do! It's about time we started as well. And this time," she added, with a cheeky grin. "I'm not listening to you!"

"You never listen to me anyway!" Latios cried as Latias whooshed upwards towards the swarm. "Latias!"

But Latias was off, her eyes narrowing as she aimed her body at the front of the swarm, which were swooping down to give chase on the pursuers of their Shurimon leader. It was about time she tried to see what she could do about this kind of thing. Not that she wasn't scared – actually she was quite terrified that she'd screw something up. But she had to at least try, didn't she?

And while she'd never been in a proper fight before, she had taken the liberty of learning a few attacks alongside some of Felkan's Pokémon when they had been training over the years on Mount Silver, so she did have quite an arsenal. She'd just never had to use it before.

She announced her presence with a Dragonbreath, launching a beam of purplish air from her mouth that enveloped the front three Pipismon and bowled them backwards – one of them seizing up as the attack paralyzed him and sending him spiralling to the ground.

The rest of the Pipismon drew to flapping halts, myriads of faces turning around and hissing at her as she streamed out to the front, physically blocking their path and levitating there, heart hammering in her chest but ready as she would ever be for her first ever battle.

A beat of silence.

Then several Pipismon shrieked and skewed down towards her, raising their blades and gnashing their teeth. Latias waited until they were almost on top of her and then immediately hit them with a Thunder Wave attack, blue bolts lancing out of her body and striking each one dead one, with similar results to the one who had been paralysed by her previous attack – the Pipismon seized up in mid-air and dropped straight out of the sky. The remaining Pipismon looked on, wailed in anger at the sight of their fallen comrades and suddenly the entire flock was swooping in on Latias.

Latias span around and shot away, luring the Pipismon higher into the sky and trying to draw their attention away from the Pokémon on the ground. It worked and the shrieking hordes of Pipismon followed her up as Latias arced over and began to skew back towards them, her wings shining a bright white as she went in for another Steel Wing attack. She struck three off the Pipismon full on and plunged through the middle of several others and suddenly she found herself inside the swarm of angry bats, which closed in around her on all sides.

This was perhaps not the best way to start such a big battle so Latias twisted around, the top of her head glowing blue with a Zen Headbutt as she rammed another Pipismon in the face with it, her wings and tail ploughing a course through the swarm as the bat numbers condensed behind her in hot pursuit. She cleared most of the swarm and span tightly to throw the Pipismon scabbling against her steel wings flying away, spinning around to hurl another Dragonbreath into the swarm. Some of them split off and separated away but many of them in the direct line of the attack were struck and blown backwards further.

The rest of the Pipismon swarm split off and began to come at her from two flanks but Latias shot up and away, easily keeping ahead of them thanks to her much more impressive speed. She swept up and over, dodging a couple of Digimon that tried to grab onto her and flipped in a complete loop da loop around a couple of others before they could register what had happened. Others slammed in from either side of her but she barrel-rolled through them and caused a couple of mid-air collision between them before winging her way up again, pursued by the mob behind her.

She climbed higher into the sky and eventually upended herself, opening her jaws wide as the Pipismon surged up after her, eager for a kill. She felt the coldness gathering inside her mouth and with a jerk of her head she unleashed a large Ice Beam from within. The Pipismon screeched as several of them were covered in a layer of ice and were blasted back by the powerful energy, a couple of them bursting into data at the forefront of the powerful assault that Latias swept across their ranks.

When she spotted that particular detail, Latias froze up herself… faltering in horror as she stared at the particles of data that floated up towards the sky. Oh Arceus no… she had just… she had just killed another living creature. For the first time ever she had actually killed something else.

Her falter proved to be the advantage that the Pipismon wanted and several of them swooped up, screeching, closing in from the sides and lashing out with their many, many sickle claws. Latias gasped and tried to dodge but one of them latched onto her wings and pulled her backwards, allowing another to grab hold, then another, then another.

Latias rolled and twisted and bucked in the air, able to keep herself aloft easily thanks to the fact she was keeping herself up with Psychic powers but the Pipismon gained a firm grip on her and refused to budge. Latias cried out as she felt their sharp sickles cutting and puncturing her body, and she saw one Pipismon raising its claw out the corner of her eye, ready to bring it down through the back of her head.

It was at this point that a sudden wave of multi-coloured energy washed over Latias and all the Pipismon attached to her and flung all the latter away, leaving Latias relatively unharmed. She smiled gratefully at her brother who levitated up beside her, a grim expression on his face.

"I still don't like this," he said. "But very well. You're right – we have to do what we can. But it we have to kill them then don't hesitate. This isn't a simple Pokémon tournament battle. But we watch each other's backs."

"Like we always have?" Latias grinned as Latios gently hit her with a Heal Pulse to close some of her scratches.

"Like we always have," Latios nodded with a slight smirk. "But if you die, I will kill you."

"That is my line," Latias snickered. "Separate!"

The two of them did just that as the Pipismon swarmed around them, both arcing up and around and dodging bat after bat, their streamlined bodies practically tearing through the air as they moved back towards each other at a higher altitude. Several bats swung towards Latios and tried to slash at him but were immediately surrounded by blue energy and Psychiced backwards to slam into several others and send them all tumbling down. A few more winged around towards Latias and she raised her hands, generating a Water Pulse and tossing it at them, dousing them with the watery orb and flinging them away.

"Come on, brother!" Latias yelled, "Let's fry 'em!"

"Right!" Latios nodded, sweeping around to face the incoming horde, Latias activating Helping Hand right before he unleashed a potent Thunderbolt, the attack doubled in intensity as it left him and crackling across the sky, ripping through the air like giant electrical blades as they slammed over the Pipismon ranks. Loud squeals erupted from their jaws as electricity jumped from body to body rupturing them into data where they flapped and practically turning the sky around them yellow.

When the attack finally relented, over a third of the Pipismon had been wiped out. The others flapped there, shocked, for several moments. They had thought that these two relatively goofy looking things would be easy to deal with, but they had just lost so many in their number with a single attack.

"Tear them to pieces. Pulverise them!" one of them screamed. The rest of them snarled and this time things were getting serious. Several of them charged upwards and yelled,** "CRAZY SONIC!"** blasting sound wave attacks from their mouth directly at the Eon duo, who quickly shot away to bypass the attacks and swept down towards them.

From that point on it became something of a brawl in the air between the two sides. Latios rolled over a Crazy Sonic and tackled two Pipismon aside with his own Steel Wing and span around to club another in the face with the same attack. A swarm of others lashed towards him from the front, pulsing more Crazy Sonics at him, the attacks washing over him in a group. Latios gasped as he felt his senses going numb and he was pulsed backwards, but he swiftly gathered himself before the attack could have too much effect and let rip with a massive Psychic blast that shot outwards like an invisible wall to club about fifteen of the Pipismon anyway.

Shaking himself briefly he shot on, swinging around another group of Pipismon and spinning past another, launching a smaller Thunderbolt out of his body that blasted another three and shooting forwards like a cannon ball to crash a Zen Headbutt into another, knocking it into another and another like crochet balls and sending them flying. He turned to see another swarm coming in towards him from all directions, comprising of about twenty or so and his small fists clenched as they tucked their limbs in and threw themselves into a mad buzz-saw like somersault, using their other main attack called the Sky Jacker to slice through the air towards him.

Latios took off whirling and spinning and curving around in unbelievably tight circles around the Pipismon, which lanced in from every direction at seemingly every angle in quick succession, but Latios was executing impossible turns to avoid them all, dodging from side to side, up and down, round and round and never pausing for an instant. He was using Dragon Dance, the move that raised a Pokémon's speed and attack strength through their swift movements, while avoiding being hit at the same time. He got faster and faster as he rolled and weaved and then suddenly shot upwards too fast for the eye to follow and hurled a Dragon Pulse down at the grouped Pipismon, obliterating several of them and flinging the others in all directions.

Latias was similarly twisting around yet more Pipismon, turning side-on to avoid a pair of them as they scythed past her with their Sky Jacker attacks and turning sharply downwards as three more launched their Crazy Sonics at her. She found herself face to face with two more that slashed at her with their claws but she turned almost ninety-degrees with impossible precision and without even pausing to move out of their way, flipping onto her back and throwing an Ice Beam at them over her stomach, coating their wings in the stuff and causing them to plummet groundwards.

She flipped back over onto her front and swung upwards to where Latios was swooping across the sky, hitting a couple of others with a Steel Wing as she shot upwards. One of them managed to slash a line across her front, eliciting a gasp of pain, but she quickly threw him away and used Recover to heal most of the damage. Latios turned to fly towards her, zipping up and gathering green energy in his mouth, launching an Energy Ball over Latias' head to hit the Pipismon closing in behind her.

"You know this isn't so hard," Latias said with a slight grin. "I thought it would be more difficult than this."

"Don't get cocky," Latios chided her, whooshing around her and Zen Headbutting two more Pipismon out the way. "Though it does seem we have the advantage here. They don't seem to be particularly strong individually and are not as aerodynamic as us. Things would be much harder if they were."

"True," Latias nodded.

"They're insulting us!" screamed a Pipismon from directly above, and both the duo looked up to see about ten more dropping down at them like stones face-first. Half of the unleashed another Crazy Sonic, blasting the soundwaves over both the dragons and once again Latios began to feel the pounding and disorientation as his senses began to shut down and Latias was feeling the same, both of them yelling as they clasped their hands over their heads, having to bend their necks to do so. Meanwhile the other half of the Pipismon had whipped themselves into the Sky Jacker attacks and scythed down towards them.

"No you… don't!" Latios growled and suddenly raised a Protect around the both of them, causing the Pipismon to bounce off the shield and go flailing away.

"Ugh, that's nasty," Latias said, shaking her head, as the Protect also repelled the Crazy Sonics and the effects began to wear off.

Latios nodded. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," muttered Latias. "I'm fine."

Latios nodded. "Well, let's go get some more of them."

"I hear ya," Latias said, and Latios lowered the barrier and they both shot away again to throw a pair of Dragonbreaths up at the overhead Pipismon, forcing them to scatter but still taking out four of them in the process.

* * *

Shurimon had been sure that he would have been able to get away this time, and then he had finally lost the stupid locals and their Digimon companion who had been chasing him. He had been heading for the forest, anxious to make his discovery of another Digimon known, but it had not been long before suddenly the Bug was back in front of him and slashed at him again, and the bunny was not far behind.

Cursing angrily, he had moved on, running towards the trees and skidding over and around walls and fences as he did so, with the both of them in hard pursuit. He was having to pull out every trick in the book that he knew now just in order to keep ahead of the very, VERY determined duo.

They were now on the very outskirts of Fuchsia City, on the wide strip of field that separated the human settlement from the trees and here, there was nowhere to duck and cover to. Shurimon had to duck under the counter strike that Turuiemon aimed for him and backflip over a double sweep from Scyther, only for the bug to spin around and kick him in the back while he was still upside-down. Turuiemon took advantage of this and leapt upwards, slashing out with her switchblade and neatly slicing through the Shurimon's extendable arm at where the bicep would be on a creature that _had_ a bicep.

Shurimon howled as his arm peeled away and he crashed onto his back, trying to push himself backwards and into the trees even now in order to get out of reach as Turuiemon and Scyther stepped towards him, glaring down at him.

"Don't you think that's enough running for one night?" Turuiemon asked. "Just answer my questions now, would you? How did you get into the Pokémon World. And more importantly, how did all your buddies get here? There is no way that a group of Ninjamon, Kabukimon and Pipismon in numbers that large, as well as you, could all turn up in a location like this by chance. Every one of those Digimon is skilled at lurking in the shadows and going unseen and the reports of the mysterious shadows have been going for two months. I can put two and two together."

Shurimon glared and then continued trying to back away, only to find Scyther's foot pressed against his chest, the other foot against his remaining hand shuriken and pinning it to the ground as his scythe hovered over his face.

"Just… tell… her…" Scyther growled, knowing that he would not understand what he was saying but assuming that he got the message that he was trying to get across.

Shurimon growled, unsure what to do next but bringing up his leg shurikens, ready to strike. But, just as Turuiemon noticed this and was about to pin them down too, something exploded out of the shrubbery of the nearby forest… followed by another something mere moments later, and both of them lunged straight for Scyther and Turuiemon respectively.

Lightning-fast reactions saved them both as they backflipped or sprang into the air and whirled away, skidding to a halt side by side as the two figures slammed into the ground where they had been before and squared off against them. Scyther's eyes narrowed slightly as he beheld their new opponents and he said, "Okay… I think it's safe to say my life has gotten crazy since I met you guys, Turuiemon. What is with all these different Digimon appearing?"

"I would quite like to know that myself," Turuiemon said grimly.

"Poor, poor Shurimon," snickered the first figure, who was facing Scyther. "Getting got by a native and his sympathetic friend. That ain't going to look good for your image, is it?"

"Shut up," Shurimon muttered sullenly, crawling backwards towards the trees slowly.

"So… who are these guys?" Scyther asked. He nodded at the one who had spoken and said, "That thing first."

"That's a Yasyamon," Turuiemon replied, glowered at the tall pale-blue skinned humanoid with the grey trousers, vines wrapped around his upper torso, white-face mask with nothing but holes for the eyes and red horns jutting out above them and wooden swords and shielded gauntlets over either hand. "And the other one," she nodded at the tall green-skinned lizard man with blades on his wrists, a cleaver in one hand and a much larger sword strapped to his back, "Is a Dinohyumon."

"Are they good at sneaking around too?" asked Scyther.

"No, they're better at combat than that but it's still obvious that the two know Shurimon. They are not here by accident either."

"Enough talk!" Dinohyumon yelled, in a deep growl-edged, brutish voice. "Fight! Now!"

"I couldn't agree more," Yasyamon hissed with a chuckle, readying his wooden swords. "We'll clean up your mess for you Shurimon, shall we?"

"Do what you want," Shurimon muttered from behind them.

"You take the lizard," Scyther suggested. "I'll handle the freaky puppet guy."

Turuiemon nodded, wishing that she was Antylamon right now but knowing she could be out of range of Suzie's D-Arc by this point anyway. "Sounds like a plan," she said. "But stay sharp, okay?"

"I don't really have much of a choice with that," Scyther remarked, raising his bladed arms and smirking.

"Oh shut up," Turuiemon chuckled.

"FIGHT!" Dinohyumon yelled and charge Turuiemon, while Yasyamon jumped into the air and brought his wooden swords crashing down towards Scyther. The Bug type moved first, kicking off from the ground to swoop beneath the falling Digimon and spin around to slash at his back, only for Yasyamon to also spin around and block the attack, while Turuiemon leapt up and planted a kick right in Dinohyumon's face and flipped back to ready her switchblades and thus battle was once again joined.

Scyther and Yasyamon briefly pushed against each other, testing each other's strength. Yasyamon was about twice as tall as Scyther and Scyther was blurring his wings to keep pushing whereas Yasyamon dug his toes into the ground, both glaring at each other.

"Well," Yasyamon smirked. "While most of the locals around here aren't even worth my time, you might be able to provide me with an entertaining battle. Shall we see how good your swordsmonship is compared to mine?"

"I'm not planning on only using my swords," Scyther muttered.

"Speak my language!" Yasyamon growled.

"Make me," Scyther grinned, his wings suddenly blurring even harder and glowing red, generating red soundwaves that washed harmlessly over Scyther but struck Yasyamon full on and caught him by surprise, not having expected an attack from this angle. The Bug Buzz attack pushed him backwards and broke the lock between the two's blades and as Yasyamon stumbled Scyther swept upwards and slashed his sickles, generating blades of air that lanced out towards the larger Digimon – an Air Slash.

Yasyamon quickly recovered and cartwheeled over the attack, the blade of air slicing harmlessly into the ground behind him as he landed on his feet in a crouch, swords splayed to either side of him as he glared at his opponent.

"So, it's going to be like that?" he hissed. "Well, two can play at that game, I think you'll find. **BISECTING STROKE!"** He slammed his blades together in a cross and slashed outwards, generating a very similar looking attack, except this was more like a shockwave in the form of an X that lanced out towards Scyther.

Scyther growled and immediately swept backwards, his wings carrying him away as the attack surged towards him, crossing his own blades, which glowed a bright white. Slashing them outwards he threw a Razor Wind at the incoming strike, multiple crescent shaped beams of white energy slicing through the air and crashing into the shockwave X, rupturing it and sending the shockwave out in all directions, while a few others powered on through it and slashed for Yasyamon again. The Digimon dived forwards to avoid the attack and landed on its hands, flipping back onto his feet with ease.

"Impressive," he said, raising a brow. "Perhaps you are even more of a worthy opponent than I thought."

"Worthiness has nothing to do with this fight," Scyther growled to himself, his scythes losing their white glow and his wings beginning to glow in their place. "You're here to threaten my world and my friends and as a warrior, I cannot let that slide."

"Whatever fine speech you just gave I missed it, I'm afraid," Yasyamon shook his head. "Now… come and get me."

Scyther needed no further encouragement and blurred forwards into the strike, flipping onto his sides and aiming his rapidly flapping Steel Wings at Yasyamon's face. Yasyamon bent over backwards to avoid the blow and Scyther spun around to Slash at him, though like before Yasyamon whirled about and countered the blow, slashing in from the side with his other sword in the process. Scyther rolled sideways in the to duck beneath the sword and slashed in from below, only to be met by another wooden blade in the process.

The two began furiously trading attacks with one another as close quarters, neither side giving an inch as their blades whirled and glinted and flashed in the light of the moon. Yasyamon slashed twice at Scyther's neck but the Bug brought up either scythe to parry and dropped underneath the leaping spin-kick that Yasyamon tried next, twisting beneath Yasyamon and striking from below before he came down, though the Digimon brought his swords down and blocked the attack anyway.

As he rolled back down, Yasyamon spun around to slash upwards with both swords though Scyther vaulted backwards and they passed by him, whooshing down to strike at Yasyamon's stomach. One blade came down to catch the blow and another crashed towards his head, but Scyther blocked and span a sudden three-sixty turn to slash into Yasyamon's upper arm, drawing the first wound from either of them. Yasyamon gasped and growled, spinning around to try another Bisecting Stroke at point-blank range.

BANG!

Scyther blurred and was suddenly not there right as the attack was launched. Yasyamon blinked and whirled around but only saw a flash of green behind him, so he whirled around again, only for the same flash of green to whiz by him again from a different direction. Scyther was using Agility to increase his speed and now even a honed warrior practised at this kind of thing was struggling to keep up with him.

A split second warning caused Yasyamon to bring up his swords and counter as Scyther shot in from the side and bring both swords slashing in for the blow. A millisecond slower and Yasyamon would have been sliced right in the chest by that attack and as it was Scyther's blades almost cut straight through one of his two wooden swords with the sheer force of the strike and pushed him backwards, leaving grooves in the ground with his heels in the process.

"You…" Yasyamon growled but then smirked beneath his mask as he realised Scyther was locked with his blades and he quickly attempted another Bisecting Stroke right there, firing off the shockwaves right into Scyther's chest and slammed clean through the Bug Pokémon…

…which vanished.

"Huh?" Yasyamon blinked, unsure what had just happened. But a snickering from behind him caused him to look around and he found himself face to face with twenty Scythers, all grinning at him. A quick Double Team had allowed the real Scyther to make his getaway before the attack was even launched.

"Clever," Yasyamon noted and sprang forwards with a wild slashing motion and cleaved through another of the fake Scythers, leaping up to slam a foot down on another and slash his swords out to the sides to bisect two more. The Scyther clones started flitting around, hacking at him and going straight through him and Yasyamon continued his wild, spinning frenzy, slashing through Scyther after Scyther and growling as the real one continued to elude him.

"Where are you!?" he roared, slashing through another one and knocking out yet another with a spinning kick. "Show yourself!"

"Okay," the real Scyther grinned and suddenly all the remaining copies vanished. Yasyamon span on the spot, seeking out the real one, one of his swords only hanging by a thin strip of wood now, and his eyes widened as he saw Scyther streaking towards him from where he had been standing by the trees, his body surrounded a golden orb with golden streaks originating from the top of his lowered head.

Yasyamon only had time to raise one arm and present one backhand shield to take the hit before Scyther crashed the Skull Bash, a move that took a few moments to prepare hence why he'd hung back, into it. Such was the force of the move that the shield was blasted into splinters on the spot and Yasyamon was flung backwards, rolling several times before he landed sprawled on his back, his weakened sword snapped in half. And Scyther was already bearing down on him with a raised glowing white scythe. Yasyamon desperately threw up a sword to block but the Brick Break slammed straight through it and crashed into the top of Yasyamon's head, cracking his face-mask.

Yasyamon howled in pain, but Scyther cut him off with a stab to the chest, fracturing him into data particles instantaneously.

"You messed with the wrong mantis," he declared, alighting on the ground nearby and turning his gaze towards the trees nearby, where Shurimon was still there. The ninja Digimon had assumed that his two comrades would be able to easily finish off the opposition and had stayed to watch them meeting their end and he was shocked beyond belief that a Pokémon had actually managed to single-handedly take on and defeat a Digimon. He'd always thought that these local Pokémon were laughably weak. But Scyther had just proven him wrong.

He immediately tried to scarper into the woods but Scyther shot after him instantly, catching up to the wounded Digimon with the aid of Agility and overtaking him, slashing him right across the front with a False Swipe. Shurimon yowled as he was thrown backwards and crashed onto his back, weakened down but not dead. It was physically impossible for a False Swipe to kill or even knock out an opponent no matter how any times it was used on a weakened adversary.

"You're not going anywhere," Scyther stated with a growl. Then he looked up to see how Turuiemon was doing against her opponent.

As it turned out – pretty well.

Turuiemon sprang over another furious swipe from the Dinohyumon's knife and backflipped over the return swing, springing up into the air and flipping over the shoulders of the significantly taller Digimon to land behind him and spin around to slash him in the back of his leg. Dinohyumon howled but spun around with a snarl, pulling the much larger sword off his back and slamming it down towards her with a yell of, **"AKINAKES!"**

Turuiemon flung herself into a backwards roll and went head over tail for several metres, the sword slamming hard into the ground in front of her as she rolled firmly back onto her feet, diving forwards and running _up_ the blade of the sword to leap into a spinning kick to the Dinohyumon's face, swinging her hand around to add an additional slash to his cheek as he reared backwards with a roar of pain.

"You obviously have strength," Turuiemon said as she landed smoothly on the ground. "But you have absolutely no technique or battling skill. All you're doing is swinging your blades at me and hoping for the best.

"Me kill you!" Dinohyumon yelled madly, charging forwards and slashing in his giant sword from the side. Turuiemon easily jumped over it and landed _on the flat_ of the large blade, grabbing the hilt to steady herself as she was swung away with the stroke but otherwise staying upright. Dinohyumon spun around, thinking she'd gone past him again and blinked when he didn't see her standing there.

"Where you go?" he asked, looking around.

"Right here," Turuiemon said from where she was right next to him, gripping his sword. Dinohyumon's head lashed around and he snarled, immediately heaving his sword up into the air, to try and swing her off, which was exactly what Turuiemon had been counting on. She sprang into the air, combining the power of Dinohyumon's swing with her own jumping ability and rocketed straight up, moving so high into the air that she disappeared from sight to those on the ground in the darkness of the night.

With a grimace on her face she twisted herself around, tucking her legs in and rolling over as she reached her peak, beginning to fall head-first straight back down again, spreading her arms out in an attempt to steer herself as best she could with no purchase on anything but air. She plunged straight down towards Dinohyumon, aiming her body at him like an arrow from a bow.

Dinohyumon grinned, thinking he had her helpless now with such a long fall and lifted both swords upwards, holding the ready to swing at the falling bunny the moment she got within range. Turuiemon saw this action and moved her arms up in front of her, readying her switchblades and, as she got closer, lashing out with them to send a Gauntlet Claw flying ahead of her. The blade of white light seared down and slashed across Dinohyumon's wrist, on the hand that was holding the bigger sword.

Dinohyumon howled and dropped the sword from his nerveless grip, his other hand seizing his wounded wrist and dropping the rest of his stance entirely. Unprotected, he was easy prey to Turuiemon as she shot the rest of the way down and lashed down with both her switchblades, ramming them point-first into Dinohyumon's exposed chest, slamming him backwards and pinning him to the ground for the split second before his data fractured and dispersed upwards, leaving Turuiemon crouched on the ground where he had been.

Scyther chuckled as Shurimon stared in shock. "Looks like I was right to become your ally rather than your enemy," he said.

"I could say the same to you," nodded Turuiemon with a chuckle and then stepped closer. Shurimon shuffled backwards, his energy spent, unable to muster enough strength to even split into leaves and try and escape again, pressing his back up against the trunk of a tree as the Pokémon and Digimon stepped up on either side of him.

"Now," Turuiemon folded her arms. "Are you going to tell us what we want to know or not?"

* * *

Not far away, the other battles were similarly drawing to a close. There were, by this point, only two Kabukimon left facing off against Aayla and the Twi'lek was still more or less unscathed except for a few welts from their previous Blossom Blizzards.

"She's… she's a monster!" one of them muttered.

"We can't beat her," the other one agreed.

Aayla lowered her blades slightly and said, "Does that mean that you would be willing to surrender now?"

Before the Kabukimon answered, a couple of Ninjamon that had broken off from the main fight behind her suddenly charged her with their swords drawn and slashed at her from behind. Aayla, without even looking, twirled her blades backwards and cleaved straight through the both of them, then spun around the grab kick another right between the eyes as it appeared out of nowhere in an attempt to slash at her back.

The Kabukimon pounced, trying to act while her back was turned and flung another set of Lion's Dance petal blades at her, but Aayla spun around and raised a hand, halting them in the air with the Force and the pulsing them straight back, pinning them both to the wall by their clothes. The Twi'lek then cast an eye back towards Lucario.

Quite some time ago, the Ninjamon had got the message that this guy was better at combat than they were, and had resorted to their other technique – the Shadow Clone. Each one of the remaining Ninjamon had created ten illusionary copies of themselves and the Ninjamon had charged towards Lucario in an attempt to catch him as he defended against things he didn't need to defend against.

But this was no different than the average Pokémon's Double Team. And Double Team could not fool a Lucario. Delving into his aura senses he could easily detect which of the Ninjamon were real and which weren't and now he was springing and leaping about in a whirling frenzy of Bone Rush and Metal Claw, totally ignoring all the fakes that were jumping at him and slamming his weapons only into the real ones. All with his eyes totally shut.

The remaining Ninjamon were sent flying in every direction, their copies fading away as soon as the real one was hit and they collapsed against walls and rolled across the ground, some of them bouncing like rubber balls. Not one of them could stand up to Lucario, who seemed to fight even better with his eyes tight shut than he did when they were open.

_Surrender,_ Lucario instructed with his mind. _This endeavour against us is futile._

"How can he… fight like that… without seeing anything?" coughed one of the Ninjamon, of which there were about twelve or so left.

"He's too strong," another gasped. "They both are."

"Please tell us what we want to know," Aayla said. "How did you get into this world? There has been enough death this night."

"We would prefer to take no more lives," Lucario agreed.

The Ninjamon and Kabukimon that remained all glanced around at one another for a moment.

"Then don't," one of the Kabukimon said, seizing one of the spikes the held it and wrenching it free. All of the Ninjamon produced another shuriken and the two of them tensed, expecting another battle. But then, to their shock and horror, each one of the Digimon suddenly plunged their weapons into their own bodies and burst into data on the spot.

"NO!" Aayla cried, watching helplessly as the data around them floated away into the air, once living creatures that had just taken their own lives for seemingly no reason at all. "Why? Why would they do something like that? We would not have killed them if they had come quietly."

Lucario grimaced and his bone staff disappeared. "Perhaps they felt that ending themselves would be the more honourable thing to do," he muttered. "But somehow I doubt it."

Aayla nodded, her own grimace setting in. "This was not a group of lost Digimon. They were here for a reason. They attacked us for a purpose. There is a greater force at work in this world than we assumed before. And why would a small force of attacking Digimon rather kill themselves after they had failed?"

"Perhaps because they were afraid of the other possible consequences of their failure," Lucario said grimly. "From something other than us."

"Indeed," Aayla nodded. "And that… that greatly worries me."

* * *

Across the city, the story was the same. The remaining Pipismon were vastly outgunned by the two Legendaries. Even though this was their first fight, they were not referred to as Legendary Pokémon just because they were so rare. They were children of Arceus and it showed now, as the two of them fired another Dragon Pulse together which deleted five more Pipismon between them, leaving just eight other still airborne.

The Pipismon knew full well by this point that they were going to lose. Any damage that they managed to inflict was healed by either the other or by the injured one in question. It seemed that there was nothing they could possibly do against either of them. So… their sickled tails flashed upwards and Latias screamed in horror when she saw what they had done and watched as their data floated aimlessly away.

* * *

And at the base of the tree, Shurimon raised one of his shurikens. Turuiemon raised a blade warningly, thinking that he was about to try one last ditch attempt at attacking them, but the Digimon quickly put paid to that idea as he slashed downwards instead, breaking into particles and dispersing to the wind, leaving behind a shocked rabbit and bug.

"What did he do that for?" Scyther breathed.

"I don't know…" Turuiemon said. "But I have a feeling that I really, really won't like the answer."

* * *

It took about another ten minutes after that before the three pairs managed to completely regroup, each one sharing the story with the other that when it looked like their victory was assured each other their remaining opponents had destroyed themselves on the spot. None of them had gotten the answers they wanted out of the Digimon, but all of them agreed that this was no coincidence. They had all come to the same conclusion when they realised they had lost. They had been scared of something.

But what?

As they turned and headed back towards the Pokémon centre, keeping to shadows to avoid beings seen, they were all unaware of the single dark silhouette that blended in immaculately with the blackness of the night, standing on top of a building nearby. Red eyes rolled downwards to focus on them, and narrowed at the sight of Turuiemon.

"Interesting," the silhouette mused to itself in its deep voice, identifying it as the same silhouette that had attacked Janine last night. "A Digimon in this world working with the locals against our troops. And working with a group of opponents tough enough to actually triumph. This… merits further investigation."

* * *

Well, wasn't that an action-packed chapter huh? We finally got to see some more action from a couple of the other prominent Pokémon characters and at last even Latios and Latias could actually be useful for something – they are Legendaries so they would have had to play a big role eventually. I hope you liked it and that it has you wanting to find out more because there is certainly a LOT more to come. Hehehe. TTFN!

* * *

Next time…

More wary than ever, the group proceed up north in the direction of the Power Plant, flying out towards Vermilion City. But when they reach the place they can't resist stopping off and giving it a brief once-over to check for any other Digimon activity. What they do find… is not what they expected.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 23 : The Legendary Stalker**


	23. The Legendary Stalker

Hey everybody. I would say sorry for the delay to this chapter, but I won't, because it would be pointless. Because I am now forcing myself back into the schedule that I had beforehand of writing at least one chapter every two days unless something gets in the way, so hopefully I will manage to get fourteen chapters out next month, a great increase compared to the mere five that I managed to get out between both stories for this month.

Anyway, this chapter doesn't have any action and it mostly filled with dialogue and explanations and a few other activities but I hope that you enjoy it anyway. It'll set the stage for the chapters to come I can assure you of that.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 23:- The Legendary Stalker**

* * *

The only real transition between night and the morning on Coruscant was the change in amount of light and presence of the Sun. Everything usually remained as bustling and busy as normal no matter what time of day it was, and that included all hours of the night. How a lot of people got all the sleep they required in some places was a complete mystery what with the amount of noise that went on even during the middle of the night.

But now, Anakin Skywalker opened his eyes shortly after the sun peered through the various slots in the shades over the window. He wrinkled his nose slightly and rolled over, to be greeted with the sleeping face of his beloved wife. Anakin smiled. He and most of the other members of his team had decided to spend the night at Senator Padmé Amidala's place. During the Clone Wars he had had minimal time in her company, so it was nice to spend as much time as he could there now.

She looked so peaceful and calm when she was asleep. But she also looked peaceful and calm a lot of the time when she was awake, unless there was some kind of stressful Senate Bill going on or something like that. It was one of the reasons that he loved her so much, as well as her caring personality, her beauty, her accepting and generous nature and her fortitude even in tough situations.

That description was valid to a lot of people that Anakin knew, but Padmé had been the one he had fallen for even when he was a little kid. He was lucky to have her in his life. He could just lie there forever under her sheets and stare into her face – it was if it had been sculpted out of marble with the most fine-tuned of lasers to create an image of splendour.

But unfortunately he had other things to do today, and he was reminded of this fact when there was a light tapping at his door.

_It's first light, Master,_ Ahsoka's voice rang in his head, and Anakin knew it was she who was one the other side of said door. _We should get going. The Council is depending on us to find out what's happening out there in Wild Space._

_I'll be out in a second,_ Anakin promised and felt Ahsoka's presence departing. He then turned to Padmé and place a gentle hand – his real one – on her shoulder. His touch was enough to make her stir and her eyes opened a little.

"Hey," she mumbled sleepily.

"Hey," Anakin smiled. "Listen, I'm sorry I have to leave so early, but I'm afraid that its morning and I have that mission which I told you about last night to get to. Everyone will probably be waiting for us already."

"Of course," Padmé nodded with a smile of her own. "I understand." Her eyes opened wider and she propped herself up a little. "But if I understood what I was hearing last night, this mission could be dangerous. A distress code that hasn't been seen in 2000 years? What is that supposed to mean?"

"No idea. That's what we hope to find out with this mission."

"Well, make sure you stay safe, alright?" Padmé pressed. "Make sure that you don't do anything… Anakin-like."

"Make sure I don't… now come on?" Anakin chuckled. "How am I supposed to go about anything if I don't do it Anakin-like? You do remember who you're talking to right?"

"Of course, how could I forget?" Padmé giggled. "But just… if it turns out there is something dangerous then… make sure you try and think it through. Like Aayla would."

Anakin paused and sighed through his nose. "I wish she were here," he said. "You're right – she was the level-head amongst the three of us when it was just Ahsoka and her and me." He smiled and added. "But we've got Barriss now and she's mostly level-headed."

"Mostly," agreed Padmé. "She's spent too much time in your company to be quite as level-headed as she used to be."

Anakin chuckled. "True enough. But Obi-Wan will be coming with us too. And you know that no matter how much time he spends in my company I could never corrupt him with my recklessness."

"Well, that is a great comfort," Padmé laughed. "Alright then. Just… be careful."

"Aren't I always? Don't answer that."

"And… make sure you come back to me. Always make sure you come back to me."

Anakin looked down at her from where he had been about to get up. He gave her his gentlest of smiles and reached down towards her neck picking up the small ivory wood symbol that she wore of a thin jerba leather string around her neck – the good luck charm that Anakin had carved from a japor snippet as a traditional Tatooine sand symbol and given to Padmé when he was a kid.

"As long as you have this on you," he said. "I will always be able to find my way back to you, no matter where you are."

Padmé chuckled. "If Terriermon was here, he would lay into you for being very 'cheesy' with a comment like that."

"I never did understand what significance cheese had to do with gestures like that," Anakin muttered.

"Well, regardless how much or little cheese there was in that sentence, I found it sweet," Padmé smiled, leaning up and pressing her lips softly and briefly to Anakin's. "Now go. Obi-Wan will probably have been up for a few hours already."

"True," Anakin laughed. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon." And he pulled on his usual Jedi robes and left the room, giving Padmé one last wave as he left.

He found Ahsoka and Barriss both waiting for him on the landing pad outside Padmé's apartment in 500 Republica. "You call that a second?" Ahsoka asked, with a slight smirk.

"So sue me for making sure I gave my lovely wife a proper farewell," Anakin pouted at her. Ahsoka snickered.

"Well, we should probably get moving," Barriss said. "Though Chuchi stopped by this morning to give us her own farewells just before you came out, by the way."

"How nice of her. Did she have any advice for us, by any chance?" Anakin asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes. She told us to be wary and not do anything rash."

"About the same thing that Padmé told me," Anakin said as he stepped into the front of the speeder. "Let's be on our way then."

"It's amazing how much of a friend Chuchi's become to all of us ever since she was clued in on the secret of your marriage, Master," Ahsoka chuckled as she and Barriss jumped in the back.

"Tell me about it. Though sometimes I think it would be nice if another guy knew about it too," Anakin snorted, hitting the controls and whooshing the speeder away. "I mean don't get me wrong, I love all you girls but sometimes it does feel like I'm a bit swamped by the opposite gender. And Threepio doesn't count as a guy."

Ahsoka and Barriss laughed, but then Barriss chuckled out, "Have you ever thought about telling Obi-Wan about it? He's the closest person to you that still doesn't know about all of this."

Anakin said nothing for a moment, but then he sighed and said, "Yeah, I've thought about it but… I guess I'm waiting for the right time to tell him about it. I mean… he's going to be angry I kept something like this from him for so long – you were frustrated enough when you found out, Ahsoka. And you did it through spying on me."

"I said I was sorry about that," Ahsoka said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Anakin replied. "But I want to find the time to break the news to him. I mean, I do think he should know – it's really not fair that he doesn't when all you guys know and the Digimon and Aayla also knew but… I dunno. It's hard. I'm looking for the right moment."

"I don't think there can be a right moment for something like this, really," Barriss murmured.

"You might be right," Anakin sighed, steering them towards the distant Temple. "But don't say anything to him, alright? When he gets the news, I want it to be from me."

"Fair enough," Ahsoka nodded, and the three lapsed into silence until Anakin pulled the speeder into one of the landing bays high up in the Temple.

* * *

Obi-Wan was indeed waiting for them already, arms folded as the stood by the ramp of the shuttle that they would be using to get to their destination in the Chrelythiumn system. As the three of them bounded out of the speeder and headed over to him he said, "Well a few minutes late but for you Anakin, this is pretty punctual."

"What can I say? This is an important mission."

"Indeed. Though I was expecting you to come in through the main door, not via a speeder through the hangar doors. May I ask where you were?"

"Padmé's," Anakin said without hesitation. "She heard about the mission and called us early this morning. She wanted to see us off before we left."

"I see," Obi-Wan noted.

"Yeah, she gave us all the usual advice," Anakin shrugged. "Don't do anything stupid or rash. Make sure we stay safe. Things like that. Chuchi stopped by too to the same effect."

"Senator Amidala really isn't one to talk when it comes to not doing something rash," chuckled Obi-Wan. "Though admittedly the amount of times she's found herself in some sort of trouble had dropped radically since the end of the Clone Wars."

"True," Anakin laughed.

"Now come along," Obi-Wan gestured, stepping up the ramp and into the shuttle. "We've got to get a move on. It'll take us the better part of a day to reach a place as remote as the Chrelythiumn system as it is."

Anakin and the others wordlessly followed him into the ship and began to start up the controls, with Anakin taking the pilot seat and Obi-Wan the co-pilot, while the other two sat behind and monitored some of the other sensors. The ship lifted off and heading up and into the sky.

"Has any further progress been made to the plan?" Anakin asked.

"Commander Cody and Commander Bly were called in yesterday evening after the conference," Obi-Wan reported. "The two of them were out on patrol just as your Captain Rex was in search of Gizor Delso, but they've already headed out towards the rendezvous point deep in Wild Space. They've fully stocked the cruisers with maximum weaponry and if it's a trap, we may need it. We're to meet up with all them before we proceed to investigate the signal itself."

"Sounds like this could be an entertaining venture," Ahsoka mused.

"I'm hoping it won't be," Obi-Wan murmured. "Interesting, perhaps… if we can determine the source of the distress call, but I'm hoping that we won't have to resort to violence this time."

"And what are the odds of that happening?" Barriss asked.

"With Anakin here… not high," Obi-Wan chuckled lightly.

Anakin didn't respond. Obi-Wan turned to look at him – normally having expected their good-natured banter to have gone on by that point, but Anakin was staring quietly at the controls and monitors in front of him as if his mind was off in another world.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan prompted.

Anakin blinked and snapped back to reality. "Sorry," he said. "It's just that… even after all this time… even after over a year… it still doesn't feel right to be departing on such an important sounding mission without Aayla and the Digimon here. And we were only partnered together for half the amount of time they've been gone."

"I know how you feel, Master," Ahsoka muttered. "It still feels like there's something missing every time, doesn't it? No offence, Master Kenobi. I'm not saying that your presence is meaningless or anything."

"Oh I'm quite aware of what you mean, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan nodded. "I understand perfectly. I saw how close the lot of you got when you were all together. It's hard to believe just how strong a bond existed between you. Quite a remarkable thing. It's no surprise that it feels like there's something missing because, sad to say, there is. And I know my presence could hardly compensate for the presences of all your other team-mates. No presence could."

"Do you miss them, Master Kenobi?" Barriss asked.

"Doubtfully as much as the three of you, but yes, of course I do," Obi-Wan mused. "They did have their way at… getting into people's hearts. Even Master Windu misses them. He even misses Terriermon, though he'd deny it if you asked him, I'm sure. But I understand how you feel. Terriermon's not here to make wise-cracks, Renamon's not here to silence him, there's no comforting presence of a bunny Digimon on your shoulders…"

"…Aayla's not around to slap Anakin in the face when he gets angry…" Ahsoka snickered.

"I'm sorry, what?" Obi-Wan blinked, turning to Anakin. "Aayla slapped you?"

"Twice," Ahsoka snickered.

"Snips!" Anakin glowered. "I thought we agreed we would never mention that to anyone else."

"Sorry… I couldn't resist," Ahsoka laughed.

"You got slapped in the face twice and I was not there to see it?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously. "Goodness gracious that would have been an amusing sight."

"If it helps I didn't see it either time either," Barriss laughed.

The mood considerably lighter, they exited the atmosphere and programmed the co-ordinates into the navicomputer. Moments later, laughing instead of frowning as they recounted some of the other interesting and hilarious times that Obi-Wan or Barriss had missed from the old days, the ship and its occupants whooshed into hyperspace.

They would not be returning to Coruscant for some time to come.

* * *

Morning was arising elsewhere as well, and that was over the Pokémon World. When the Nurse at the Pokémon Centre in Fuchsia City had knocked on the door of the room the late-night comers had stayed in there had been no reply so she had gone in to find the room empty and a hastily written note saying, '_Left early. Thanks for the hospitality_' on one of the besides tables.

When Janine the Gym Leader woke up, it was to find that she was no longer on the roof of the Pokémon Centre, but on another roof about halfway across the city, with three Pokeballs next to her, containing the Pokémon she had fought against that strange creature yesterday. She would discover later that now Fuchsia was devoid of all strange creatures and jumping shadows, and she had no idea what had happened.

The hasty departure had been an idea that every member of the company, not just Felkan, had seen as a good idea. When the fighters had returned the previous night after their excursion into the city and their battle with all the ninja Pokémon, they had explained what had happened and the rest of the room had, needless to say, been gobsmacked.

"That many Digimon?" Henry asked. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately," Lopmon nodded grimly. "If you include all the Ninjamon, Kabukimon and Pipismon, as well as the Shurimon, the Yasyamon and the Dinohyumon, you're probably looking at close to one-hundred Digimon, if not more. Thankfully most of them were not particularly powerful Digimon except for the last two but still it's a lot more serious than we thought."

"There is no way that all of those Digimon could have been sucked through into this area by chance, recently or otherwise," agreed Impmon. "People would have noticed things like giant wormholes opening in the sky, or something wouldn't they? Surely, someone would have noticed something like that?"

"Based on what Uxie told us, you're right, they would," Renamon nodded. "And I saw a newspaper in the park while I was scouting yesterday. There is no mention of opening portals and mysterious creatures showing up anywhere. None at all. And it wasn't even a newspaper limited to local news – it was from all over this region of this world."

"I don't suppose there's some explanation, is there? Like, by some extremely bizarre turn of events all of those Digimon were close together when a portal opened next to them and sucked them through?" Rika asked, not believing her own words.

"No," Aayla shook her head. "Even if that were the case, which is doubtful, those Digimon definitely knew each other and they definitely had an agenda. They were on a mission. And if they were good intentions, then why would they not have shown themselves to the public."

"We're on a mission and we're hiding from the public," Suzie pointed out.

"True. But that's because we have a fugitive from the law in our midst and because we're trying not to cause a mass panic," Aayla said, glancing sidelong at Felkan as she spoke. "Unless they have a similar motive I don't believe their intentions were good. They've been here for some time – that we know. And I think that they were spying on the locals for some reason."

"Agreed," Lucario nodded. "One of the Ninjamon said that they've been watching and learning about we Pokémon for a while now. They knew that I was naturally weak to fire as a steel type and tried to use that against me."

"Bet that didn't end well for them," Felkan chuckled.

"No, it most certainly did not," Lucario stated and he bumped fists with his trainer.

"So, can _anyone_ _please_ tell me, what could possibly be going on in this world?" Impmon asked. "We know there are not lots of portals opening all over the place, because if there were then people would be noticing and we would have less time to search for these Legendaries because the barriers would have been broken down further."

"I have an idea," Terriermon said, unusually darkly for him. "But you're not going to like it. I think… that there's something out there. A particular malevolent force that is controlling all of these Digimon – they are all its minions. A dark power that is hidden from us and not showing itself. And whatever this dark power is it is capable of taking these Digimon out of their own dimension – our dimension – and into this one, in a place where there would be no chance of people witnessing it. And whatever that force is, He is sending these Pokémon out to places to find out what they can about this world."

There was a pause. Everyone had been thinking along similar lines, but Terriermon saying it out loud made it seem all the more viable in their minds.

"He?" Aayla picked up on something. "You said 'He,' there. Not 'it.'"

"Yep," nodded Terriermon. "IceDevimon was talking about a 'he' yesterday, remember? Someone that was able to take him out of the Dark Ocean before it was destroyed and to here. There must be something else out there capable of dimension travel and whoever this person is, it's the leader of all these Digimon that showed up tonight."

Latias shuddered. "Those Digimon all committed suicide when they were sure we had the upper hand. They didn't want to face failing, so if they do have a leader then… he must be a very scary one."

"And IceDevimon must have been a part of his forces that split away and started acting on his own," muttered Renamon. "It would seem there's a greater malevolence out there than we thought even after that. And has anyone considered anything else? If there is some evil presence out there with Digimon troops spying on this world and capable of transferring them from the Digital World to here, is it not possible that this force is what's behind the universes collapsing in the first place?"

A dead silence followed on after that, each of the contemplating the implications and none of them liking what they were coming up with.

Felkan was the next one to talk. "We should get out of here now, while we have the chance," he said. "Scyther and the brown bunny, Lopmon took out the Pokémon of a Gym Leader up on the roof and she saw Latios. When she wakes up she's going to demand a search of the place. We do not want to be here when she does."

Nobody tried to argue with Felkan this time. The night of peace they had been hoping for had been shattered. And they knew that until this supposed dark force showed itself they could do very little about it directly. They wouldn't know where to begin. All they could do until they learned more was continue with the search for the Legendary Pokémon.

So they had piled out of the window, riding on the airworthy Pokémon such as Charizard, Garchomp and the Eon duo themselves. The latter two moved the still unconscious forms of Janine and her three Pokémon to another roof with their Psychic abilities, with the exception of the Drapion which was a Dark type and therefore immune to those powers. However, Aayla's own Force abilities were not strictly psychic powers and still worked on it, and with some physical help from Charizard and Garchomp they were able to transport that too, though it would have looked like a strange site to anyone watching.

Then, with most Pokémon returned to their Pokéballs with the exception of the four carriers and Gardevoir they turned around and headed northeast an hour or so before the sun came up again.

* * *

When it did, they kept flying in near silence. Nobody was feeling in a particularly talkative move after everything they had learned and theorised at this point. Not even Terriermon was attempting to come up with something to lighten the mood – his mind focused on the mysterious power that was causing the influx of Digimon to this world.

Felkan was beginning to feel more and more out of his depth as he rode along on Garchomp's shoulders. This had not been what he had signed up for and he had been reluctant to sign up for what he had. He wanted to protect his team of twelve in any way he could, which he had thought would be hard enough from the officials if he was recognised but so far several members of his team had already found themselves in battles to the death against evil Digimon and each time he had not been present himself. How could he hope to protect them like this?

He resented that Tamers a little bit for this. According to what he knew they were supposed to be the protectors of their world. If this threat had come from their world, then did that not mean that they were not doing their job properly?

But even as he thought those thoughts he found himself pushing them aside and regretting thinking them, which then surprised him a little bit – he certainly still was not on friendly terms with the Tamers and yet his mind had started to defend them a little bit. He remembered the shining faces of Ai and Mako as they had looked up at him like he was some kind of hero in the Seafoam Islands and Rika's reluctant yet heartfelt apology to him for her own harsh words. There had been very few times where his interactions with humans had been like that… and he'd rather liked it.

And now he was just feeling confused. But he felt Gardevoir's arms tighten around him reassuringly and he relaxed his mind. Dwelling on his relations with the Tamers would just frustrate him. Better to just keep going and see what the future held.

As the sun rose into the sky a little higher and bathed the flying group in more light, Lopmon noticed something which drew her attention. She and Terriermon were flying alongside the others as quickly as they were able instead of riding like everyone else, and she saw that Latias was looking marginally distressed about something.

"Hey," she said, swooping closer towards the red dragoness that was carrying Suzie, Impmon and the twins on her back. "You alright?"

Latias looked up, her normally cheerful expression a little bleak. "Not really," she said. "How do you cope with it?"

"Cope with what?" Lopmon blinked.

"Fighting," Latias said. "I've seen Pokémon battles before, and they were always decided when one of the two combatants fainted – there was never any permanent damage done. But against those bat Digimon, those Pipismon… I killed some of them. Scratch that, I killed a lot of them. I just… snuffed out their lives with my attacks. They died at my hand and I… I don't know… how to cope with that. I actually brought about the end of other creatures."

Lopmon sighed. "First time is always the hardest," she said. "And I still don't like killing other Digimon or any other creature even now. I suppose you could say I've gotten a little used to it."

"How many times have you had to kill someone?" Latias asked.

"Too many," Lopmon grimaced. "And I don't just mean Digimon – humans too. Close to the end of the Clone Wars, during the final upheaval against the Sith, I was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of humans. Innocent humans too. Humans that were protecting a being that was amongst the most evil that you could ever possibly find anywhere, but had no idea he was evil and wouldn't have believed us if we'd just told them. I had to hold them back while some of my other friends went in and dealt with that evil man."

Latias looked aghast. "That's horrible," she choked. "How can you cope with that?"

Lopmon sighed. "It's all about the mindset really. Something like that… it never really goes away. Even killing an evil Digimon… that never really goes away either… and if a Digimon has led a mostly good life then they can still reborn anew even if they did some evil things. But I take comfort from the fact that if those men knew the full truth behind my actions, then they would understand why I did what I did. They were all soldiers and fighters themselves, prepared to lay down their lives for a free Galaxy… and unfortunately they were protecting the person who was trying to take that freedom away. It's a great deal of comfort, but it doesn't eliminate it completely."

"She's right," Terriermon said, descending down on Latias' other side from where he had been listening in from above. "The clones of the Galactic Republic would understand. But when it comes to evil Digimon… there's still some amount of guilt there when you end their lives… at least for anyone with a good heart like you. But for us, there is considerably less. And do you know why?"

"No. Why," Latias asked. "Please tell me! I feel like my heart is about to burst from what I did to those poor guys."

"That's not the right way of thinking about it," Terriermon said. "You can't afford to think of them as 'poor guys.' You have to remember that they were evil. They were bad guys. And while even a bad guys doesn't always deserve to die, by finishing them off who knows how many good lives, how many lives that really were innocent, how many 'poor guys' that were actually 'poor guys' you've saved by doing something like that. How many people would have been killed in the future at the claw of each of those Pipismon if you hadn't killed it? Each of those people can go on living now, and you will have ensured that."

Latias looked thoughtful, but eventually she nodded. "I… I guess I understand. Those guys were trying to hurt me and my brother too after all. They were definitely not good guys."

"No doubts about that," Terriermon said.

"You did the right thing," Lopmon said. "It might sound cold and horrible to say it but in finishing them before they could finish someone else you did the right thing."

"I suppose," Latias said. "It is my job as a Legendary Pokémon and a child of Arceus to protect the weaker and look after the Pokémon world. Granted, I haven't exactly done much of that throughout most of my life… alright, I've never really done it but… with this mission I have to do and all… it is time I start. I did the right thing."

"Yep, you totally did," Terriermon grinned at her as he powered his way forwards. "And always remember one thing. No matter how bad things get, no matter how horrible things become or how evil the enemy, never lose touch with your personality. You're like me – you like to laugh and joke and prank and tease others. And when things get ugly, quite often everyone else needs a laugh and a joke and a tease. And who better to provide that then we natural pranksters."

Latias brightened considerably and laughed. "Too right," she grinned. "Let's start by doing this." She suddenly seized Terriermon with her Psychic powers and yanked him forwards so his feet were grasped in her stubby draconic fingers and cried, "Wheeeeeeee!" as she shot forwards, trailing a yelling Terriermon upside down beneath her.

"Heeeeeeeeeyyyyy!" Terriermon yelled as he flailed wildly.

"Momentaaaaiiiiiii!" Latias called.

The group dissolved into chuckles at the sight of their antics – even Felkan. Lopmon giggled as she flapped her ears in an effort to keep up with the fast moving Pokémon like Charizard and Garchomp, when she heard another voice in her head.

_Thank you,_ Latios said, as he moved in closer to Lopmon. _I was getting worried about her state of mind. She's such an innocent person. It's one of the reasons I've tried to keep her away from combat asides from the fact she could get hurt. No matter how much I might complain about her lack of seriousness most of the time, I don't want her to change._

_Nobody wants their closest friends and family to change,_ Lopmon agreed. _I'd be distraught if Terriermon's personality shifted._

_I could see that the battle yesterday was affecting her thoughts and I've been trying to reassure her mentally for a while now. But I think an outside opinion like yours helped a lot._

_My pleasure. You really care about her, don't you?_

_Of course. We might be hundreds of years old but she's the only real company I've had through most of that time. She's always been the one presence in my life. And she's my sister. I don't want that to change or be taken away._

_I can understand that. I never knew that Terriermon was my brother at all until over a year after I met him in the Digital World. I just thought he looked like me, which is not totally out of the question for a Digimon like us. I may not have known him for as long as you've known your sister, but he was a long lost twin of mine and I never want to lose him a second time._

Latios chuckled. _Sometimes the similarities between myself and you, and between my sister and your brother, are just plain scary._

_Tell me about it,_ Lopmon snickered, as the group moved onwards.

Up northeast towards their next destination of Vermilion City, where they would take back to the path and head on for the Power Plant, hoping that this time, they would have more luck with their Legendary search.

* * *

A short distance away from that destination of Vermilion, the wind whistled through the grasses and trees, blowing southward at a speed that could neither be called steady nor fast, but somewhere in the middle. The trees creaked and occasionally cracked in the cool gusts, leaves being tugged from the twigs they stood on in their hundreds and being flung towards the sky in green swirling vortexes that drifted on south.

A few humans and Pokémon which were in the vicinity were trying to take shelter from the wind, hiding behind large objects like thick trees and a few buildings or ledges in order to escape the updrafts and flurries of air.

But there was one figure which stood firm despite the powerful breezes around it. Standing on the edge of a precipice that overlooked the surrounding area for miles around, the figure in question scanned the horizon itself, red eyes narrowing as if searching for something and seemingly getting frustrated when it couldn't find it.

The figure stepped right up to the edge of the cliff, oblivious to the wind blowing around it, placing an almost dainty paw so that the tree toes were actually dangling over the side and howled into the wind, a long, middle-pitched keening sound that was taken by the wind and washed away, heard by several of the inhabitants of the surrounding countryside who couldn't work out exactly what it was or where it was coming from. But the creature then lowered its head and waited, almost hoping for an answer, but knowing it would not receive one even before the confirmation.

Flat teeth gritted inside its mouth. This was getting ludicrous. What was going on? It had been almost four months now and there hadn't even been a single sign. Nothing. It was as if what it was looking for had completely disappeared off the face of the world, and surely that couldn't be possible. Nothing like this had ever happened before. It had always known in some vague sense where it needed to go or what it needed to do, but now it had absolutely no idea.

Hence the half-gale going on around it. It probably wasn't fair to the others in the area that the weird was so powerful at the moment considering they needed to get on with their lives, but the creature's frustration were being automatically let down into it. It shook its head and the wind slowly died down a little, enough so that only the tops of the trees and the looser branches were the things that were shaking, and the Flying Pokémon that lived around here could get on with their lives with only mild turbulence.

Yet the frustration was still there, and it would probably remain there for some time. What could have happened? Did the others know that something was up? It hadn't seen either of its brethren in almost half a year so it hadn't had the opportunity to ask.

No doubt about it. The longer it spent searching, the more frustrated, and at the same time more worried, it got.

But standing here and venting its spleen with the wind was not going to do any good – the search would have to continue. Without any hesitation the creature bounded off the side of the cliff, even though it did not have wings and the cliff was almost one hundred yards high. For a moment it seemed to saw through the air, its twin whip-like tails streaming out on either side of it with the flow of the wind, as it sailed gracefully down and landed with little effort on the ground below, bounding away into the forest.

Hopefully it would find some answers soon.

And hopefully it would like those answers.

But the longer the search kept going, the more it became convinced that it wouldn't.

* * *

Flying at the fast pace that they were, the group drew closer to Vermilion City. For a while now they had been flying over the ocean – Fuchsia City was at the end of a peninsula and they had been crossing over the water that separated one side of that peninsula from the rest of the mainland.

But then the city came within sight in the distance and they all caught their breath a little at the sight. There was next to no beach at Vermilion but the port itself was massive. Even at a fair distance they could see huge numbers of boats moored in at the side of the water, with several others already out on the waves and sailing about contentedly, people just feeling good to be out in the fresh air and on the water. Long docks reached out into the water like extended wooden limbs coming off the land and trying to grasp something in the ocean, branches coming off each one to create a miniature maze of dockland that the locals seemed to have no problem navigating.

"That is a big dock," noted Suzie. "I've always wanted a sailing boat. I thought it would be pretty cool."

"Maybe you should try and go for a yacht," laughed Terriermon. "There's a few of them down there too, look." And indeed there were. Besides the sailing boats, there were other vessels of all kinds, including luxury yachts, a few large steamers for transporting cargo, some speedboats and even a couple of catamarans. Not to mention a very large number of canoes and kayaks and the occasional jet ski. There probably wasn't a single person living in the city that didn't own a boat of some kind.

It was then that Gardevoir voiced a concern that she projected into everyone's minds.

_We shouldn't approach the city from the docks,_ she said. _If we fly in from this direction then we'll be seen by hundreds of people from miles away. And while some people wouldn't look twice at a Charizard carrying a passenger in – that probably happens all the time, if people spot Latios and Latias they are going to get interested. And if we get close enough for them to get a look at the riders…_

"Renamon's perception filter should be able to hide us from view," Terriermon pointed out.

"But not to machines," Renamon pointed us out back. "I can't hide myself from a camera and considering that's a place where lots of people might come on holiday there are bound to be quite a few cameras around and about. Perhaps we should approach the city from the west and away from the docks and fly low. We'd have a better chance of not being spotted."

"Excuse me?" Felkan interrupted. "Why do we need to go into a city at all? We were just in a city and that didn't turn out particularly well for us as I recall. The road we need to take is east of the city – let's just go and get on with it."

"Felkan, I know that you don't want to go into the city," Aayla said from Charizard's back. "And I understand why. But considering the number of Digimon there were in the Fuchsia City, I and the rest of my team want to do a quick reconnaissance through this one as well and see if there's been any Digimon activity here too. We know there's a problem involved a force of Digimon but we don't know how widespread that force is. It could be localised around the Fuchsia area or it could be more widespread. We should investigate."

"Sounds like we missed a good brawl back there at Fuchsia, huh Garchomp?" Charizard chuckled.

"Perhaps there'll be chance for another," Garchomp said. "We did get to vaporise that Ice Devil guy yesterday."

"True enough," Charizard chuckled.

"Regardless," Henry interrupted the two. "We're not asking you to come into the city, Felkan. If you want then you can skirt around it and meet up with us later on but we really should check this out. Just in case."

"Fine," Felkan grumbled. "Go ahead. We'll go in from the west."

And the group veered around, keeping a fair distance from the docks and all the boats out on the water, giving everything as wide a berth as they could while keeping it in sight before they moved low over the water and started moving in towards the shore, Renamon raising her perception filter to cover them all as they did so.

As they got closer, the flying Pokémon and Digimon noticed the wind starting to pick up slightly, buffeting at their wings. Charizard in particular noticed it, his own broad wings having to flap quite hard to keep him aloft, but they paid no attention to it. Right up until the point a particularly strong gust of it caught them all in the side and caused Charizard to briefly lose his balance and let loose a roar of alarm as he plummeted a short distance towards the water beneath him.

He would have been able to catch himself with his strong, powerful wings before he hit the waves without Aayla using the Force to help steady him but he appreciated the Twi'lek's help nonetheless. "Whoa," he muttered as he powered up from the water and rose higher. "This is why I don't like flying over the ocean."

"The wind is quite strong here, isn't it?" Terriermon cried, having to be a little louder than before to be heard as both the bunnies latched onto one of the Eon twins and held on, their smaller bodies more susceptible to being blown away than their larger companions.

"Probably to be expected," Henry said. "After all, wind doesn't have any boundaries or obstructions over water, except for things like ships and there aren't any over here."

"Still, it is a little stronger than I would have expected," Aayla noted. "Perhaps there's a storm brewing somewhere close by."

"Yeah, I'd prefer not to get caught in a storm over water," Charizard muttered. "Let's just get into shore and land, shall we?"

* * *

The group pressed on and came to land on a narrow stretch of empty street right next to the water – Vermilion was built partially out over the ocean itself so there was very little beach and the tides had little effect in some places. The wind was still a little strong even here, but they ignored it for now.

"Oh, it's about time," Impmon groaned as he rolled off Latias' back and landed with a slight thump on the street. "No offense you guys but I'm not used to sitting still for long periods of time like that."

"What _are_ you talking about?" Renamon snorted as she bounded off Latios. "You spend hours and hours sometime riding on Behemoth and scaring the living daylights out of motorists and pedestrians alike as you almost plough into them."

"Behemoth has a seat specifically designed to be ridden," Impmon pointed out. "You guys don't. Maybe we should make a saddle.

"Okay, if you think you're putting a saddle on me, you have another thing coming, my friend," Latias sent him a warning glare.

"Fine, sheesh," Impmon said.

"So, what do we do now?" Felkan asked, looking around uncomfortably. At the end of the street they could see other humans walking past and he was quite uncomfortable standing out in the open like this, even though Renamon's perception filter was currently hiding him from view – it was still an obscure sensation to stand like this and know that you would not be noticed.

Aayla had bounded onto a nearby roof, her lekku streaming out to the side slightly in the high, unimpeded wind up there and looked out across the city. "From what I can tell," she murmured, with Renamon repeating the message to the others so she didn't have to shout. "Most of the humans in this city that are out and about are definitely down by the docks. There appears to be a very large crowd down there for some reason."

"Can you sense any Digimon activity then?" Ai voiced.

"Not at the moment," Impmon replied. "But it ain't always that simple. Back home you get a bio-emergence then usually you can sense it straight away cos the Digimon involved isn't trying to hide. If there are any Digimon in this place then they're not being obvious, but we already knew that would probably be the case. If there are any Digimon around here then we're going to have to go looking for them."

"And how long will that take?" Felkan asked.

Aayla leapt back off the roof and said, "We don't have a lot of time to spare here. Like you say, Felkan, we have to get a move on and search for those Legendaries. So, we'll spend an hour or so here, no more than two, and if we don't find anything in that time then we'll just move on."

"We Digimon will have a look around," Lopmon said. "See if we can sense anything. Care to join us, Latios, Latias."

"Well, we don't know what we're looking for," Latios said. "But if we can help, we will."

"I'll join you too," Aayla said. "And perhaps Lucario could be of some help in scanning the area as well. As for the rest of you," she nodded at the humans, you guys make your way through the city to the other side and we'll meet up there later if we don't find anything."

"I think I'll just teleport to the other side with Gardevoir if it's all the same to you," Felkan said.

"No, Felkan, I want to help," Gardevoir said. "I have Psychic powers too – I can help search for any unusual activity. We should walk through the city with the others; see if we can't be useful."

"But…" Felkan started.

"If it would make you feel more comfortable, then I can stick close by and continue to shroud you in my perception filter," Renamon said. "But if Gardevoir wants to help then I say let her."

Felkan hesitated but, to his credit, only for a second. "Alright then," he said. "But make sure you hide Gardevoir too. Her lack of chest and back horns will catch some people's attention if she's seen too."

"Done," Renamon nodded.

"Let's move," Aayla said. "Clean sweep of the city."

"Aye, aye, General Secura," Terriermon grinned, as Felkan recalled Garchomp and Charizard, thanking them for their help and called out Lucario.

"And try not to draw attention to yourself, Terriermon," Henry reminded him dryly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Terriermon grinned.

* * *

The group split up quickly and moved out. Latios and Latias turned themselves invisible and soared out over the city, trying to get a perspective from the air and see if they could sense anything.

Terriermon, Lopmon and Impmon used their small size to their advantage, moving out into the streets themselves and sticking to the shadows or hiding behind other objects and darting from cover to dash across short spaces. Lopmon and Impmon stuck close together since the latter did not have a method of telepathic communication as most of the others did.

Aayla and Lucario took to the rooftops and bounded across spaces and gaps with lithe swift movements as they had done the previous night in Fuchsia City.

And the Tamers walked out into the streets, Henry in possession of the map they had obtained in Fuchsia and navigating their way through the city layout towards the other side. Felkan and Gardevoir walked a short way behind, with Renamon hidden from sight on the rooftops above them, casting her perception filter over the two of them so they could step through the streets unnoticed.

Those with Psychic abilities, of which there were five of them if you included Aayla and Lucario, expanded their minds outwards as they moved swiftly through the city, staying out of sight and co-ordinating their search as much as they could through their minds to give it a clean sweep. They widened their senses to try and detect anything unnatural or out of the ordinary around them.

At one point Aayla walked straight down the middle of a street with her eyes closed, using her Force concealment to bend light around her and render her invisible. It was a technique which required a lot of concentration on her part and was difficult for most Jedi to master, though Aayla's own master had been proficient at it and passed the skill to her. Humans and Pokémon walked on past her without the faintest idea that an alien being had just strode past them. Aayla tried to detect anything that could be considered ill intent or malicious feelings with her mind, but aside from someone planning to try and rob an elderly lady there was nobody.

She blasted the would-be robber in question with the Force into an alleyway before he could manage it so he hit his head on a dumpster and slumped unconscious before carrying on her way.

Lucario dove his mind down into the streets, his senses practically taking leave on his body as he ran along, his mind detecting every life form larger than a Rattata and scanning them in a microsecond before moving on.

The Eon twins swept around the roofs, looking down into the streets as they sailed through the now more reasonably paced by still strong wind, spying on things from above and trying to detect any presences in places where they probably shouldn't be.

And the smaller Digimon searched manually, bounding or soaring through the backalleys. The drew the attention of a few local Pokémon, such as a couple of Spearow, some Rattata, an Ekans and even a Jigglypuff that was rolling about on a rooftop, but they ignored the creatures around them and carried on their way.

But despite their methodical sweep, there were not finding any signs of Digimon. And a lot of them weren't sure whether to be relieved by this or not. If there were no Digimon in the city then that would be great, but at the same time it would meant they would get no further answers as to what exactly was happening.

* * *

"I must say," Henry said, as they walked through the city. "This is a pretty impressive place. It's very clean – a lot cleaner than back home, that's for sure."

"You're right about that," Rika said. "There's almost no pollution here is there. Not even a drop of litter."

"Of course there's no litter," a random passer-by overheard them and chuckled. "We make sure of it here. Just about our entire lives in this city revolve around the sea and we do our best to make sure it's not polluted in any way we can. We wouldn't want an infestation of Grimer like there is at Celadon City, would we?"

"No," Henry said automatically, resolving to ask more about what a Grimer was later. "You most certainly wouldn't."

"Is that why everyone's down at the docks?" asked Suzie.

"Well, partly," laughed the stranger. "You must be new here if you don't know, but while most of us do spend a lot of time here, there's particular cause for being by the docks today. The S.S. Anne is coming in later on this morning."

"The what?" Rika asked before she could stop herself.

"Oh, come now. Don't tell me you've never heard of the S.S. Anne," the stranger said. "It's this world's biggest luxury cruise-liner. It travels the entire world's oceans and visited all the main ports and it stops in Vermilion once every year to let some people off and take on more passengers."

"Wow. That's a long cruise," said Henry. "Impressive."

"I've always wanted to go on a cruise," Suzie said.

"Well you'd probably be hard pressed to get a ticket for it," the stranger said. "They sell out extremely fast and there's a waiting list that's who knows how many years long now. Anyway it's coming in soon and everyone's heading down to the docks to watch it arrive and greet it. You should probably do the same if you're tourists. It's an impressive ship and it will be gone by the end of the day."

"Thanks for the advice," Henry nodded and then ushered the others along the way, turning his eyes back to the map. The conversation might have been mildly interesting but it didn't apply to them – they didn't have time to stop and stare at cruise ships. They were, after all, on a mission.

Felkan, who had stopped a short distance behind during that conversation, moved on silently after them, feeling decidedly out of his depth about being here. He was getting convinced that every human's eyes that washed over him unseeingly would suddenly focus on him, stare at him and then widen with recognition before the accusations began to fly and the authorities were called in on him. It didn't happen but he couldn't shake the feeling it would at any moment.

Ugh, he wished he was still at Mount Silver. Everything had been much simpler up there.

Gardevoir's presence by his side was a soothing one as it always was, and she would be able to teleport them away if there was any trouble but still… it was nerve-wracking.

Especially when a Drowzee that was meandering through the streets suddenly stopped walking and turned to stare at him. Felkan tensed up a little as he focused on the squat Pokémon. They were Psychic types and perhaps it could tell that there was someone there who it had not been able to see. Did a perception filter work if someone actually knew you were there? It was something that was meant to make people not notice you but it didn't make you invisible. Or at least that's what Renamon told him.

The Drowzee watched him walking past for a few moments… then it sat down and fell asleep on the spot.

Felkan blinked and turned to look at Gardevoir, who had slipped her three finger hand into his reassuringly. "Was that you?" he muttered. "Did you use Hypnosis on that Drowzee?"

"Maybe," Gardevoir giggled slightly back.

Felkan chuckled. "You can be a little scamp when you want to be, you know that? Where would I be without you?"

"That is not something I even want to contemplate," Gardevoir replied.

"Me neither," Felkan agreed.

Before he could say anything else though something hustled out the street next to him at high speed – such high speed that Felkan didn't react in time before the something almost ploughed straight into him. Felkan yelled and the person that had just collided with him as several papers and notebooks and folders when spilling out his arms and cascaded all over the floor.

Felkan drew back instinctively as the man yelled and quickly went scrabbling around, trying to pick up everything that he'd dropped. "Sorry, so sorry about that," he said, looking up at Felkan. "I didn't see you there. Sorry, but I suppose I really do need to learn to look where I'm going."

Felkan's instincts told him to run. The man had not noticed him thanks to Renamon's perception filter but now that he had hit him he could see through it – he had noticed him now and there was nothing Renamon could do about that with her skills. He glanced up and saw the yellow fox on the rooftop above them, hidden from other eyes but staring down at what was going on with an apologetic look.

Now Felkan just wanted to get out of here before the man possibly recognised him, but he forced himself not to ask Gardevoir to teleport him away. That would just have looked suspicious and the guy _had_ seen his face.

_Just pretend that you're an ordinary guy,_ he told himself and, feeling on edge every moment, he bent down and started helping pick up the papers, ignoring his high-strung nerves. "No problem," he said to the guy. "I wasn't looking where I was going either so… both a fault I guess."

"Yes, sorry again," the man nodded. "I was going a bit fast too so… yeah, sorry…"

Felkan took in the man's appearance and found himself quite bemused. Granted, during his travels throughout the Pokémon World he had encountered a lot of people with a strange dress sense but this guy was still pretty odd. He was wearing some kind of strange purple suit with long trouser legs and long sleeves on the jacket, with large white cuffs over each wrist held in place with bright red cufflinks. The suit was worn over a white shirt, and as well as the white shows and white gloves the man was wearing he also had a short white cape that hung down to his lower back with a high collar and a large red bowtie at the front. His hair was brown and neatly combed, but he also had a single long lock of hair that stuck up at the front and fell down in front of the right side of his face, like some kind of strange forward facing ponytail.

But Felkan shook himself and kept moving, now more anxious to get away than before. People who liked to dress like this liked to stand out from the crowd and that was the last kind of person he wanted to be seen with.

But then, as he was picking up the last of the folders on the floor, some of the papers inside fell out. Felkan cursed silently and moved to pick them up, but then he spotted something on the topmost sheet that caught his interest and momentarily forget about his anxiousness.

"Hey, isn't this one of the Legendary Pokémon?" he asked, staring at the photograph that was held to the piece of paper with a paperclip and a detailed diagrammed sketch of the same image on the sheet beneath. The photograph itself wasn't brilliant quality, but it was good enough.

"Indeed it is," the man said, reaching out, picking up the last of the papers still on the floor and stuffing them together with the rest, as Felkan stood up and examined the image. "And can you tell which one it is?"

"Well… it's Suicune, isn't it?" Felkan said. "One of the three Legendary Beasts."

"Yes, you've got it," the man nodded. "The third member of the trio that includes Raikou and Entei. A fascinating and beautiful creature isn't it? Absolutely stunning. Lithe, graceful, elegant… take your pick of a word, they all describe it."

"Did you take this photograph?" Felkan asked, his aversion to standing around and having a conversation with another human forgotten in a moment like this. Gardevoir had stepped up beside him to join him in looking at the image, and their stop had been noticed by the Tamers up ahead, who were looking over their shoulders and wondering what was going on.

"Yes, I did," the man said with a proud grin.

"Then you've seen it before, or was this some kind of motion sensor camera?"

"Oh no, it was in my hands when I took the picture. I was so close to it too. I hope to one day get a better image of it. Suicune is, I think, my favourite Pokémon, and I hope to one day meet it properly, perhaps even befriend it. My name is Eusine, by the way." He held out his hand to shake Felkan's.

Felkan froze up momentarily – his brain mildly panicking at the thought of introducing himself to another person; his name was not exactly a common one after all. But at a slight nudge mentally from Gardevoir he shook Eusine's hand and said, "Spencer. My name is Spencer. So… can you tell me any more about Suicune."

"You're interested?" Eusine asked.

"Well, who wouldn't be?" Felkan said. "Every person dreams of one day meeting a Legendary Pokémon, don't they? Regardless of what they do."

"Very true, but most Legendary Pokémon don't bother me so much," Eusine said. "Suicune is the only one that I myself am really interested in. I grew up in Celadon City you see, and when I was a child, my grandfather would tell me many stories about all three of the Legendary Beasts. Such as the story of how they came to be. Do you know it?"

"Not really no," Felkan replied.

"Well, according to myth; Raikou, Entei and Suicune were not created by Arceus as most of the other Legendary Pokémon were – instead, they were brought into existence by Ho-Oh, the great phoenix. You see, in ancient times, there were two tall towers in the distant city of Ecruteak in Johto. There was the Brass Tower, which stood in the west, and the Bell Tower, which stood in the east, and in old times it was said the great Birds Lugia and Ho-Oh perched on either of those towers respectively from time to time.

"But then, approximately one-hundred-and-fifty years or so ago now, there was a colossal thunderstorm over Ecruteak City and a bolt of lightning surged out of the clouds and struck the Brass Tower and set it on fire. There were a large number of Pokémon living inside the Tower at the time, and most of them managed to escape. But there were three that remained trapped inside, and burned to death in the fire."

By this point most of the others had doubled back to listen and Ai cried, "That's horrible."

"Indeed it was," Eusine agreed. "But then came a torrent of rain that put out the fire, but by that time almost the entire tower had burned down, leaving the three charred corpses of the unfortunate Pokémon behind. But then, as the storm cleared, the great Pokémon Ho-Oh came out of the clouds and settled in the rubble of the tower. She took pity on the poor Pokémon that had died in the sacred place built in honour of her counterpart, Lugia, and so she resurrected them…"

"Resurrected?" Henry asked, his breath catching in his mouth. "Ho-Oh has the ability to bring the dead back to life?"

"So the legend goes," Eusine nodded. "But she didn't just revive them. Ho-Oh changed the Pokémon and turned each of them into the three Legendary Beasts. Raikou, the Thunder Pokémon, was made to represent the lightning strike that started the fire. Entei, the Volcano Pokémon, was made to represent the fire itself. And Suicune, the Aurora Pokémon, was made to represent the rain that quenched the fire. And thus the three Legendary Beasts were born, the three servants of Ho-Oh, and they've been roaming the lands ever since, keeping an eye on humanity from afar, or so they say.

"But Suicune was the one he told me about the most and it's the one that stuck most clearly into my head. The sheer beauty and majesty that Suicune possesses is unlike any other. The other two are impressive of course, but they were always more tough and strong, but it was Suicune that really captured my imagination."

"O…kay," Felkan muttered, seeing that the guy had a faraway look in his eyes now, as if he was in the middle of some deep nostalgia.

"Ever the day I've heard that story, I've always wanted to see it. It represents peace and quenching the disaster as the rain did with the fire on that day. And my grandfather had many other stories to tell about Suicune too, such as its ability to run on water, and to purify any dirty water that it steps on no matter how contaminated that water may be. How could anybody not want to meet such a majestic and beautiful being?"

"Well, of course," Felkan said. "But you say you saw it once. When was that? How long ago? And where?"

"Oh, are you interested in seeing it yourself?" Eusine asked, his voice slightly challenging.

"Well, yes, it's like you say… who wouldn't want to, right?" Felkan asked.

"Indeed," Eusine said. "But I have been on the trail of Suicune for the last ten years, you see, and I have only ever seen it twice, and I count myself fortunate to have done so. This photograph I took was taken about nine months ago now, but I am sure that one day, we will meet again, and this time I will get myself a real picture and perhaps Suicune will finally acknowledge me. Some say that Suicune is searching for a trainer that can tame it, and I like to think that that story is true. And I also like to think that trainer would be me."

"Ten years following one Pokémon?" Felkan asked, slightly amazed. "That's… quite something."

"Indeed," Eusine chuckled. "Wherever there is a mention of Suicune I will head there. Anytime there is a supposed sighting, I must investigate it. Suicune is a nomad – it could be absolutely anywhere at any time, but I am determined to find it again. I have followed it almost around the world, and I will follow it around again if I need to."

"Wow," Felkan surmised. "It's almost like you're stalking it."

Eusine sniffed. "Stalking it. I would hardly call it stalking, my good man. It is the challenge of the chase. Suicune will not simply show itself deliberately before anyone, I'm sure. If I want it to show itself to me and take notice of me instead of me happening to chance upon it before it runs away then I must prove myself worthy of it and I will keep following it, no matter how long it takes me to do it."

"I… see…" Felkan nodded, handing the diagram and photograph back to him. "Well, I… I wish you luck with your search."

"Thank you," Eusine said, in a slightly clipped voice, possible a little miffed at the stalking comment.

"Just out of curiosity, when was the last sighting that you heard about?" Felkan asked.

"Oh a few weeks ago I heard there was a sighting somewhere near Cerulean City, but who can tell where Suicune is now? Admittedly sightings of it have decreased in recent months, but I will never stop my search no matter what. In fact, it is possible that Suicune might be close by to where we are right now?"

"It is?" Felkan asked sharply, this statement catching everyone else's attention too. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice the wind?" asked Eusine.

"The wind…? Sure I noticed the wind? What about it?"

"Another thing that Suicune is said to represent is the North Wind," Eusine replied. "Because the raincloud were pushed over towards the tower from the north towards the south. Wherever Suicune is, it is said that the wind always blows in from the north. And where is this strong wind blowing in from right now?"

It only took a moment of confirmation before Henry said, "From the north."

"Exactly."

"But surely the wind wouldn't only blow from the north if Suicune was around. It must blow from the north when it isn't as well."

"Of course it does, but there is something different about this wind," Eusine said, looking up at the sky excitedly as if he could see the wind itself. "I can feel it in my bones. I suppose it's something to do with being an experienced tracker of Suicune across my decade in pursuit of it."

"You mean, stalking it," Suzie tittered.

Eusine glowered. "Make all the jokes you want, but there have been many others which have spent lifetimes searching for Legendary Pokémon and I have already had more success than they in their whole life of searching in many cases. But I can practically feel it. Suicune is nearby, right now. Where nearby I don't know, but I'm going to find it. And I think I've wasted enough time standing around her and talking to you people while you make jokes about my life's work. Good day."

Eusine turned and began to hurry away when Rika stepped forward and said, "Wait," bringing him to a halt. "Is there any chance that you can, maybe, take us with you? We want to see Suicune too. We've… always wanted to see a Legendary Pokémon haven't we, Henry?"

"Oh, absolutely," Henry lied, and then followed with some truth by saying, "It's really important to us that we do find a Legendary and we would be so grateful."

"Please," Eusine scoffed. "I know your types. You young trainers, fascinated with anything to do with a Legendary Pokémon so that you can take your chance to battle and try and catch one to add to your oh-so-precious teams and make your way to the tops of the league with their power to become the Champion. I work alone, kids. Suicune is not likely to show itself to me if I have a bunch of tagalongs that just was to catch it. Forget it. I bid you good day."

And he strode away, without looking back, his folders and files clutched protectively to his chest.

The Tamers gathered closer to Felkan, making him feel a little more uncomfortable. Even Renamon vaulted down from the roof, still unseen by the others nearby thanks to her filter.

"Spencer?" the fox chuckled. "Why did you choose that as an alias?"

"So sue me." Felkan muttered. "I panicked and gave him my surname."

"Your surname is Spencer?" Renamon blinked. "I didn't know that."

"You didn't ask," Felkan replied, with an ever-so-slight half smirk.

"Never mind that right now," Henry said. "You realise the implications of what he was saying. If the feeling he has is true then one of the Legendaries we're looking for could be within a few miles of this city."

"Maybe, but am I the only one who thought he looked and sounded a little bit… off his rocker?" Rika asked.

"Or he could just be passionate about his stalking," Felkan pointed out.

"Yeah, that just sounds creepy," Rika said.

"Well, regardless of how crazy or sane that guy was if he's an expert that's been following Suicune for years then it's at least worth looking into isn't it?" Henry pressed. "If we was right and we can somehow manage to find and speak with Suicune, we could check one of the twenty-five Legendaries off the list only three days in."

* * *

As the various members of the group searched through the town and continued to come up with nothing, they were all quite unaware that their presence was not quite as hidden as they thought. Standing on top of a hill overlooking the city, which was actually the entrance to the tunnel known as the Diglett's Cave that ran through a large portion of the region, stood a tall, dark, humanoid figure.

The same tall, dark, humanoid figure that had been observing the group after their battle the previous night and the same figure that had attacked Janine.

The figure was not used to standing out in broad daylight like this – far more used to be amongst the darkness and the shadows of the night and the deep places of the world. But there was nobody around to see it this time so it didn't really matter how much skulking it did at this point. It focused a couple of its piercing red eyes on the city below.

It couldn't see them from this distance but it knew that the beings which had opposed the forces in Fuchsia were down there right now. It had concealed its presence from them in a way that few Digimon were capable of doing and had overheard some of their conversation through the open window of the Pokémon Centre yesterday. Not a lot of it as it had not wanted to get too close and risk detection, but it had been able to establish that they were heading north towards Viridian City as soon as possible. It had therefore left immediately to get there ahead of them and ordered the few Digimon that were there skulking through the city to withdraw.

This was an unforeseen circumstance and it knew it. It knew now that these were not just random Digimon that had entered this world by chance, just as it itself was not. These Digimon though, belonged to Tamers. And they were not just any Digimon either. They were the prophecy trio that had taken down Ogudomon, as well as the former Demon Lord Beelzemon himself and his own Tamers.

How Beelzemon could have lowered himself to be willing to throw his life away to protect a pair of measly human children that could barely fend for themselves even by human standards… it was utterly sickening. And it made the figures black blood seethe with barely contained rage. How the mighty had fallen.

That said, it had not had much experience with Tamers himself up until this stage. It had heard of them of course. It had heard many of the stories of their exploits to rid the Digital and Human Worlds of darkness and make it "free" and "safe" for everyone in it. And it knew already that they were powerful. It was not about to make the mistake of assuming any Digimon that sided with a human could only be weak. Those capable of taking out the likes of a super powerful Demon Lord such as Ogudomon were not to be trifled with. It had heard that other Digimon had severely weakened Ogudomon by pulling all of the swords out of his legs first, but still…

Not to mention it had once seen Tamers and their partners in action before. From a distance and concealed away in the shadows as per usual, but it had seen how formidable and strong they could be when they needed to be. And it had seen Beelzemon himself amongst their number, fighting with incredible skill and power.

Regardless, this has not been part of the plan. Tamers and their partners showing up in this world had not been forseen. And it was clear that these beings knew, or at least guessed, of their existence. And if it knew anything about the Tamers and their partners, it knew that they were going to stop at nothing to try and put an end to what they had in mind for this world.

But not only that, they seemed to have allied themselves with a bunch of local Pokémon. Pokémon which were strong – stronger than most of the other Pokémon that they had encountered so far in this world and had been capable of holding their own and defeating large numbers of weaker Champion level Digimon and some of the more powerful individual ones.

But how strong were they?

And how strong were these Tamers and their partners?

And why were they hiding amongst the shadows and avoiding other people as it had observed them doing. That didn't strike it as the Tamers' usual style.

Its eyes narrowed. It needed to determine how much of a threat these people were and what they were capable of in working together, as well as what lengths they were willing to go too in order to protect this world and its inhabitants. And it also needed to find out exactly what else was amongst their group – the ability to store the Pokémon in those little balls was aggravating for it could not tell the full extent of their strength or their numbers.

A test was in order it seemed. Something big. Something which they would notice and force their hand, drawing them out if they wanted to stand by their own foolish code of morals.

But what to do? What could it do to get them to react immediately and aggressively?

Just then, a loud blaring noise echoed around the area. The figure turned its head slightly in the direction of the noise and its eyes locked onto a looming shape on the horizon, out into the ocean and slowly getting closer towards the shore.

The might silhouette of the cruise ship – the S.S. Anne.

The figure chuckled lightly to itself as it beheld the giant ship. "Perfect," it said.

* * *

Well, there you have it. Kudos to anyone who guessed the identity of the figure in the wind before the encounter with Eusine at the end there, but if anyone still didn't get it then the creature that howled into the wind and jumped off the cliff was indeed Suicune itself. But as to whether it is anywhere nearby and what shall become of this development we shall have to see in the future, anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the conversations in this chapter and the non action developments that arose within it and I shall, if all goes well, update this story again four days from now. Bye then!

Next time…

* * *

You can probably guess what's coming next. As the S.S. Anne heads towards shore, it is suddenly hit by a full-scale assault from several aquatic Digimon. With hundreds of passengers and crew members on board, will our heroes be able to do anything about it?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 24 : Not Quite Titanic**


	24. Not Quite Titanic

Hullo again everybody. Here I am once again with another update to the story and boy is this a full chapter. Gosh I just kept on writing and writing things without even keeping to the original plan I had made in a lot of places, and I really hope that you find this chapter quite the thrill, for that was what it was for me when I wrote it. Prepare for things to get wild.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 24:- Not Quite Titanic**

* * *

After a quick telepathic message across the city from Renamon, detailing what she had overheard in the street below, a swift gathering was called for. Though they had not yet searched through the entire city, the various searchers immediately turned around and headed down towards the humans leaping buildings and swooping round corners invisibly or stealthily.

After their encounter with Eusine, the Tamers had quickly stepped into a small alleyway set between a couple of the buildings, all but pulling Felkan with them as Renamon erected the perception filter over both him and Gardevoir once again. Nestled in the darkness they waited until the others had arrived, with Terriermon and Lopmon swooped down from the rooftops, the latter carrying Impmon as she did so, shortly to be followed by Aayla and Lucario bounding down from above as well.

Latios and Latias were the last to join and the two of them lowered their invisibility a little reluctantly, especially in Latios' case, but Renamon assured them she was now spreading the perception filter out to cover all of them. Anybody walking past the alleyway who might happen to glance into the shadows now would not notice anything out of the ordinary anyway, even if they looked straight at the two Legendary Pokémon.

"Well, there's been no Digimon activity seen here so far," Lopmon said from on top of a dumpster. "We might be in the clear."

"I'm not entirely sure whether to be relieved or concerned by this news," Aayla said. "Relieved that the people of this city might at least be safe but concerned that we still don't know the true range of these Digimon interlopers."

"Never mind that now," said Henry. "We'll figure that out later but you know about what we just heard. That man we spoke to, Eusine, believes that one of the Legendary Pokémon – Suicune – might be nearby. If that's true then we need to find it quickly."

"Her," Latias said. "Suicune is a her, not an it."

"Sorry," Henry amended. "But still, if she's nearby… the man's been following her around for ten years so he might know something about her habits, and he said that this wind blowing from the north might be her doing. Do you think that might be true?"

"A single guy has been following Suicune around for ten years?" Latios blanched. "That is… quite disturbing."

"I think you mean, he's a weirdo," Latias supplied with a nudge.

"Yes, that applies too," Latios nodded. "I feel sorry for Suicune. Having a stalker like that on your tail must be a little unpleasant."

"I would have thought that she was used to it," Gardevoir put in. "After all a lot of humans out there would figuratively kill for the chance to see some of you Legendary Pokémon. There are bound to be dozens of people out there who have been walking around trying to get a glimpse of Suicune or the rest of her brethren. This one just happens to be… quite determined."

"That is true," Latios conceded. "There have been times where we've come across people determinedly looking for us and… sometimes Latias would unhelpfully let them catch a tiny glimpse of her to get them excited and then silently laugh at them while they search for her while she floats along invisibly behind them."

"What?" Latios asked defensively. "It's hilarious."

"And a little mean," Impmon snickered. "I approve."

"Perhaps we should try and stick to the more pressing subject," Renamon put in. "Do you think its possible that Suicune is nearby based on what we know?"

"Well, we know very little apart from that there is a strong wind blowing from the south and some guy thinks that she might be close by," Latios mused. "It _is_ true that wherever Suicune appears the wind does indeed blow from the north but it's usually not much more than a gentle breeze – Suicune's usually a calm and reserved and very gently individual and the wind reflects her mood a lot of the time. If this is her wind, then she must be unhappy about something."

"What happens when she gets angry?" Mako asked, trying to put in a good question.

"If she was angry then there would probably be a squall going on," Latios replied. "But still, it is possible that she is nearby, though she can affect the wind for many miles around her so I couldn't say how close she would be."

"But if we can find her, it is still a start," Felkan chipped into the conversation. "And we do need a start relatively soon. Articuno was not at the Seafoam Islands like we were hoping she would be and there's no guarantee that Zapdos will show up at the Power Plant we're heading towards. If we can find Suicune here then we're one step closer to our goal."

"Our goal of twenty-five," added Terriermon. "There would still be twenty-four even if we did find her."

"Twenty-four is better than twenty-five," Felkan replied shortly.

"True."

"Well, let's say that she is close by then," Aayla said. "How would we go about finding her?"

"Well, she would be unlikely to show herself in a public place, so she would probably be out in the wild somewhere," Latios said.

"But the sea is to the west and the south of here," Rika pointed out. "So that means that she would have to be north or east of here, wouldn't it?"

"No, don't you remember what that guy Eusine said?" Henry shook his head. "He said that Suicune has the ability to walk on water."

"That is true," Latias nodded. "If I had legs and couldn't levitate then I would be seriously jealous of her for that ability. In fact I almost am now. No other Pokémon has the ability to do that, with the exception of Surskits and those guys are tiny."

"Well, if that's that case then Suicune could really be at any point of the compass," Henry sighed. "We don't have anything to go on at the moment. And our telepathy only stretches for a few miles of one another before most of us are out of range of each other's though processes. So, what do we do?"

There was a couple of beats of silence, until Renamon said, "Well, Terriermon and I have the ability to communicate with one another over an infinite distance. Perhaps we could attempt to split up to see what we could find."

"And if we use our senses we should be able to detect Suicune when we get within a mile of her," Latios agreed. "We know her – we know what her presence feels like and there is only one of her. We don't exactly have to stumble blindly across her."

"Plus we can keep in contact over a great distance too," added Latias. "We're Psychic type twins after all. If we split up into two groups, each with either Latios or me and each with either Terriermon or Renamon, we could stay in contact and we could begin the search all around the city, one group by land and one group by sea."

"And if we don't find anything then… well… tough luck and we move on," Impmon finished.

"Alright then," Aayla nodded. "Renamon should be with the group that searches over the sea – it's easier to be spotted over an area without cover such as the ocean and her perception filter will help with that."

"Well that makes sense," Lucario voiced. "By how do we decide who else should…" He stopped, blinking.

"What?" Felkan asked, taking in his explanation, but before Lucario could answer he found out what he had detected. One of the twelve Pokéballs around his waist was vibrating rocking backwards and forwards from its magnetic clip as if its occupant was straining to get out, but wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to do so or not.

Felkan's blood ran cold – he knew which of his team this particular Pokéball contained. He cleared his throat and said, "The perception filter is still up right?"

"Yes," Renamon said warily, reinforcing her perception filter to it maximum strength just to be sure.

Felkan took the Pokéball, maximised it and opened it up in the palm of his hand. The burst of light that erupted from within resolved itself into Absol, and the white fur of the four-legged feline-like Pokémon was standing on end, his eyes wild and his legs trembling as if he was about to spring into the air involuntarily at any moment.

"What is it Absol?" Felkan asked, and everybody was paying attention now – even the newcomers knew enough about Absol now to know what this meant.

"Danger!" Absol yelled. "Something's coming! A major disaster! An… an attack on something big! Something that's coming, something that's heading towards the city right now. It's in danger! Big danger! Lots of danger from lots of things! An ambush!"

"Slow down, Absol, what do you mean?"

"Something coming into the city?" Aayla frowned. "Does he mean a person or a convoy or…"

A sudden, loud blaring sound cut her off – a noise that echoed throughout the city despite the fact its source was still some distance away. A ship's foghorn, announcing its impending arrival into a port.

An earlier conversation about the world-famous and world-roaming cruise ship flashed through the minds of both Henry and Rika and their eyes shot wide.

"Oh God," Henry gasped.

* * *

There were hundreds of passengers currently aboard the S.S. Anne – humans and Pokémon alike, though of course it was mostly the humans that were wandering about out in the open. The enormous cruise ship was everything that a person would need for a getaway on the high seas, with six different swimming pools on the top deck alone, a huge dining area, a casino, a theatre, an outdoor cinema, and even an armoured room below deck that allowed people to have Pokémon battles, albeit with carefully regulated rules to prevent unnecessary damage to the ship.

There were ten levels of rooms, each one fitted out with everything the passengers needed for their stay and each one with its own private balcony. Sunshades and deckchairs littered the top deck from practically the front to the back and large numbers of people were moving hither and thither, going about their own business and generally enjoying their time. Sailors could be seen here and there checking various things on the ship, but for the most part it was all about the tourists.

It could truly be called a luxury cruise-liner.

Now it was close to a couple of miles off shore from Vermilion and making its final approach in towards the port. It still looked like a vague shape in the distance to the people on the shore, but they were all waving and cheering as they always did when the ship made its annual visit, as if the people on board could actually see them, though in reality only a very few of them were even looking over the railings.

Everyone was having fun. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

But the dark figure that had recently moved into this area of the Pokémon world chuckled lightly to itself as it drew steadily closer. It had moved from its original position on the top of the Diglett's cave and was now standing right beneath one of the docks that stretched out across what remained of the land, staring out at the incoming vessel.

It was taking a risk in doing this and it knew it. Not only was it acting under its own authority with this, but this would be the first time that any of them had deliberately revealed themselves to the locals since they had got here. But it had sent a message through the shadows and it knew that the various troops around the area were now ready and in position. It only had to send the word, and it would begin.

He chuckled quietly to himself as he extended his powers, focusing, and knowing that deep beneath the ocean right now, a shadowy form of himself had appeared in front of many waiting eyes, a mere black image against the backdrop of the water and with no consistency whatsoever, but when the figure itself said, "Begin," so did the image.

Then, cancelling the power it opened its eyes and waited.

* * *

Things changed very quickly on the cruise ship. Some more of the passengers were beginning to take notice of their impending arrival into the port of Vermilion, but then the entire ship suddenly juddered to the accompaniment of an explosive concussive noise and the sound of straining metal, as well as fountain of spray that suddenly erupted from the starboard side of the boat. People screamed as they toppled over, water frothing from the swimming pools and pieces of furniture or deckchairs skidding or tumbling in the brief moment before the ship settled back down in the water again.

In the bridge at the fore of the ship, the captain cried, "What the devil was that? Did we hit something?"

"No sir!" a crewmember called. "There's nothing on the scopes. I think something just hit us!"

"Damage report?" the captain asked.

"Looks like the hull is a little dented but it's held firm," the same crewmember said. The S.S. Anne, as with most cruise-liners in this world had _incredibly_ thick hulls – a safety precaution just in case the ship happened upon a particularly angry shoal of Gyarados or something out at sea.

"Sir, there's something heading towards us!" another crewmember said, who was monitoring the sonar imaging around the vessel. "Something… no a lot of somethings!"

"Gyarados?" the Captain asked. "Wailords? Talk to me?"

"Can't tell, sir, but they're coming in fast and some of them are way too big to be Gyarados…"

Before he could finish speaking there was another massive judder as something slammed into the side near the stern of the ship, practically throwing the captain and a whole lot of screaming passengers off their feet. And then there was another impact a mere few seconds later, giving them almost no chance for recovery.

And by then, the sonar signals had reached the ship.

* * *

A woman who had grabbed onto the railing for support suddenly screamed in shock as an enormous red tentacle shot out of the water below her and latched onto the side of the ship down beneath with a huge, black, three-clawed tip. It was immediately followed by another and the woman screamed in shock as she watched an _gargantuan _octopus like creature with many red tentacles and a giant bulbous head covered in a brown carapace and wearing a crown between its three red horns clambering out of the water and latching onto the side of the ship, pulling itself up the side.

People on the other side of the ship were also yelling in fear as more tentacles – these ones white – extended out of the water as if they were made of elastic and practically latched onto the railing right next to them, hooking it with three huge claws on each one, and the huge, ugly head of some kind of giant white squid with gaping jaws hauled itself up and out of the water latching onto the side of the ship with its suckers.

And then the real panicking began as the numbers of tourists charged about at random, all flailing and knocking each other over in the wild, mad scramble to get away from the areas where the two huge monsters could be seen pressing themselves against the ship – no destination in mind for any of them as panic overwhelmed their minds.

But it was not just two giant monsters, no. As the Octomon and Gesomon, for that was what they were, held tightly to the ship there were other things scrambling out of the water and clambering up the tentacles like they were ropes – hordes of Divermon clambering hand over hand with smirks on their wide fanged mouths and harpoons attached to their backs. And if that weren't enough the Octomon and Gesomon were reaching back down with their other tentacles and lifting several others up, as well as a lot of Gizamon and Coelamon and depositing the over the sides of the ship and up onto the top level in droves.

Madness and chaos broke out immediately as the Digimon charged into the ranks of the tourists, laughing and cackling and enjoying every moment of the panic and fear that was being issued around them. Several Gizamon curled into balls and rolled like buzzsaws across the decks, forcing people to leap out of the way of their onslaught or be sliced by their razor-like back spikes. The Gizamon sprang onto anyone that they could get to and bore them to the ground, their sharp claws glinting as they brought them down.

The Divermon and the Coelamon laid out amongst the crowds at well, slashing and striking with their claws and harpoons at anyone who got within range. One Divermon leapt into the air and hurled his harpoon at a middle-aged man who just managed to duck low enough to avoid being skewered but who still had a line cut across his back. Many of the Coelamon dived into the pools, snapping at any humans still unfortunate enough to still be in them and launching their spikes out at seemingly random.

And to top that off the Gesomon and Octomon themselves were also getting in on the action, with the Octomon reaching up with its huge tentacles and lashing them out, grabbing unfortunate passengers like it was grabbing flies out of the air and flinging them aside, tossing them overboard or into walls, while the Gesomon was simply slamming down its massive wide tentacles onto anything that got within range, splintering the deck and sweeping anyone and anything aside, whether they be deckchairs or living beings.

Screams and cries of tormenting laughter rent the air as the hordes of Digimon dealt their needless attack on the innocents around them. What had been a relaxing cruise had now turned into a nightmare for everyone involved and there were more than a few deaths dealt everywhere each passenger turned, humans who might have had full lives ahead of them brought down by claw or by tentacle or by spike or by spear.

It was then that the leader of the assault arrived, clambering hand over hand up the Gesomon's tentacle until he vaulted onto the ship and landed so heavily the wood beneath him practically fractured. Though he had no legs he walked on his knuckles or was capable of hovering and his long, muscled arms capped with knuckle-dusters were attached to a rounded blue body that also served as its head, the top half of which was covered in metal and riddled with spikes, with holes for its eyes and stopped just before its mouth.

A Pukumon – a Mega Level Digimon that resembled a giant pufferfish with arms.

"Swarm over them!" Pukumon's rubbery voice rose above the screams and jeers. "Throughout the ship. Leave no place untouched, leave no person unaccounted for. Take the ship from all corners!"

The Digimon swarm responded to his orders and quickly spread themselves around. Several of the Divermon and Gizamon bounded down the stairs right across the length of the ship and into the lower levels where there were yet more people fleeing up and around, trying to find out what was happening or trying to reach safe ground. Pretty soon the halls had a Digimon around near every corner, especially when they found the main hall in the middle of the ship which opened up to almost all the levels. They busted their way through doors and menaced anyone that they could find, faces leering in a gloating triumph.

Meanwhile the Gesomon and the Octomon had started directly assaulting the side of the ship with their tentacles, slamming them into the reinforced hull and smashing balconies beneath them, ripping open chunks into the various rooms, some of which was occupied and therefore forcing the people inside to dive for cover and or run out into the corridors to avoid getting crushed and not all of which were fortunate enough to avoid such a fate.

It was a terrible swathe of destruction.

Although, after the initial panic, some of the people were beginning to regain their heads. Not all of them were Pokémon trainers – in fact many of them weren't. After all not everybody in this world went out in the world to get a Pokémon and start a journey, though most people usually did own or live with one or two. But some of the people who were trainers began to think more clearly and called forth some of their team to try and push the invaders to the ship back.

A pair of Divermon flung their harpoons at a pair of screaming children when a Barrier sprang up in front of them, held in place by a grimacing Mr. Mime. The Divermon hissed and launched themselves at it, crashing into the barrier themselves and being repelled, only for them to be thrown aside by a solid punch from a Machoke. The Mr. Mime ushered the kids to safety while the Machoke laid into several Gizamon with a Low Sweep followed by a Submission attack, only for another two Divermon to slam into its back moments later and send it flying.

Other Pokémon were being called out all over the ship now to try and deal with the threat. A Magmar spurted fire that pushed another group of Gizamon back, where they were rolled into by a little Phanpy and knocked to the side. But several more Gizamon curled up into balls themselves and buzz-sawed their way towards the Phanpy, which balked, knowing that none of its rolling attacks would be able to stand up to those spinning blades.

But then a Golem landed in front of it and sent the Gizamon flying backwards with a Rock Blast attack. The Magmar ran past it and delivered a Fire Punch straight to a Divermon that was trying to jump on it from above but suddenly a bunch of Coelamon surged out of the nearby pool and soaked the both of them with water, causing them to yell in pain as one of their main weaknesses was used against them. The Coelamon flung Fossil Bites – spikes of yellow energy down at them, which pinged harmlessly off the Golem's rock-hard exterior but embedded in the Magmar and caused it to yell in pain.

A Flareon dodged and weaved around three Striking Fish lances from the Divermon before it span around and caught its pursuers in a Fire Spin trapping them inside a swirling vortex of flame, but before it could do anything else it was blindsided by a sweep from the Octomon's tentacle and sent flying to crash heavily into a wall. The Fire Eeveelution struggled to stand as several more Divermon flung their harpoons at it, but a Bronzor suddenly levitated in front of it and pulsed the harpoons back with a Psywave, only for the Bronzor to be hit itself moments later when several Gizamon leapt forwards and slammed all four of their feet into it.

Over on the other side of the ship the Machoke was swing a pair of Coelamon around by their tails and sent them flying with a Vital Throw, but then a pair of Divermon brought a net that they had picked up from nearby and bore it to the ground, thrashing and kicking. The Mr. Mime and the Magmar both ran to its aid, slamming out a Psybeam and Flame Burst respectively to knock the attackers back, but then they were each abruptly swarmed by more of each of the Digimon.

The Flareon successfully knocked a Divermon over the side with a Quick Attack but then spotted a Koffing which was desperately trying to defend a group of humans huddled against the railings with its Gyro Ball attack and ran over to help, trying to get the humans to safety and launching another Fire Spin at the invaders before several Coelamon burst from around the corner and piled into it.

And the Golem was now Steamrolling over several Gizamon, crushing them underneath its huge body and splintering them into data, but then with a thud, the Pukumon landed in front of it. Lashing out with both muscled arms the Pukumon crashed them into the rolling Golem and, though it skidded backwards several metres, halted it in its tracks. The Golem grunted in surprise at being stopped like this by something smaller than itself, but the Pukumon sprang up and slammed a fist into it, knocking it back into a wall hard enough to send it crashing through it.

"This is becoming a sport!" Pukumon laughed as the various Pokémon that were trying to help usher the humans to safety seemed to be being overwhelmed by both power and numbers while the humans continued to dash about. And to top it off the entire ship suddenly juddered again as whatever was still beneath the surface of the water continued its assault on the lower hull.

There was nowhere to run to for the passengers. The lifeboats were the only real system of getting off the ship while it was still out on the ocean and all of them were on one of the middle levels of the ship and by this point all the halls were crawling with Digimon. There had never been anything like this experience in the history of the Pokémon World.

It seemed certain that everybody on the ship would that day lose their lives.

* * *

Shortly after the initial stages of the attack, a group of several beings on shore were standing on one of the largest buildings in the city – the local Pokémon Gym. Transported up their by Psychic powers or with the help of the Force they were barely attempting to hide anymore and all of them were looking out at the distant shape of the cruise ship.

"You're sure?" Felkan asked.

"Yes, yes yes yes!" Absol cried. "They're under attack! That ship is under attack right now, I can feel it!" He looked half-crazed, as if the disaster sense that his species possessed was electrifying his brain.

"But you can't really see anything from this distance if you're a human!" Henry said. "Shouldn't they be able to contact the people on the coast…!?"

"There's no time for that!" Rika hissed. "You knows if the coastguard or whatever will get there in time and who knows what's going on out there? We don't have time to argue! We've got to do something now!"

"Agreed," Aayla said, eyes narrowing. "Regardless of our objectives we must move out. It may be a Digimon attack and we cannot let innocent lives be lost through inaction!"

"Let's move!" Renamon growled. "It doesn't matter if they see or not, we must go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! I cannot just…!" Felkan began, about to make the usual protest about not revealing himself in front of anyone and not getting involved in business that involved other humans but Gardevoir stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. Felkan turned to look at her and saw the penetrating expression in her red eyes.

A silent message passed from Gardevoir to Felkan with the gaze alone, such that even telepathy wasn't necessary for her to convey it. Felkan registered everything immediately and what he registered was:-

_Would you really stand back and do nothing, regardless of the past or what the consequences may be if you're seen for any of us when there are people out there on that cruise ship dying right at this instance and you may not only be able to help, but be one of the few who can get there in time to do so, because I know that you couldn't if you were really thinking clearly on the matter. You may not trust humans but the Felkan I know would not see them die, just as you would not see Rika die at the hands of that IceDevimon._

That was everything that Felkan got in the course of a split second and he sighed, knowing that Gardevoir was right. He'd spent so long avoiding people that now he was doing it automatically. He clenched his fist.

"Fine," he said. "Let's move."

"Brother, I'm doing this," Latias said before Latios could voice any objections.

"I'm sure," Latios replied, knowing Latias was feeling more ready thanks to the talk she had had with Terriermon and Lopmon earlier that day.

"Come on then!" Felkan said, hurling two Pokéballs into the air and summoning forth Garchomp and Charizard.

"We're going too," Rika cried, defiantly giving Renamon and Aayla a look that broken no argument. Rika in particular had gotten so frustrated at being left behind so often during the fights back in Aayla's universe against the likes of the Separatists.

"No time to argue I suppose. Let's move!" Renamon cried, leaping onto Latias' back and standing like a surfer as the dragons levitated each of the Tamers into the air and placed them on a respective back while Felkan temporarily recalled Lucario and Absol, Gardevoir teleporting him onto Garchomp's shoulders moments later. Aayla grabbed the bunnies and Impmon with the Force and bounded onto Charizard's shoulders in turn.

Charizard and Garchomp did not need to be told what to do – a Pokémon was always aware of what was happening in the immediate vicinity of its Pokéball if they were trying to pay attention, hence why Absol's disaster senses even went off inside them. They had been listening to the whole conversation and what bits they had not been able to glean from the words had been fed into their minds by Gardevoir directly. The two of them immediately turned and shot away, the wind at their backs and propelling them out over the water, Charizard powering his wings and Garchomp spreading his fins as they soared out across the waves.

Latios and Latias shot off after them, the four dragons and their passengers shooting over the heads of many tourists on the docks below, who yelled and cried out in surprise at their appearance and several of them screaming in excitement when they caught sight of the two Legendaries, but none of them cared right now. At this point, there was only one thing that mattered, and that was what was going on at the S.S. Anne.

* * *

Speaking of which, the ship was in dire straits. Huge chunks had been torn out of its side by the Gesomon and Octomon and by this point the Digimon had spread to every location in the ship, several of them entering the engine room and setting it ablaze, laughing as the power to the ship died.

At the bridge of the cruise ship the captain had attempted to call in for help once he realised what was going on in the ship behind them, screaming into the radio until several harpoons had crashed through the window, killing one of the cabin members and several others slamming through the machinery and cutting off the radio feed. How much of his message had got through he didn't know but even if it had, what could the police services on shore do against something like this?

It was bedlam out there!

The Pukumon laughed as he slammed a fist into the stomach of the defending Machoke, which was sent rolling away and landed in a heap, clutching his stomach. As his trainer ran over and recalled him, Pukumon laughed merrily, hugely enjoying the pandemonium around him. He wasn't even trying and already many of the defending locals had folded beneath the numbers and might of the aquatic Digimon.

Why the commander had instructed them to attack this ship he didn't really know but who care at this point? Though there were still a lot of passengers alive – most of them in fact as there had been a lot of passengers to begin with, they were now huddled helplessly together in large groups, hemmed in by the Digimon on all sides and any Pokémon sent out against them was swiftly defeated.

"Kill them!" he burbled to anyone within hearing range. "Down with the humans and their feeble local monsters! They tremble before us! They fold before our might! They…!"

He stopped yelling when several Divermon launched their harpoons at an encircled group of humans and there was a flash of light and the harpoons _and_ Divermon were suddenly flung backwards to slam against walls and railing or being flung over the sides entirely. Pukumon stopped and blinked. A tall humanoid figure in a long flowing white gown with green hair had appeared in front of the crowd, arms thrown out and eyes glowing bright blue.

_Everyone!_ Gardevoir broadcast her telepathy as far out as she could. _Help has arrived!_

"Help?" Pukumon scoffed! "What…?"

Before he could finish the sentence a mighty roar echoed through the sky as Charizard swooped down and slammed several Coelamon with a mighty sweep of his tail and as he thudded onto the deck, Aayla bounded off his back, drawing both lightsabers and plunging them through the tops of a pair of Gizamon's heads. Moments later Garchomp swung around the other side of the ship, slashing his claw across the Gesomon's huge tentacle and eliciting a shriek from the giant squid and atop his back, Felkan gathered all his filled Pokeballs and once and flung them into the air.

"If we're going to do this…!" he growled. "Let's go all out! Everyone at once!"

Nine bursts of light erupted through the air and solidified as various points around the ship and moments later there was a sudden surge of Pokémon activity as each of them let into fighting without being asked. The Digimon were shocked at the sudden ferocity displayed before them, coming from all angles, as a mountainside-worth of hurt suddenly cascaded down upon them.

Three Divermon burst into data as Sceptile charged past them, whirling his Leaf Blades through their stomachs and chests in a frenzied dance before he seized two more by their faces and slammed the backs of their heads into the deck. His head shot up and fired a Bullet Seed that peppered a pack of Coelamon and drove them away from a pair of children and then shot past them and delivered a darkness filled Night Slash to another Divermon sneaking up behind them. The Coelamon tried to flee by Sceptile was after them instantly and crashed into them with Pursuit, knocking them all flying in different directions.

Gardevoir teleported to the other side of the group of humans and fired a Signal Beam from her hands that tossed several buzzsawing Gizamon backwards, span around to deliver a Fire Punch straight to the gut of a Divermon that had leapt at her from an overhead railing and slam it into the wall, forming an Energy Ball in her other hand as she did so and spinning into the air to throw it at another batch of them closeby, scattering them under the force of the attack and as she pirouetted to a stop nearby her body crackled and fired off a Thunderbolt that fried another three Gizamon as they sprang forwards.

Grabbing another spinning Gizamon with Psychic she flung it upwards where it was seized in Swellow's talons. The bird Pokémon banked round a corner and flung it into another group of Gizamon, sending and Ominous Wind in their direction with a burst of his wings and sending them rolling away. Several Divermon flung their harpoons at the bird but he rolled over and span through them, one passing through the twin forks of his tail and he shot down to crash through the group with Steel Wing just as Scyther shot in from the other direction and used his own Steel Wing on the same group, battering them in all directions.

Scyther and Swellow nodded to each other but a group of Coelamon suddenly rounded the corner and flung their Fossil Bites at them. Swellow hurled a Whirlwind at them to deflect the attacks and Scyther swept in, using the Whirlwind to increase his speed as he smashed through them with Aerial Ace and finished with a double Night Slash that cut through half of them with a single swing. The two of them took off and shot over one of the swimming pools, with several Divermon in pursuit, leaping into the water to swim across and chase them down.

Bad move.

Milotic fountained out of the pool in front of them until she was hovering above it and through a Scald straight down into the pool. The entire pool started boiling in the space of a second and the Divermon squealed as they were practically cooked. Milotic spun gracefully around and focused on the boiling water beneath her, forcing it to rise up in a Surf that washed away a small horde of Gizamon and Coelamon and splashed into the eyes of the Octomon causing him to howl and almost making him lose his grip on the side. Milotic spun around and delivered and surging Aqua Tail down onto the heads of a few more Coelamon and hit those that were flung up by the strike with a Twister to send them flying away.

Panic over the disaster happening all around him forgotten, Absol bore a Divermon to the ground underneath his claws and viciously swung his head to Slash another two across the stomach with his curved horn. A group of Gizamon sprang towards him from the side and one of them leapt forwards and hit him in the flank with all four legs, sending him skidding away, digging his claws into the deck to keep from going too far and used their purchase to throw himself forwards at them, body cloaking in a Dark aura as he slammed into the Gizamon, taking advantage of its hit on him to slam into the group with Payback and bowl them all away. Flinging a Water Pulse to one side to wash a Divermon trying to clamber over the side away he span around and barrelled to charge through a cluster of Coelamon with a massive Megahorn, slamming them all through the air like tennis balls.

Several of the flying Coelamon were then struck in the back with a Wild Charge from Luxray and slammed into the ground, deleted. Luxray winced a little from the impact but he ignored it and threw himself in front of another group of humans that had Divermon harpoons thrown at them, activating a Light Screen to partially deflect the attacks and then struck out with a massive Thunder before they could connect properly vaporising them and most of the Divermon that thrown them with an explosion of electric power. Only one remained standing, narrowly avoiding the attack, but Luxray bounded forwards and immediately started slashing into him with super-fast Fury Cutter strikes from his claws.

Several Coelamon remaining in one of the swimming pools suddenly regretted now climbing out sooner as a beam of Ice from Glaceon's mouth arced down and connected with water, turning the entire pool into a solid block of ice and freezing them solid in a matter of seconds. Glaceon landed on the surface and slid across it on all fours, throwing Ice Shards out ahead of him that pummelled several Divermon in the face before using the momentum of his slide to hurl himself into a Double-Edge that crashed into a pack of Gizamon that were in the middle of curling up to try and attack. The small fox then spun around and launched a pair of Shadow Balls right into the Divermon that were scrambling to get back up.

A Divermon took aim at Glaceon with its spear but was ploughed into by a Flame Charging Houndoom that rounded the corner and carried him forwards on his horns, slamming into several of them like pins and coating them in flames before tossing them away and over the side with a flick of his head. Several Coelamon leapt up to try a Fossil Bite at him but suddenly he was in the face of the foremost and slammed it aside with Sucker Punch, twisting around to slam each of the others with Iron Tail before they could even fire their attacks. Houndoom landed splayed on all fours and span about to launch a Fire Blast at a group of Gizamon.

Several of the Gizamon were torched by the attack but several others managed to escape by leap-frogging into another pool. But before they could sigh in relief something plunged into the water behind them and Garchomp surged up at them, spinning about to Slash through them with his massive claws and knock them flying back out of the water and vaporise into data. Garchomp landed by the side of the pool and snarled at a large group of about twenty Divermon, the first ten of which flung their weapons at him. Garchomp surged forwards, head flashing white with the power of Iron Head, the projectiles bouncing harmlessly off his hardened skull as he brutally slammed five of them into data and then swung out his fins, generating a Stone Edge that lanced out to all sides and lacerated the rest.

Other Gizamon spinning through the air had launched themselves at a bunch of girls cowering against a wall, blades spinning like helicopter blades as the lanced forwards. But suddenly Lucario was in front of them with Metal Claw activated and with three rapid strokes he deflected the Gizamon backwards and sent them crashing away. A bunch of Divermon charged him angrily but he unleashed a potent Metal Sound their way, causing them to convulse and scream as they covered their ears against the horrible sound and moment later Lucario was among them, one fist shrouded in Thunderpunch and the other coated in Ice Punch and he laid into the group like a spinning top.

Several more Divermon that had climbed up to higher levels screamed in rage at what they saw happening to their comrades below and leapt down, determined to punish the newcomers that had suddenly arrived from nowhere. Every one of them were suddenly caught in an enormous Heat Wave from the side and blasted away, Charizard following up with a Wing Attack that slammed several of them into unconsciousness. The fire dragon flared his wings and lanced downwards to deliver a bone-crushing Dragon Claw to the chest of an attacking Coelamon and flared his wings, letting loose a pair of Air Slash blades and slewed outwards into the rest of the pack.

All in all, the Digimon that had been causing untold destruction on the ship were suddenly having untold destruction wrought upon them by these new Pokémon, all of which were clearly on a different level to the previous defenders. Pukumon, from where he was crouched slightly hidden now in the middle, growled in irritation. What was going on? Where had these strangers come from and how were they so good at this. They worked as an efficient team, methodically sweeping across the ship and taking out the minor forces wherever they went.

But then the Mega level spotted something else. The blue-skinned woman was still standing in the middle of the ship, not moving from her spot except to twirl her blades through anything that came close. But behind her and shielded from view was a pair of strange looking dragons that were coming in to land and several humans were piling off their backs and onto the deck. As well as several other somethings.

Digimon.

Other Digimon that were definitely _not_ part of his strike force.

* * *

Felkan, who had been put down by Garchomp before the dragon joined in the real attacking, dashed over to the group as Latios and Latias put them down, Aayla defending them diligently from attack. "Alright, we're here!" he yelled. "Now what?"

"Our first priority is these people! We have to get the passengers to safety!" Aayla called. "Where are the lifeboats?"

"I saw them about halfway down the height of the ship!" Henry called.

"Alright!" Aayla called, everyone deferring to her swift decision making. "All you humans start shepherding the people down towards the lifeboats. Gardevoir and I will protect you as you do so!"

"Agreed," Gardevoir suddenly teleported in and blasted two Divermon away with a Psychic blast.

Felkan, some of your Pokémon need to head down inside the ship – there are bound to be many more Digimon down there and hundreds of trapped people down there. One of you Digimon go with them!"

"On it!" Renamon cried, springing away towards the stairs. "Rika, digivolve me to Champion!"

Rika nodded and swiped the card, Renamon bursting into light and shifting into her Kyubimon form as she bolted forwards, yelling, "Some of you guys with me! We need to clear the inside of the ship!"

Several of the Pokémon around her heard her and charged away from what they were doing to follow her. Absol, Lucario, Luxray, Sceptile and Glaceon all thundered down the stairs and into the interior of the ship hot on Kyubimon's nine tails.

"Someone needs to head over the bridge at the front of the ship and check up on the captain and the other people!" Aayla added. "We need to find a way of getting this ship in closer to shore as quickly as we can!"

"I'll do it!" Lopmon hurled herself into the air, digivolving to the Champion level herself with a quick aid from Suzie, bounding onto a raised platform up on the ship as Turuiemon and flipping away towards the front.

"The rest of the Pokémon and Digimon stay here on the top! We need to do something about those giant Digimon on the sides!" Aayla finished. "Take them out quickly as you can!"

"No worries!" Impmon yelled. "Ai, Mako, you're with me! I'm not having you running around on your own out here! We're fighting together so I don't have to keep an eye on you to keep you safe!"

"Okay!" the twins nodded.

"Let's move!" Aayla yelled, and darted forwards, Gardevoir and the other humans moving with her as they hurried through the battling ranks of Pokémon and Digimon, seizing the terrified humans and pulling them up wherever they could and guiding them away, screaming for them to come to their sense and get to the lifeboats, Aayla whirling her lightsabers through Divermon forces and deftly deflecting their harpoons to clear a path for the more helpless. Several of them hesitating, staring at Aayla fearfully, but the Twi'lek pulsed a reassuring feeling towards them with the Force and they hurried forwards, obeying her instructions without any further question.

"Alright Teradelets!" Impmon called. "Let's do this. Cannon blasts might be a bit much on a ship like this so you know what to go for."

The twins nodded, seizing the D-Arc between them and calling, "Biomerge activate!"

Latios and Latias' eyes both widened as they beheld, for the first time, human and Digimon merging together to form a single being. They watched, enthralled as they fused into a single ball of glowing light that expanded outwards to form a tall humanoid shape with large jet-black feathered wings, medieval style armour and helmet and a long sword buckled at its side.

"**IMPMON BIOMERGE TO… FATEMON!"**

It was the other Mega form that Impmon had unlocked once he had figured out how to finally biomerge with the Twins at last back in the dark ocean. The body structure was similar to Beelzemon's in most ways, but the armour was tougher and shone in the sun, the sword at his side gleaming as the Mega Digimon pulled it from its sheath.

"Okay. That's awesome," Latias said. "There is no other way to describe it."

"Alright, Helicopter-Head!" Fatemon said in Impmon's voice. "You wanna get in on the game?"

"Yeah," nodded Terriermon. "Just as soon as…"

There was another thud as the ship juddered slightly and the four of them spun around to look towards the front of the ship at the sound of rending metal. Clambering over the side with what looked like a great deal of effort was a huge Digimon with a red armoured carapace and a pair of massive claws that were in keeping with its lobster-like body with a set of vicious looking jaws set in its draconic face.

"An Ebidramon, huh?" Fatemon asked, with a smirk, twirling his sword. "No problem… we…"

The was another rending noise, this time from the back of the ship, that forced them to have to move around a corner to see what was going on, and this time and even _bigger _shape was pulling itself up and over the side. An ugly mass of blue skin in a vaguely humanoid shape with huge white clawed tentacles for hands and another pair sprouting outwards from the back of its shoulders.

"A MarineDevimon," grimaced Fatemon. "I've had enough of these guys to last me a lifetime, why does there have to be another one here now? Why can't they all just stay in the depths where they belong?"

Nearby the Octomon slammed its giant sword down towards a screaming group of passengers being ushered along by Houndoom until Garchomp swept in and slammed the blade with a Dragon Rush to throw it wide, while the Gesomon swept its tentacle to one side across the deck, forcing Gardevoir to whirl around and haul it upwards with Psychic to get it to pass over several others.

"We've got to do something about these monsters on the sides before they start sinking the ship," Fatemon growled.

"I'm taking the lobster!" Charizard roared as he shot overhead, making for the front of the ship towards the Ebidramon.

"And I'll handle the ugly git at the back," Terriermon said, looking to the Eon twins. "You two think you can take out the tentacle creeps?"

"I'll give it a shot," Latias said determinedly.

"I suppose," Latios grimaced.

"Go for it," Fatemon nodded. "I'll help the others finish up with everything else up here."

Terriermon sprang up and blasted into a Digivolution with the aid of a nearby Henry, who had been waiting for Terriermon to give him the word. Forgoing the digivolution cry, Terriermon shifted straight into Rapidmon, the Ultimate level Digimon making its debut into this world and shot around towards the back as MarineDevimon raised his tentacles and prepared to slam them down. Rapidmon planted a foot right into his middle red eye before he could complete the motion, prompting a loud, uncharacteristically shrill yelp from the MarineDevimon as it stumbled backwards and almost fell right off the edge.

Charizard swooped low over the deck, his lashing tail just clearing the heads of a couple of passengers that were fleeing from the giant Ebidramon behind them and spun around to aim a devastating Iron Tail right to the side of the enormous lobster's jaw. The Ebidramon shrieked veered to the side, but reared up and swept out with a giant claw at the airborne dragon, who barrel-rolled over to avoid it.

Latios and Latias gave each other a nod before they turned and shot in opposite directions. Latios aimed straight for the Gesomon and slammed a Zen Headbutt into the its enormous coned head, shoving it backwards with such force that it almost lost its grip and had to latch onto the side of the ship before it fell off and into the water, while Latias activated her Steel Wing and crashed it into the Octomon's swing sword. Already weakened from Garchomp's Dragon Rush the sword snapped in half and the giant Octomon lurched to the side to avoid the point embedding itself in his shell.

Fatemon looked out around the rest of the ship and flared his wings, lifting off into the air. There was still a brawl going on around him, with Scyther dancing through a group of Divermon with his blades wildly swinging out around him and through them, Milotic spitting a Hydro Pump that washed several Coelamon with force straight through a wall and Swellow swooping out of nowhere to take the legs out from another bunch of Divermon with his Wing Attack, flying so low to the deck that his feathered chest was practically brushing against it.

Fatemon spotted a group of Gizamon chasing after some stranded passengers and made to head down towards them when something lurched up at him from below and landed squarely on his back, seizing him by the wings and pulling them sharply into his sides. Fatemon yelled as he plunged straight towards the deck, lurching wildly in an attempt to throw his passenger off as they tumbled, wrenching a wing of its grip and twisted around to rapidly extend the other and fling it away, arresting his fall moments before he crashed into the deck full-on, but still slamming into its feet first and skidding backwards as his assailant landed nearby.

The Pukumon, who turned around on his knuckles to face him.

"Well, it's nice to see there might be something to provide an entertaining fight here," the Pukumon said.

Fatemon's eyes narrowed. "I take it that you're the one in charge of the attack," he said, glancing to one side so he saw Garchomp take out the Gizamon he had been about to go for himself.

"Pretty much, yes," the Pukumon snickered. "And such fun this is. I'm so glad that we got this opportunity."

"Care to explain what you're doing here?" Fatemon growled.

"Not really no," Pukumon huffed. "Are we going to fight, or what?"

Fatemon's grip tightened around his sword. "Very well," he said. "Bring it."

The Pukumon needed no second bidding and lurched into the air with a thrust of his muscular arms, sailing for Fatemon and throwing a punch straight at his face. Fatemon countered with his sword, the metal clanging against the knuckle-dusters around Pukumon's fingers and heaved him off, ducking as Pukumon swung a blow from above down at him and spinning around to slash in at Pukumon from the side.

The Pukumon span around, batting the sword away with one fist and completing the spin to lash out with the other, catching Fatemon a glancing blow in the shoulder that bowled him backwards, the spike on the knuckle-dusters glancing off his armour but not doing much damage. Fatemon threw himself into a backwards roll and skidded back onto his feet, planting his sword in the deck in a fluid motion and spreading his hands.

"**BALANCED REALITY!"** he yelled, forming a sphere of light energy and a sphere of dark energy in either hand and hurling them at Pukumon, which surged forwards to try and sweep them aside with both hands. This turned out to be a very bad idea because they both exploded with incredible force considering their size the moment they made contacted, flinging Pukumon backwards across the deck and sending him rolling with a cry of pain.

Fatemon seized his sword and moved in, soaring into the air as Pukumon crashed to a stop in a nearby fallen towel rack. Fatemon raised his sword high above the seemingly stunned and seared Pukumon, the length of the blade glowing an intense white.

"**BLADE OF DESTINY!"** he cried and he brought it scything down through the air.

Pukumon saw the attack coming and righted himself, bracing for the attack, which crashed against his metal encased head and slammed to a halt. Fatemon grunted in surprise, his arms jarred at the sudden stop, but Pukumon smirked and said, "Chrome-Digizoid isn't going to break that easily, even against an attack like that. And if you're using them then perhaps I should too. **NEEDLE SQUALL!"**

Fatemon yelled as the needles that covered Pukumon's head suddenly shot outwards in all directions like arrows from a bow, their super-hard tips punching through his armour in many places and sticking into his legs, and one slashing him across the cheek as it shot passed. He staggered backwards and Pukumon reacted instantly, lashing up with a blow to the gut that made him double over and then swept in a hammer-swipe to the side of Fatemon's face, sending him crashing to the side, the Mega-level pufferfish in hot pursuit.

_Impmon, quick!_ Ai yelled from within the biomerged Mega.

_We have to get up and fight back!_ Mako agreed!

"Ungh… I hear ye," Impmon as Fatemon rolled over, Pukumon's fist smashing into the deck where he had just been, and his other fist surging forward towards Fatemon's back. Fatemon's sword swung over his shoulder as he blocked the attack and surged back to his feet, his long tail – a feature which has been present in his old Beelzemon form but was absent in his new one – lashed out and curled around Pukumon's arm, whipping him around and slamming him into the bulkhead, and then whipping him up and tossing him straight into another wall.

Pukumon was relatively uninjured by the attack, but was embedded in the wall by the spines that he had regrown already. He moved to pull himself free just as another pair of Balanced Reality orbs were flung at him and blew him straight through the wall to go crashing into the storage room beyond.

He quickly levered himself upwards, cursing, and threw himself into the air, powering himself out of the wall to find Fatemon surging towards him in turn, with another Blade of Destiny held ready behind him. Pukumon brought both fists slamming out the catch the slash of the sword and howled slightly when one of the buckled under the blow and flung him straight up into the air. Fatemon spread his wings and surged up after him, whipping into a spinning slash that Pukumon hurriedly rolled underneath, whipping around to punch at Fatemon's side, only for his fist to be met again with Fatemon's sword as he spun around to intercept.

Pukumon pushed forwards against the sword and lashed out with his other fist, only for Fatemon to grab his wrist with his tail before he'd delivered the blow and flick him downwards. But this time Pukumon grabbed Fatemon by the ankle as he fell and jerked him down with him, rolling him over to slam Fatemon's back into the deck. Pukumon bounded up and aimed his top side downwards, firing another Needle Squall at Fatemon's prone form. Fatemon surged into a backwards roll and landed on his feet, avoiding most of the Squall and batting a couple of the needles aside with sword and tail.

"You won't get me like that a second time," he growled.

"So it seems," Pukumon glowered regrowing his spikes and falling towards Fatemon again. But Fatemon smirked and, before Pukumon could register what was happening, he shifted form – his armour growing less distinct and his helmet changing shape, his sword and tail vanishing and a huge cannon growing on his right arm, which he brought upwards and fired a green blast straight into Pukumon's face. Pukumon rolled over quickly so the blast from Beelzemon hit his Chrome-Digizoid helmet instead of his body, but the force of the blow tossed him into the sky like a ping-pong ball.

And as he right himself, he saw Beelzemon shift back into Fatemon again and charge up towards him. He clenched his fists, not ready to back out of this fight just yet.

* * *

All around him the others were having similar brawls with the monsters around the outside of the ship. Rapidmon swung underneath a swipe from MarineDevimon's tentacle and doubled backwards to twist past MarineDevimon's face, deftly avoiding the swing of the other tentacle as well and rising into the air, launching a Miracle Missile from his back that lanced down and struck the MarineDevimon full in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards against a wall.

Rapidmon was owning this particular fight – his intense speed making him near impossible for MarineDevimon to hit. The cyborg bunny swung closer, waiting for MarineDevimon to get back up again. He was trying to find a way for him to win without causing too much damage to the ship, which was, miraculously, still afloat and as far as he knew not yet sinking. He needed a clear shot, so that he could take out the ugly monster without causing damage to any of his surroundings.

"What's the matter? Is that all you got you big wuss?" he taunted.

"**DARK DELUGE!"** roared MarineDevimon, spitting a huge blast of highly venomous ink from his mouth towards Rapidmon. Rapidmon moved out of the way easily, but then he spotted something which made his heart stop – there was a human child that looked no older than four hiding, frozen and petrified, behind a barrel nearby and the inky stuff was going to land right over his hiding place.

Rapidmon blazed down in front of the ink cloud faster than the speed of sound and unleashed a Tri Beam straight upwards into the jet of ink, bodily shielding the kid as his attack pushed upwards against the thick viscous attack and ink spattered all around them, but not on them.

"Kid! You need to get out of here! Now!" Rapidmon yelled, but the kid didn't move – too scared. Rapidmon cursed as the MarineDevimon's attack increased and started to wash over his own more focused beam, so he spun around and grabbed the kid, zooming out of the way, but some of the ink still spattering on his legs. He winced as he crashed and skidded to a halt, releasing the kid from his bazookas, where it ran towards its mother and was ushered away by Rika.

Still, as Rapidmon rolled over the MarineDevimon slammed a tentacle down towards him. Rapidmon's body was seized up slightly under the effects of the ink and he tried to dodge but the tentacle still caught him a glancing blow that sent him spiralling away to crash into the railing on the side of the ship and fall through it, plunging over the edge.

MarineDevimon laughed deeply at his victory but suddenly several missiles streaked upwards and crashed into his chest silencing him. Rapidmon levitated back into sight, his legs numb and his breathing ragged, but not out of the game yet.

* * *

"**TWIN SCISSORS!"** yelled the Ebidramon, madly slashing one claw upwards and then the other in an attempt to hit his fiery opponent. But Charizard spun away from one blow and blew under the other, swinging back around to lob a Flame Burst from his mouth that crashed into the Ebidramon's own and… well… burst, sending out molten bits of flame that spattered the inside of its mouth and caused it to howl in pain. Charizard then soared upwards and generated a Rock Slide in mid-air, which tumbled down on top of the giant lobster Digimon.

The Ebidramon hissed as the Rocks cascaded down on top of it and partially buried it, but mostly survived the hit unscathed thanks to its thick armour plating resisting the falling rocks. What it found harder to resist was when Charizard landed with a thump right in front of it and gathered energy inside his mouth for a moment before blasting outwards with a massive orange Hyper Beam that whooshed across the gap between them. The Ebidramon hurriedly held up a claw in front of its face like a shield, but the huge blast threw him backwards despite his massive size, splitting the armour on his claw and powering past it to char his face and cause him to shriek as he was carried over the edge.

Charizard stood, temporarily paralysed thanks to the ferocity of the attack but his eyes widened a little when the Ebidramon caught itself with its other claws and hooked itself on the edge of the ship, determinedly clinging on despite the huge wound on its claw and face. It hauled itself back up until it was mostly back on the ship and snarled, **"LOBSTER STEP!"**

A burst of water-like energy shot from Ebidramon's tail and propelled it into the air. Charizard's balked in alarm as it was carried straight over him and then fell down towards him. His muscles unfroze right at that point and he attempted to dodge but he was not quick enough to avoid it as Ebidramon thundered down on top of him there was a burst of fire that set several wooden structure nearby ablaze.

Ebidramon cackled, but then cried out in alarm as it suddenly began to rise into the air. Charizard, still on his feet and teeth gritted, was using Strength, his shoulders and hands pressed against Ebidramon's underside and lifting him right into the air.

"Don't think you can affect a Fire type with Fire," Charizard snarled as he heaved Ebidramon face first into the nearest wall.

* * *

The Gesomon had mostly hauled himself fully onto the ship now, no longer needed as a ladder from all the smaller Digimon clambering onto the top of the ship. It lashed out with both its huge elasticated tentacles in an attempt at a Coral Crusher at the airborne Latios, but he simply slipped through the swinging tentacles with ease and shot higher into the air.

Gesomon stretched his tentacles up after him and tried to slam him again, but Latios overturned himself and dived past them, firing a Dragon Pulse down that crashed into the Gesomon's face, tipping it backwards and forcing it to grip the side of the ship.

Across on the other side of the ship, the Octomon had dropped its massive now-broken sword and was attempting something similar – to grab the offending Latias with his large three-clawed tentacles, lifting some of his other eight up from time to time to take swipes at her. But the red dragoness was twisting, turning and dodging around like an airborne ballet dancer, skimming past each one of them and zipping in a different direction to dodge the next.

The Octomon growled in annoyance and took another swipe at her as she swept in front of him, but she flipped upside down, the tentacle passing over her stomach harmlessly, before she swung around to face him directly, her eyes glowing with Psychic energy. As the Octomon raised its tentacles up again for another strike, the crown on its head was lifted into the air and then bashed it in the face, causing it, like the Gesomon, to briefly lose its balance and have to grab on in order to steady itself.

Its eyes narrowed in irritation, and if the Gesomon had eyes then they would have narrowed too. Enough was enough. Both of them turned and took aim at their respective dragons.

"**SPURTING INK!"** the Octomon yelled, raising a gun that looked like a hairdryer in one hand and shooting a huge globule of ink out towards Latias.

"**DEADLY SHADE!"** the Gesomon snarled, exhaling another blast of ink out of glands inside its mouth that splurged out towards Latios.

Both of the ink-based attacks resembled the one used by MarineDevimon earlier, but neither of the were prepared for what happened next. Latios and Latias, reading each other's battles perfectly even while in the midst of their own, took action without moving. They seized the ink attacks with their Psychic powers and redirected them, so the black jets curved around and whooshed past their targets, shot right across the ship and impacted upon the opposite attacker. Octomon yelled as Gesomon's ink slammed into his eyes and blinded him, and Gesomon howled as Octomon's ink crashed into him and both of them could feel themselves weakening under the effects of one another's blows.

Latios and Latias gave each other a quick nod and switched opponents, shooting across the ship and past one another as they each powered up their own unique attacks, ones which they had never before used against another opponent.

Latios' mouth opened and white sparkles collected together in front of it into a pink ball of energy, which he then fired forwards in a massive beam that overwhelmed the Octomon where it stood; a furious Luster Purge attack that unseated it from its perch and sent it flying across the ocean and away from the ship, disintegrating into data before it had crashed onto the surface.

Latias brought her hands together beneath her, a flurry of down congealing between them that collected into an orb which Latias hurled at the Gesomon with a spin. The Mist Ball shot forwards and impacted with Gesomon and the moment it did it splurged outwards and massively increased in size, enveloping the Gesomon and shining with power. Gesomon howled as the Mist suddenly exploded, throwing him away and sending him crashing into the water, his particles disintegrating as he sank beneath the waves.

Latias grimaced, seeing that she had just taken another life, just like last night where she had killed so many of the Pipismon. But a moment later she felt her brother's comforting little hand on her shoulder, gently reminding her that she had done the right thing.

The battle wasn't over yet though, and moments later the two of them swung down to help out where they could once again.

* * *

The inside of the ship was now becoming even more chaotic than the outside, the Tamers having shepherded the majority of the survivors through off the top deck by this point and dashing madly towards the lifeboats. Felkan was standing on a flight of stairs ushering people down and passed him, when he spotted an elderly woman clutching the banister and struggling to get down with her walking stick while everyone else jostled past her.

Felkan gritted his teeth and pushed his way up to her, grabbing her arm and steadying her, helping her to proceed more quickly down the stairs and into the corridor below. Several Gizamon bounded into sight when they reached the corridor and charged towards them, but Gardevoir appeared in front of him and fired a Signal Beam down the corridor to send them flying back down the corridor.

The Embrace Pokémon turned and gave Felkan a smile, and a knowing nod. "Take care of her," she said. "And yourself!" And she teleported away again to wherever she was next needed.

Felkan gave the empty corridor a blank look before running on, helping the old lady move as quickly as she could with the swarming crowds towards the lifeboats, the Tamers screaming encouragement around him.

* * *

Aayla was taking point, leading the storm of passengers at the front and following the signs to the place where the lifeboats were supposed to be. Several Divermon crowded the stairs of the main hallway beneath them, causing several people to pull up short and scream as they looked up, leering. But Aayla bounded onto the banister and slid down it towards them, spring off to slash through first four with her double blades before they could raise their spears and yelling, "COME ON!" as she whirled and whipped her blades around in a frenzy of motion without pausing in her stride once while she motored down the stairs.

The crowd started up again behind her, trusting this strange woman and dashing on towards the promised safety.

* * *

Not far away, was the dining hall – a rather huge place with a level almost all to itself where around fifty humans were now trapped by the advancing Digimon hordes. As with above there had been several defending Pokémon called out, but several of them had already been defeated and now a Sandslash, a Starmie and a Tauros were the only ones that remained. It had to be said they were doing fairly well, the Starmie pushing many Divermon back with its Psychic blasts, the Tauros bodily shielding as many humans as it could and the Sandslash taking on a swarm of Gizamon as best it could, but they were all slowly being pushed back.

As several of the Divermon overwhelmed the Starmie and many others made ready to throw their harpoons at the Tauros they were suddenly blasted from behind by a huge Discharge that swept out from the door and washed over them, paralyzing many of them and dropping them to the floor. Luxray bolted into the room and threw out several razor-sharp Swift stars out with a swipe of his tail at the Gizamon clustered around the Sandslash to aid the beleaguered Pokémon, while behind him Sceptile suddenly vaulted through the door and launched a massive Leaf Storm out onto another crowd of Divermon.

"Everyone out!" Sceptile gestured as he and Luxray cleared a path to the door. Though the humans didn't understand him they needed no second bidding and bolted for their escape, the trainers recalling their injured Pokémon and charging forwards. Sceptile backed out through the door ahead of them and led the way, slashing two more Divermon in half with an X-Scissor as they rounded the corner. Luxray stayed in the room and charged into the ranks of the remaining Gizamon with a Charge powered Spark attack.

_Good work_, Lucario's voice echoed in both their heads, while Lucario himself was charging down a corridor two levels up with both his eyes closed, extending his aura powers around to try and detect every human on the ship. A pair of Gizamon buzz-sawed towards him, but he activated his Bone Rush and slammed both his arms out to crash it into both of them and slam them into the floor without opening his eyes. _Kyubimon, you've got two humans trapped in a room three doors to your left. Glaceon another three hemmed in in the corridor to your right._

* * *

_On it,_ Kyubimon replied, bounding forwards and swinging around the door to find a pair of Divermon menacing a woman holding a screaming infant in her arms. Without pause for thought the fox bounded forwards and lashed out with her tails, wrenching the Divermon into the air by the necks and heaving them through the balcony window and off the side of the ship.

"Come on! You have to get to safety!" she called, hurrying back out into the corridor and gesturing madly for her to follow.

* * *

Meanwhile three burly sailors sporting numerous cuts were crowded back to back as a bunch of Gizamon stepped closer on either side of them in the corridor they were standing in. Just before one of the Gizamon could leap, Glaceon charged in with a Quick Attack from behind and slammed it into the wall, the fox diving between the legs of the sailors and blowing a gigantic Blizzard attack into the corridor and blowing several other Gizamon away, before wheeling about and falling upon the other with an Ice Fang attack that froze it solid.

"Let's go, let's go!" Glaceon yipped at the sailors.

"Thanks, girl!" one of them yelled as they hurried away.

"Thanks, g… Oh come on!" Glaceon growled.

* * *

On shore, the shadowy figure underneath the docks chuckled as it watched the ship swaying in the distance, unable to make out exactly what was going on, but able to see enough. The people on the docks above him were beginning to realise that something was wrong – the ship was slowly drifting towards the shore but much slower than it should be doing and the entire structure seemed to be rocking and in many cases smoking.

"Well," the figure muttered to itself. "They certainly are putting up a good fight over there."

* * *

And couple of miles away, a four-legged creature with a bright blue pelt, a huge blue crest jutting out the top of its head, a long purple mane that flowed out behind it like a cape and a pair of ribbon-like tails flowing out to either side of it, was staring out across the water in the direction of the ship too. It might not be an Absol, but it did have some limited mental powers and it was getting the feeling that something wasn't quite right out there.

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaannndd...Yep, that's right. I'm ending it here – the situation on this cruise ship is far from ending just yet. And, like usual, I am being extra mean and now I'm going to make you all wait to find out what happens next. Hehehe. For the next chapter is the frequent trip back to the Digital World to find out what the other Tamers are getting up to. It's only after that that we will see the next stage of the madness that has befallen the S.S. Anne.

Still, I hope you enjoyed the madness and furious battling that took place during the majority of this chapter. It might have taken a long time for the action to start in this story but now that it has it is really beginning to hit with full force is it not?

Hehe. Bye bye then everybody. See you soon.

* * *

Next time…

With everyone else having failed the trails set forth on the Tundra Level, Takato and Guilmon are the only ones left and continue on through the tunnels to their final destination – the castle itself. What will they learn about their upcoming mission and what will they learn about themselves?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 25 : The Royal Knights**


	25. The Royal Knights

Heya folks. Sorry about this, but my weekend trip home was hectic as hell. I'll get back on the ball when I can but I do also have some uni work to do and all so I'll do what I can when I can. Still, I hope that you enjoy reading this chapter. Part of the reason it took a while was that I was trying to make sure that I got this right, for it sets up a good portion of the plotline for the rest of the Tamers side-story, focusing mainly on Guilmon. Read on and enjoy.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 25:- The Royal Knights**

* * *

Takato and Guilmon had no idea how much time had elapsed since they had been separated from the rest of the group. There seemed to be no sense of it down here in this icy tunnel that they were walking down, stepping carefully past the stalactites and the stalagmites that pierced the floor and the ceiling and lanced into the corridor. Guilmon sometime had to break one to get past it because some of them were so close together, though Takato could mostly squeeze through them without much difficulty.

Still, Takato did feel a little weird doing this without any of the other Tamers there. Most things now they did as a group – Takato and Guilmon hadn't really been on their own on a mission like this since… well… since his first days as a Tamer when Rika was not yet her friend, he didn't know Ryo, Henry was absent and everybody else was not yet a Tamer. Now it was just him and Guilmon.

Still, it was exciting, and as long as Digimon and Tamer had each other they would never be alone. Takato knew that now more than ever after they had had that experience with the Trial of the Spirit from earlier, when they had had to face down the apparition of Megidramon and come to terms with the guilt that they both felt during that terrible time.

Guilmon and Takato could both feel their connection as never before, like a warm glow that emanated from both of their hearts like some kind of fiery link. And as long as they were with one another, nothing would ever steer them wrong. Never again. And now they both knew it.

It was a wonderful feeling, Takato had to admit. And now he felt ready for anything else that these worthiness trials to see the Royal Knights would throw at them.

"How much longer do you think this tunnel's going to last, Takato?" Guilmon asked, squeezing through another narrow gap between a pair of stalagmites. "I think that my tail might be freezing a little bit."

"I dunno, boy," Takato shook his head. "Maybe this is some kind of trial of patience or something – it does feel like we've been wandering around for at least an hour, doesn't it?"

"A little longer actually," Guilmon muttered. "When are we going to eat?"

"Guilmon, we don't…"

"I know that we don't need to eat in this world, Takato," Guilmon mumbled. "But that doesn't stop me from being hungry."

Takato shook his head. "You really are impossible you know."

"If I'm impossible, then how can I exist? I don't get it."

Takato snorted. "It's an expression, Guilmon. It means that you are never going to change."

"But why would I want to change? I like who I am, and I know that you like who I am, otherwise we wouldn't still be partners, right?"

"Right," Takato snickered. Guilmon's innocent but true statements never ceased to perk him up, no matter what was going on around them. And so they moved on through the seemingly never-ending tunnel.

"You think the others are alright?" Guilmon asked. "Out there by themselves and waiting for us?"

"I'm sure that they'll be fine," Takato said. "Still, I feel bad for them. I mean I know that people like Kazu and Kenta aren't the bravest people in the world but they're still Tamers. I would have liked for all of us to go and see the Royal Knights together."

"But with Henry and Rika and the others in the other world at the moment we couldn't do that anyway," Guilmon pointed out.

"True, but of the rest of us… yeah, I would have preferred it. Still, this is something, isn't it? You and I granted the privilege of meeting them alone."

"We don't know if we've passed all the tests yet."

"Good point."

"What happens if we fail the next one and none of us go to see the Knights?"

"Then we'll all start again and this time we'll pass the tests. We know what most of them are now, after all."

"No, I think that the tests change every time depending on who it is coming through to try for an audience with the Knights," Guilmon suddenly stated. "They wouldn't use the same tests every time because if they did then they wouldn't be testing the person's character and strengths properly the second time around."

Takato blinked, stopping for a moment to stare at Guilmon blankly, and the red dinosaur stared back, equally blankly.

"How do you know that?" Takato asked

"I… don't know," Guilmon murmured. "It's like the information just came to top of my head… or something. It's a bit like… it was there all along but…" Guilmon whined a little and massaged his forehead. "I'm confused."

"Okay," Takato murmured slowly. "So… you're getting bits of information from absolutely nowhere. Anything else that I should know about?"

"Yeah…" Guilmon said slowly, stepping past Takato and moving on down the corridor. "We need to keep moving. I keep getting the weird feeling that I need to keep going ahead, like something is pushing me forwards."

Takato felt his heart tighten and he started off after his partner. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Guilmon muttered. "Just that there's… something…something there in my head telling me… reassuring me… that this is the right way to go. That I need to keep moving to find the answers."

"The answers?"

"Yeah?"

"What answers?"

"_The_ answers."

Takato bit his lip. It was not like Guilmon to be so cryptic, but Takato took it down to his partner not really knowing much about what he was talking about anyway. So he just fell in step beside him and moved along, weaving around the stalagmites once again.

"Poor Jeri though," he added a moment later. "Did you see her face after that last trial?"

"Yeah, I saw it," Guilmon nodded. "That was a little mean to make her relive that time."

"It scarred her deeply, that's for sure," Takato sighed. "Probably more deeply than your transformation into Megidramon did with me. It's no wonder she was like that. And Leomon must have seen it too this time… it must have been hard for him too."

"Yeah, I know. Poor guy. He must be cut up from not being there to protect her. But I wonder what Ryo saw that made him react like that."

Takato frowned, remember how white Ryo had gone when he had failed the trial and how he was just so… frozen and pale and… terrified. "Yeah… that was strange. I don't remember anything from Ryo's past cutting him up that much. Though we don't know that much about him. He said that since he became a Tamer before he met us he was mostly just wandering around the Digital World, trying to keep Cyberdramon in line. And he said that before he met Cyberdramon he had a pretty normal, boring life."

"Maybe it was something that happened after we met him."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. I remember how depressed and horrified he was when the others were snatched away by Parallelmon. Maybe if had something to do with that?"

"That's quite a severe reaction for something that happened a while ago and that wasn't even his fault," Takato mused.

"Maybe, but that's the only thing I can think of that got him so horribly down," Guilmon shrugged. "Or maybe it had something to do with Ogudomon destroying Tokyo – I know that was pretty bad for me too."

"It's possible I suppose," Takato muttered. "Who can tell really? We'll have to ask him about it later."

"He might not want to talk about it."

"Well, he's our friend. We've gotta help him, haven't we?"

"Course," Guilmon nodded, with a grin. "We'll never let one of our friends feel…"

"WHO GOES THERE?!" boomed a voice from up ahead, making both of them jump in surprise and almost slip on the wet floor. Once they had steadied themselves a little, they looked at each other and proceeded forwards a little more slowly, sticking close to one another with claws and D-Arc held at the ready.

The tunnel opened out shortly afterwards into another large cavern, with what appeared to be wooden stands set up on either side of it, a large door at the other end, and something that appeared to be… an arena… in the middle. And standing in the middle of that arena was a tall figure in gleaming silver armour – humanoid in appearance with a thick breastplate, a shield attached to its back and an enormous broadsword in one hand, the point held against the floor. There was no part of the figure that was visible under the armour except for the eyes staring out from the gaps in its helmet.

Takato had seen one of these Digimon before. Not including the one on the TV show. It had been wandering around that strange house-like structure on the desert level with the distorted layout. Ryo had told him that he liked to walk around at night and search for people's heads to chop off. He'd never known if Ryo was being serious or not, and he had no clue if this guy was the same individual or not, but knew that it probably wasn't.

But now there was a Knightmon, standing in front of them and barring their way.

Takato supposed that was appropriate considering where they were going but still, he felt a little uneasy, knowing that there was still a trial in store for them.

"Ah," said the Knightmon, giving them the once-over. "I see. So you are fresh challengers, I am assuming."

"Well… yeah, I guess," Takato said. "We need to speak with the Royal Knights as soon as we can. There's something important that we need to discuss with them and, well, we need their help."

"Any chance you can let us past?" Guilmon asked.

"Oho! I think not," the Knightmon said. "You look rather puny specimens in comparison to most of the challengers I have faced. Not that I have faced many in recent months, or many in general really – this place is so difficult for most to get too after all. But still, I have taken a sacred vow to serve the Royal Knights in any way I can and to guard their fortress from intruders. You must prove to me that you are worthy to enter the castle, or you shall not pass."

"Oh come on," Takato said. "The entire world is at stake here. TWO entire worlds in fact. Is there no chance that you can just let us past with no questions asked."

"There are rules, human," Knightmon replied. "There are only very few that are allowed into the castle while bypassing the tests and it is not just to me that you must prove yourself. This is your last trial and unless you pass it, that door behind me will not open to you no matter if I decide to let you pass it or not. If you wish to proceed, then you have no alternative, I'm afraid."

Takato and Guilmon glanced at each other and sighed. "Well, I guess we have little alternative," Takato said. "What's the test?"

"Simple. It is a test of strength and capability in combat," Knightmon said. "The other tests were designed to prove your daring and your inner strength, but you must have outer strength as well in order to continue. Simply put, you must either defeat me in combat, or at least fight me until I judge you capable enough to proceed."

"I had a feeling it would be like that," said Guilmon.

"But that's not fair surely," Takato blurted without thinking. "What if the challenger was on a higher level than you – you're an Ultimate level Digimon. What if a Mega came along that was out of your league? Um… no offence?"

"I am aware that there are many Digimon out there more powerful than I," Knightmon chuckled. "However, it is not power that will be tested here. All forms of Digimon attack are disabled in this arena. Try it out."

"Okay…" Guilmon mumbled. **"PYRO SPHERE!" **he then yelled and launched a fireball from his mouth… or at least he attempted to, but nothing came out but a little wisp of smoke. "I can't do it!"

"Precisely," Knightmon nodded. "You must prove your strength and valour with no special abilities – it is purely a test of skill on the battlefield. And you may choose whether you do it armed or unarmed, though seeing as you have no blades on you I believe that we shall be doing this unarmed."

"No, that's not necessary," Takato said. "We can get weapons of our own."

"Oh?" Knightmon asked, intrigued. "Well then come on. Let us see what you are capable of, human and Digimon partner."

"Alright then… if we're facing a Knight," Takato grinned. "It is only fair that we become a Knight ourselves, right?"

"Yeah," Guilmon nodded. "And we'll show this guy that it's not just power that our bond gives us when we work as one, right?"

"Yeah!" Takato grinned, pressing his D-Arc into his chest. "Get ready for us, Mister Knightmon. BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"

Knightmon's eyes widened in surprise as the biomerge digivolution began, watching enthralled as the two meshed together, their bodies warping in the bright light that coated them and twisted into one being. But it was the cry that came with it that _really_ startled him.

"**GUILMON BIOMERGE TO… GALLANTMON!"**

"What?" Knightmon cried as the light took on the shape of the final result. "Did he say…"

And the light faded away to reveal the bold Knight Digimon in all his splendour, his mighty shield Aegis held aloft with the Hazard Symbol brightly emblazoned on its centre, the great lance Gram nestled over his arm, the vast red cloak billowing out behind him in the breezeless arena and legs spread wide in a battle-ready stance.

"Gallant…mon," Knightmon gasped, eyes wide in disbelief.

"We're ready when you are," Gallantmon said in his duel voice. "Whenever you give the signal we can start. Are shields allowed in this battle or is the lance just…"

Gallantmon trailed off a moment later, blinking in bemusement as the Knightmon bent down onto one knee and bowed low to him – so low that his helmeted forehead almost seemed to touch the ground. The Mega Digimon had been expecting a fight, not _this._

"My lord!" Knightmon said, a little breathlessly. "My Lord Gallantmon. Forgive me, sire. I did not realise that it was you."

"Huh?" Gallantmon blustered, not quite sure what the right response was.

"What is he doing?" Takato asked within him.

"I don't know, but it's like he recognises us or something," Guilmon said. "Do you think that he's seen us before?"

"I don't know how he could have unless he was hidden away watching at some point when we were fighting. Which would be kinda creepy and I don't think that this guy is like that. But still… he's calling us a 'lord' and 'sire.' What the heck?"

"Please forgive my impertinence, sire," Knightmon tried again, not hearing the internal dialogue going on within the Mega Knight in front of him.

"Um… all is… forgiven," Gallantmon nodded to him reassuringly. "You were… just doing your duty were you not. Um… good on you."

Knightmon looked relieved and straightened back onto his feet, but still kept his head in a bowed position. "Please, my Lord Gallantmon," he said. "There is no need for one such as you to carry out these trials. You should have had access to the palace of the Royal Knights instantaneously, even if you do have a human part within you. For one of the Royal Knights to take the tests to get into their own castle barely bears thinking about."

"One of the…?" blinked Gallantmon again, but he stopped as the door behind Knightmon slowly ground open, the heavy metal structures sliding out backwards to open up the gap beyond.

"Please, my lord," Knightmon gestured. "You must be anxious to reunite with your comrades. I shall take you to them immediately, if you will it."

"Y… yes… I do," Gallantmon nodded, deciding to go with this for now. "I have urgent business to conduct we them as I… expressed before?"

"Of course, to do with saving the Digital World as you said," agreed Knightmon. "Then please follow me and I shall take you the last leg into the castle. If there were any other tests after this then you will have no further need of them. We can head directly into the palace."

"Well then… by all means, lead on," Gallantmon stepped forwards, following Knightmon as the shorter armoured Digimon stepped towards the doors. There was a dead silence around them except for the clanking of their armour as they stepped on through the tunnel.

"Do you think that we should de-digivolve?" Guilmon murmured as they walked.

"Maybe we'd better not," Takato said. "This is the form that's given us the biggest impression so far… maybe we should just stay in this form for a bit and see what happens."

"Yeah, okay. But still, how did he know who we were."

"Maybe he heard of our exploits or something. After all, the Sovereigns said that word of us has spread across the entire Digital World. Impmon's friends – Lilamon and the others that he met during his previous adventures – they had heard of us before they met us too. Maybe it's like that."

"Does that mean that he would have given a similar treatment to the others if they had biomerged?"

Takato was tempted to say 'yes' and he really _wanted _to say 'yes' but he really didn't know the answer and to be honest, he didn't think that that theory was the right one anyway. He was pretty sure that there was something else going on here.

"He said that we needed to meet our 'fellow Royal Knights,'" Guilmon said, reading his mind. "Like we've been here before or something."

"That can't be right," Takato shook his head. "I would have remembered it if we had and we can only be Gallantmon when we're together so… I don't know. I've always known that Gallantmon was a Royal Knight Digimon, but he surely cannot be a member of _THE_ Royal Knights. That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe it's like with GranDracmon and the Demon Lords," Guilmon suggested. "GranDracmon was a Demon Lord Digimon but he wasn't one of _THE_ Demon Lords. Maybe it's something like that and we, as a Royal Knight Digimon, can automatically see the Royal Knights without the tests."

"Maybe," Takato said. "Yeah… I guess that makes some kind of sense. That's gotta be it."

But he felt the slight sense of iffyness coming from Guilmon and knew as well as he did that that answer didn't sound quite right for some reason.

* * *

The doorway that Knightmon led them through preceded a huge flight of stone steps that seemed to fade away into the darkness above them. Knightmon immediately began to step up it, and after a moment's hesitation, Gallantmon followed. There were unlit torches in the brackets along either wall, but every time Gallantmon drew level with a pair of brackets the torches inside them would spring to life on their own, illuminating the way ahead and casting the place into a faint half-light.

"That is a pretty cool effect," Takato admitted, staring at them for a moment before walking on and lighting another pair. As he drew level with it he experimentally stepped backwards and the torches went out. He then stepped back up and they lighted again.

"Heh," he chuckled. "Neat."

And then he continued following Knightmon up the stairs. They walked in silence until they reached the top of the steps, which seemed to last quite a long time and both Guilmon and Takato were sure that they would have been on the floor gasping for breath if they had been in either of their original forms at the time. Then they moved through another set of huge, metal doors that opened up before them, and entered a much more brightly lit room.

Takato and Guilmon were both impressed. The place was huge, easily as big as the chamber that Zhuqiaomon had stood in when the two of them had gone to confront him before, with very high walls painted a deep red, and thirteen huge pillars around the room, each one with what appeared to be some kind of large plinth at the base, as if each one was supposed to hold a statue, but there were no statues on any one of them. Several heavy chandeliers hang from the ceiling and illuminated the room, along with many more torch brackets between the pillars, the light from which pooled together to create a brightness that made even the red walls shine.

And in the centre of the room, was a short stone pillar that extended up and out from the floor about five feet before it came to a stop and was topped with something that resembled a large crystal ball, which gleamed brightly in the light and seemed to be filled of swirling colours, but Gallantmon could see no significance to its presence.

"Welcome back to the Courtroom of the Royal Knights," Knightmon bowed deeply to him again.

"Welcome… back?" Gallantmon frowned.

"Indeed," Knightmon nodded, not quite catching the confusion in Gallantmon's question. "And now I shall say farewell, my lord. I am sure you would like to discuss your business with the other Royal Knights in private."

"Um…" Gallantmon turned to face him, but the Ultimate level Digimon was already retreating back down the steps and the doors swung closed behind him, sealing them inside the room. In most castles that would have been quite alarming, but in this one there seemed to be no sense of malice. There was a deep sense of trust running throughout the place, as if the entire building was assuring Gallantmon of its fortitude and solidarity.

It was a bizarre effect.

And yet, Gallantmon could feel a very odd sense of nostalgia running through him… had he really been here before? It looked and felt… so familiar, so… homely. Yes, that was it. It was like Gallantmon was at home. And that didn't make sense to either of them, for their home was Takato's bakery, and yet they could feel as if this was home too. And the portion of Gallantmon that was Takato could tell that this feeling of nostalgia was coming entirely from Guilmon.

Takato had never been here before.

Had Guilmon?

Gallantmon looked around in bewilderment for several moments, wondering what he should do next. "Hello?" he called into the room and felt a little foolish for doing so moments later because the only thing that answered were his echoes. There were several large doors that presumably lead to other parts of the castle throughout the entire station, but Gallantmon didn't know whether he should try any one of those or not.

He felt a little put out, not sure what he was meant to be doing now.

But something about the large crystal ball drew his attention, the swirling colours within seemingly intensifying before his eyes, and the swirling itself increasing in velocity like it was deliberately trying to get his attention. Acting on an instinct that Gallantmon was not aware he possessed, he stepped slowly forwards towards the crystal ball on its little pillar. At about twice the size of the average human, Gallantmon towered over the ball and stared down into the churning colours with fascination.

He reached out, the spear vanishing momentarily from his arm to leave the armoured hand exposed, and placed a hand on the crystal ball.

"Gather Royal Knights," he intoned. "Heed my call."

He blinked a moment later. Where had that come from? What had possessed him to say something like that?

But the crystal ball was reacting to his words and the colours within suddenly blazed, bursting into light that resembled a miniature sun combined with a rainbow. Gallantmon was enveloped in the light and lifted right off his feet, whisked backwards across the room like he had been fired from a slingshot and screeching to a halt over one of the thirteen plinths. The light released him a moment later and Gallantmon dropped down, blinking in confusion and watching as the orb continued to blaze.

More beams of light began to splinter off it and shoot out to congeal over other plinths, each beam of light moving to just one seemingly at random. But when they got there the light condensed and began to mould itself into shapes – shapes that began to resemble humanoid figures covered in armour. And gradually the rainbow colours died away, replaced with the colours of the beings that were appearing before Gallantmon's very eyes.

"Oh wow," Gallantmon breathed as he watched the various Digimon appearing around the room, each on a different plinth. Many of them he knew very well from the card sets and some of them he knew even _better_ from the TV show.

He could barely contain his excitement as they all turned to look at him – seven heads turning at the same time to regard him as that light from the crystal ball receded back into the ball, which resumed its previous colour-swirling albeit brighter than when Gallantmon had initially entered the room.

A tall figure clad in thick purple armour with twin feathery plumes flapping from the top of his helmet, which had large eye holes and a tall thin mouth-grate that made it look like some kind of strange grin, red eyes staring towards Gallantmon and thick hand clutching a double-ended and massive spear in one hand.

"Craniamon," breathed Takato.

A white-armoured figure covered with yellow teeth-like adornments, with large sweeping horns on either side of his head and his mouth open in a wry grin, while his purple wings folded against his back and he folded his arms in a resting position.

"Dynasmon," Takato went on.

The only four-legged being in the room – a large centaur like Knight covered with red armour, an enormous crossbow attached to one arm and a long plumed tail flicking out behind him every so often, no less regal in spite of his horse-like head.

"Kentaurosmon," Takato added.

A white cape flowing backwards behind a body covered in black armour, apart from the fiery glowing gauntlets on either hand and the red sandals on its feet, flaming red hair over the visor covering its eyes and a monstrous-looking six-eyed flaming avatar seeming to rise from his body.

"Gankoomon," Takato nodded, staring at one of the more newly introduced Digimon cards.

A rather more slender figure encased in pink armour from head to toe, the eyes covered by the helmet that extended forwards from the white mask covering its lower face, with large yellow metallic ribbons surrounding its body, standing with one hand on one hip in a graceful pose.

"Crusadermon," Takato filled in.

The next figure filled Takato with much excitement, for this was one that he definitely knew well – the golden armour that covered most of his body glowed even in the bright light of the rooms, face semi-covered by the golden mask and what skin of his that was visible being either white or blue, including the long blue reptilian tail that flicked out behind him.

"Magnamon," Takato almost squealed. "Wow, you really could use those shoulder-guards as boogie-boards."

"What?" Magnamon blinked.

"Nice way to introduce yourself, Takato," Guilmon muttered

But Takato was barely listening because his eyes had settled on the final figure in the room and even in his Gallantmon form he almost swooned. Kazu and Kenta might have died to get a chance to be standing in the room right now with this guy, a guy who all of them had hero-worshipped ever since the Digimon movie had come out many years ago now.

The figure was unmistakable, from the long white armour and flowing cape, the huge horn adorning the middle of his helmeted head and the long arms that ended in the heads of two of Takato's favourite Digimon at all – the right arm and orange colour, topped with a shield and ending with the large head of a WarGreymon; the other arm blue and topped with a spiked shoulder-guard and ending with the equally large head of a MetalGarurumon.

"You are… you are…" Takato almost fell backwards.

"Omnimon," nodded the large Digimon in a deep and grating voice that sounded vaguely like it could be two voices that had blended together to form one, meaning Takato could not be sure whether there were two speakers in there or one. "That is who I am."

"Hoooooollyy CRAP!" Takato yelled, bouncing up and down on the spot. "I THOUGHT THAT A SNOWAGUMON WAS COOL BUT THIS… THIS IS BEYOND BELIEF! I'M STANDING IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ACTUAL OMNIMON! I'M NOT WORTHY, I'M REALLY NOT! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN WRITE WITH THOSE HANDS BUT CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH IF YOU CAN! OOH! SHOW ME THE TRANSCENDENT SWORD! AND THE SUPREME CANNON! OH WHAT AM I DOING, ORDERING AN OMNIMON TO…"

"**TAKATO!" **Guilmon yelled, interrupting Takato's yelling. "In case you forgot, we are still in Gallantmon form and you making us jump up and down like this is making us look silly and probably isn't making a good first impression." Yes, it was unnatural for Guilmon to talk about things like that but Takato had gotten _so_ silly at that point that if he hadn't stepped in he might never have stopped.

"Oh… Right…" Takato coughed, managing to make Gallantmon look hideously embarrassed. "Um… sorry… about that. I swear to God, I'm sane."

"Is that to Fanglongmon, Anubimon, or one of your human Gods?" Kentaurosmon asked, amusement clearly evident in his voice.

"Looks like someone's got a bad case of hero worship for Omnimon," Dynasmon laughed. "And a little bit for Magnamon too it seems."

"What was that about using my shoulder-guards as… what is a 'boogie-board' exactly?" Magnamon asked.

"You might think that one of the humans responsible for saving our Digital World many times over would have a calmer head on his shoulders, wouldn't you?" Craniamon chuckled.

"If they're all like that it might be a flaming miracle that they've made it so far," Gankoomon observed.

"Oh, I don't believe they're all like that," Crusadermon threw in, her voice dubbing her as the only female Knight in the room. "And I don't believe that this one is like this all of the time. After all he did not behave like that during any of the tests that we put them under, did he? In fact, he performed rather admirably."

"Indeed," Magnamon nodded. "Shame that his companions failed but most of them did very well until the trial of the Spirit. Looks like many of them did indeed have some quite twisted pasts. It probably makes them admirable as well for coming on so far even with them."

"Gentlemen, please," Omnimon raised his WarGreymon hand to quieten them down a little, and Takato had to resist squealing again. "We do have guests in our castle who have proven themselves worthy of being in our presence. Let them introduce themselves to us. Young human that resides within the form of Gallantmon," he added, and Takato began breathing heavier at being directly addressed. "Perhaps you could give us your name. You clearly know all of us well enough after you rattled off our titles like that."

"I'm… Takato Matsuki," he breathed, his one voice coming out of Gallantmon's. "Yep… that's me. And… and this is my partner… well, he's inside the same body right now… but… yeah, you get the point."

"Hello," Guilmon caused Gallantmon's arm to wave.

"Hello," Omnimon nodded back. "As you already know by this point, we are the Royal Knights, the guardians of the boundaries of the Digital World. It is a pleasure to meet you, Digimon and Tamer. This is the first time that we have seen the two species merged together before our very eyes, though of course we have heard all about your exploits from Fanglongmon, both in our world and out of it. And it is good to have Gallantmon back within the halls of our castle once again."

"Back within…?" Guilmon frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid that we do not have much time," Omnimon said. "So we shall have to be brief with this discussion. As you know by now, the walls of the universe that we Royal Knights have been maintaining and protecting all these years, are breaking down at an alarming rate. We are the only ones capable of healing the breaches on our side of what remains of the divide, though I do understand that there are now others healing it on the other side. But we shall have to return to work soon, otherwise the breaches may become too widespread to contain them for much longer."

"Um… okay," Takato nodded. "I understand. But we do have a lot of questions."

"Indeed, but before we get started," Omnimon turned and looked up at the rest of the Royal Knights with narrowed eyes. "Which one of the rest of you was responsible for writing the abbreviations 'LOL' and 'JK' on the final sign of the second Test of Courage?"

The Royal Knights looked at one another for a moment, before Dynasmon meekly raised a hand.

"Oh, so it was you, was it?" Craniamon snorted. "You are aware that we are meant to sound regal and noble to other people, aren't you?"

"So sue me," Dynasmon folded his arms and glared. "I get confused sometimes – with all the bits and pieces of data and information that get sent through the barriers by the Human World – so many times I've seen 'LOL' and 'JK'… I thought that they must be words of great importance."

"You can be a real idiot sometimes, Dynasmon," Crusadermon snorted.

"Oh, you're one to talk," Gankoomon looked across at her. "Who was it that started crying when you watched the episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' when Howard and Bernadette got married?"

"It was a touching scene, damn it!" Crusadermon yelled.

"I thought that funniest part was where Sheldon started trying to do the ceremony in Klingon even when Bernadette told him no," Craniamon chuckled.

"Bernadette is a legend," chuckled Dynasmon. "She's my favourite of the three girls – I'm starting to lose interest in Penny because she never ever wants to proceed with her relationship with Leonard. When will she just learn to go with it?"

"How DARE you say that about Penny, she's just trying to do things at her own pace," Kentaurosmon growled accusingly.

"I feel sorry for Raj," Magnamon nodded. "Poor guy. How many more seasons do you think it will be before he gets a girlfriend?"

"I dunno, but I think that progressions of Sheldon and Amy's relationship is hilarious," Gankoomon put in.

"Sheldon Cooper _makes_ that show," Omnimon voiced. "Are we all agreed on that?"

There was a chorus of "Oh yeah," and "Definitely," and "you said it" from the other Royal Knights, each one of them nodding their heads.

Gallantmon, both halves of him, were looking around the group of Knights slightly incredulously. "Um… are you guys really talking about that American Comedy Show? I mean I really like it too but… I didn't expect you guys to know about it. Nor did I expect you to be so… normal."

"Oh we're all Royal Knights here," Kentaurosmon interjected. "We're all brothers-in-arms. Comrades. There is no need to be all civil and kingly in one another's presence all the time. Where would the fun in that be? What, did you think that we would just be a bunch of magnificent bores that spoke about protecting the innocent non-stop just because we have the word Royal in our title?"

"He's right," nodded Craniamon. "Of course, protecting the innocent is very important, and absolutely vital to our code of honour, but our entire lives don't revolve around it. Indeed, since we are confined to the barrier here, most of the time we don't actually get to do any protecting of the innocent unless the problem is with the walls of the universe, as now."

"As to how we can watch a television show from the Human World," Crusadermon added. "Well, we are in the barrier of the Digital World. Everything signal gets transmitted across that barrier from Human _or_ Digital World, but Human World mostly. We can get anything that's transmitted from your humans satellites, meaning that we can watch any channel for TV, read e-mails and text messages, listen in on phone calls, look at the internet… anything like that… all by just pulling it up in front of us."

"We were thinking of getting our own Facebook pages, but Omnimon shouted us down," Dynasmon agreed.

"What exactly would you put on your Facebook wall, Dynasmon?" Omnimon tried to massage his forehead, but couldn't because his horn was in the way and his hand was too bulky and not really a hand.

"'Chilling and watching an epic movie' like everyone else," Dynasmon shrugged.

"Oy vey," Omnimon sighed.

"Oh, I just got that boogie-boards reference," Magnamon snapped his fingers. "That's from the Digimon TV show, isn't it?"

"Um… yeah," nodded Gallantmon. "Look… sorry but… now I've kinda got over my excitement a bit, aren't we on a tight schedule?"

"Yes. Pardon us," Omnimon agreed. "We have not had a lot of time to have our jocular conversations over the last few months. Things have been hectic for us recently with us constantly having to rush across the fabric of the Digital World in order to repair the damage being caused before too many things can happen. Yet it seems that wherever we go, it is only a matter of time before something happens. And we used to have such a peaceful life as well. Normally the only threat to our Digital World would be the computer viruses from your Human World, which are relatively easy for us to deal with but could still cause quite devastating effects on the Digital World if they were to get into it."

"Yeah… sorry about that," Takato muttered. "Hey wait, what about the Juggernaut program, when HYPNOS was still bad guys? Couldn't you guys have stopped that from happening too?"

"We could have," Magnamon shrugged. "But we were requested by the Sovereigns to allow that portal to remain open. Zhuqiaomon in particular anyway. He had been monitoring the Human World for some time and as you know his Devas used that system to get across into the Human World and cause a lot of damage. That part of the action we do regret now."

"For the most part our job seems to consist of trying to protect to ensure that the barriers between the various worlds remain as barriers," Crusadermon folded her arms. "We do not have the ability to enter the worlds ourselves. We're not even standing in the room with you right now – all you're seeing are astral projections caused by that crystal ball. All of us are actually still in the barrier, and most of us are actually nowhere near one another."

"But the job does have a few perks," chuckled Gankoomon. "For instance did you know that we were the ones who were responsible for re-opening that portal that goes between your Human and Digital World?"

"Really?" blinked Gallantmon.

"Oh yes," Craniamon nodded. "We can link the various worlds joined by our Digital barrier, even if we cannot get out of it ourselves. Do you remember the battle against Mephistomon and how your two companions were helped to get to your location quickly to help you in the fight? That was Omnimon's work."

"Oh yeah, Henry and Rika did say that they were helped to get to me quickly by an Omnimon," Takato breathed. "I wasn't sure if they were having me on or not."

"It was true," nodded Omnimon. "Like Gankoomon said, I cannot leave the barrier but I can transport things through it rapidly, even to a different location in the same world that I took them from. If I had been able to come and help you against that blasted Mephistomon then I would have, but unfortunately I could not, so I did the next best thing and brought your friends to you instead."

"And it is much appreciated, sir," Takato nodded vigorously.

"Isn't it time that we begin the question and answer session?" Dynasmon asked.

"Quite right," Kentaurosmon agreed.

"I have a question," said Guilmon, from within Gallantmon. "Why are some of the spaces that we are standing on empty?"

"You mean the plinths?" Takato asked, looking around, and he noticed that Guilmon was right. He felt pretty stupid for not noticing himself considering he was in the same body as Guilmon but his excitement at meeting the Royal Knights had kept him from noticing that not every plinth had been filled. Out of the thirteen enormous plinths that they were standing on, only eight of them had a Knight standing on them. There were five still unaccounted for, and they seemed to be randomly spaced around the room.

"That…" Omnimon said. "Is a long story, but it does have particular residence to you Gallantmon. I must say though that it is good to see your standing back up on your own plinth once again."

"Once again…? Okay, that is my first question," Takato said abruptly. "Everybody seems to be under the impression that Guilmon and I have been here before. You're talking as if you've been good friends of ours for some time and that… that we're one of your or something but we're not. I've never been here before and I know Guilmon hasn't because I created him and apart from that year in the Digital World he was never out of my sight, and they all say that they didn't come here in that time… so what's the deal with that?"

"Takato, calm down," Guilmon said.

"Sorry," Takato sighed. "But I just don't understand why they keep talking as if Gallantmon is an old buddy of theirs."

"Well, the answer to that is simple, human child that shares the body of the Royal Knight," Kentaurosmon stated. "Gallantmon _is_ an 'old buddy' of ours."

"Huh?" Gallantmon said with both voices, blinking for a moment.

"Gallantmon has been here before," Gankoomon nodded.

"_You_, on the other hand, human… have not," Dynasmon threw in.

"But… I don't understand," Takato stated. "There is no Gallantmon without me. Guilmon and I biomerge together to become Gallantmon – there is no other way that we reach this form."

"It wasn't always that way," Craniamon shook his head.

"I created Guilmon," Takato pointed out. "He didn't exist before me."

"Yes… and no," Omnimon sighed.

"Would someone please just start making sense?" Takato begged.

"Perhaps it would be better if we were to take this from the beginning," Omnimon raised both headed arms. "Right from the beginning. Back when the Royal Knights were first founded."

"Ooh boy. Story time," Dynasmon nodded.

"Thank you, Dynasmon," Omnimon coughed. "Anyway, it all started out with one Royal Knight, who would then go on to found the group that now calls itself the Royal Knights today, and that founder was Imperialdramon Paladin Mode."

"IMPERIALDR…"

"**TAKATO!"**

"Right… sorry… go on."

"Yes, well," Omnimon nodded. "Imperialdramon Paladin Mode was originally a member of the Celestial Heavens and was good friends with Fanglongmon in the early days of the Digital World, before Fanglongmon learned of his evil side and forced himself to go into that state of torpor until he is needed to fix the damage caused by evil. After he realised this, Fanglongmon created the various groups of Digimon to watch over things in his place since he no longer could. The Sovereigns were set to watch over the Digital World; the Celestial Angels the Heavens; and Imperialdramon was chosen to watch the borders of the world."

"Some job," Takato muttered.

"Yes, but Imperialdramon took to it with a will and he did a fine job of it all by himself, protecting the barriers from any threat that came to it," Omnimon said, with some pride in his voice. "But unlike us, he was always able to leave the Digital Barrier and return to the Celestial Heavens whenever he wished. And because of this, Fanglongmon entrusted Imperialdramon with a special ability that no other Digimon had. Imperialdramon was so strong of spirit and so pure of heart that he was the best candidate for said job – the one least likely to go bad. And that ability was that power to awaken Fanglongmon from his slumber pre-emptively, should the need ever arise to do so."

"Well… that answers one of our questions," Takato said excitedly. "Our other question was about how to wake Fanglongmon up because we'll need to…"

"Hold on," Omnimon cautioned him. "There is more to the story than you have yet heard I'm afraid. Imperialdramon was only given the ability to use the power at the uttermost end of need – if waking up Fanglongmon was the only option to save all of creation, for as you know Fanglongmon wanted a Digital World of free will where everyone could live freely. But not too long ago in actual fact, there was a sudden and massive upheaval in the in the barrier of the Digital World, as if it was going to suddenly implode in on itself."

"What?" Gallantmon asked in alarm.

"Indeed. Imperialdramon fought against it, putting everything he had into repelling the disturbance and stabilising the Digital World and it cost him almost all of his energy, but he managed to succeed. He was utterly spent, but he knew that he had a duty to fulfil even then and he used what energy he had left to create what you see before you now. The Royal Knights. Imperialdramon made us in his final moments – the remaining twelve of us."

"That's his plinth," Crusadermon pointed towards the one on Omnimon's right. "He has never stood in it whenever we have held council together."

"Indeed," Omnimon nodded. "For after that, Imperialdramon fell into the Digital World after that, data peeling off him even as he did so, and he vanished. But he created the Royal Knights to fight for honour and justice. To protect the barriers in his stead and that is what we have done – all twelve of us. Including Gallantmon."

Takato felt his insides grow cold even within the Mega form of Gallantmon he was currently in.

"What do you mean?" he choked.

"Exactly what I said," Omnimon replied. "Gallantmon was a member of the twelve others from the Royal Knights ever since that tragic time. He worked alongside us, protecting where we could and using his power to defend the borders of the Digital World."

"But… but…" Takato floundered. "I created Guilmon. I drew him in a notebook when I was supposed to be doing schoolwork. I planned out everything about him – his attacks, his abilities – everything like that, on a little piece of paper that I scanned into the slot in my D-Arc and there he was. And you're telling me that Gallantmon existed before that?"

"Yes," Omnimon nodded.

"But then surely it must be a different Gallantmon," Takato said, but that sounded hollow even to him. How could a Digimon that he had created evolve into something that already existed? Did that even make sense.

"Oh no," Omnimon stated. "I am afraid that is not the case, human child. The Digimon partner of yours that is standing there, merged with your body to form the Royal Knight in his rightful place on the plinth, _is_ the same individual that was once a member of our Royal Knight community. He and the Gallantmon that we know are one and the same."

Takato was in denial, shaking his head. "No… no, that can't… that's imposs… You're lying…"

"Takato," Guilmon replied from his half of the Mega. "I think… he might be telling the truth."

"What?"

"Ever since we got told to come here," Guilmon said slowly. "Ever since we began our quest to find the Royal Knights, it's like there's some kind of strange voice inside my head, except not quite like a voice because it wasn't using words… I don't really know how to describe it. But… it was always calling out to me and summoning me forwards, as if I was going in the right direction or something. Like it… was calling me home."

"And you are home now, Gallantmon," Magnamon nodded. "Or at least as close to it as you can get at this stage."

"But I don't understand!" Takato cried. "It _cannot_ make sense. I… _created_… Guilmon."

"Yes, you did," agreed Crusadermon.

"Then how can you say Gallantmon existed before that?"

"Well, the answer to that is simple really," Omnimon said. "Gallantmon existed as Gallantmon. He never had any lower forms. Several of us don't in fact. While some of us, like myself, Magnamon, Kentaurosmon or Dynasmon all have established lower levels of Digivolution that allowed Imperialdramon to base our forms off, some of us, like Gankoomon or Craniamon or Crusadermon, _have_ no lower stages. Imperialdramon created them from scratch. We were all born as Megas."

"And…?" Takato stammered.

"Well, perhaps to make sense of this, I should proceed with the story a little," Omnimon stated. "Things were going relatively well after we were founded, although our founder himself had disappeared to who knew what fate. We flourished ourselves though protecting the Digital World from anything that threatened it that we were able to stop. Our leader was incredibly mighty – arguably as strong or perhaps stronger even that Imperialdramon…"

"Wait, you weren't the leader?" Takato asked.

"I am now," Omnimon nodded. "However, I was not once. Our leader before was Alphamon, an incredibly powerful Digimon who I could not have beaten in combat myself. He ruled us with utter surety, always believing in us and inspiring us to continue our duty no matter how much it seemed to be mild or dull. For while we Royal Knights might seem to have gotten the short end of the proverbial stick with our job, we consider it a perk. For although we stayed alone with only ourselves in the barrier, unable to leave, we were entrusted, alone, with the task of maintaining the security of the entire world.

"And there were several tasks that we fought hard to stop during that time. For one thing, the Dark Ocean was always sending out tendrils of darkness that would have enveloped the Digital World if we had not been there to stop it. We could not destroy it but we could prevent its effects from spreading. I must thank you for helping to destroy it, by the way. It has made our job easier."

"Noted," Gallantmon muttered.

"But there was one great evil that rose about a year after we were founded, and a few months before you Tamers started gaining your Digivices. Our Digital Barrier was suddenly invaded. By an Apocalymon."

"An Apocalymon?" Takato cried. "Seriously?"

"Yes," nodded Kentaurosmon. "Nasty git, that one."

"Did he start yelling about pizzas and crusts?" Takato asked.

"No," all the Royal Knights said together, deadpan.

"Ah well, that was a ridiculous line anyway," Takato shrugged. "But surely you must have stopped him easily. I mean the one in the show was defeated by a WarGreymon and a MetalGarurumon, along with several Ultimates. Surely an Omnimon would have no problem against him."

"Alas no," Omnimon replied. "This Apocalymon was far stronger than that one. He was able to match each of us in battle individually and several of our number were killed in the battle against him, for it took some time for all of us to be gathered in one place, spread across the barrier as we were. But as he was trying to force his way through into the Human World and cause untold destruction before your world was ready for him, the sacrifice of the Knights who fell before him was not in vain. They bought time for Alphamon himself to get there and engage the Apocalymon in battle. Those Royal Knights included Leopardmon, UlforceVeedramon, Examon… and Gallantmon. The remaining three of that number are, as you can see, not here either."

Gallantmon looked around at the empty plinths once again and shuddered.

"That must have been one powerful Apocalymon," he said.

"Indeed it was."

"But then… if Gallantmon died…" Takato frowned. "Then how can Guilmon be him?"

"Well, Anubimon received his data after he died, just as he did with any other Digimon, but the Royal Knights are not like the members of the Heavens. He are in Digital Barrier, a place with very little physical substance. Anubimon couldn't send their data back into the Digital Barrier to reform them – he needed to send them into a more solid world for their data to coalesce back into their solid forms. And that's where you come in. Anubimon pulled some strings, pushing his ability to affect the world outside of his own to its limit, but not breaking it since it directly involved him carrying out his job.

"And he found you."

"Me?" Takato asked.

"Yes. You were trying to create a Digimon partner that you would want, and were creating the dinosaur Digimon Rookie known as Guilmon. Anubimon pulled some strings a little further and caused you to unconsciously add in a few extra details. The Hazard symbol, for instance. Do you remember why you chose to put something like that on Guilmon's body of all things?"

"I just… thought… it looked cool," Takato mumbled.

"Perhaps, but you were being influenced into drawing it. And once the design had been complete and you had been given your D-Arc, Anubimon watched as you scanned in the draw and sent Gallantmon's data down from the world of the deleted to form the data of the Digimon that you just created. That data had to come from somewhere after all. And thus, Gallantmon was reborn as Guilmon, with no memory of his previous life as a Royal Knight, which unfortunately happens quite a lot unless special circumstances are ensured by Anubimon, and Guilmon was your partner."

"Really?" Takato choked.

"Yes," Omnimon went on. "You created his Champion and Ultimate forms at a later stage and Anubimon arranged it so that, even though you had already created Guilmon, those were the forms that he would become. But you never gave him a Mega form of your own, for his true Mega form was _always_ Gallantmon."

"And to you, Guilmon," Gankoomon nodded. "We say, 'Welcome home.'"

Gallantmon himself fell silent, both parts of him contemplating hard on what they had just heard and both of them well aware of what the other was thinking since they currently shared one body. Takato was hovering on the borders of being distraught. He had always thought that his bond with Guilmon was special out of all the other Tamers because he had been the one to create him, while everyone else's partners had come from the Digital World. Now he had just learned that he had only been half-right. Guilmon had already been alive before he had brought him into the world.

He had been a Royal Knight.

Did that mean that he had been wrong all this time? Did that mean that his bond with Guilmon was no different to any other bond with any of the other Tamers. In fact, did that make their bond even _less_ special? None of the others had had Anubimon watching them and steering things from afar so that they could meet up and their bonds could form – they had all met and bonded naturally.

Were he and Guilmon just… ordinary?

Or were they less so? The result of some kind of manipulation from higher powers?

Had their bond been forged _for_ them as well?

He knew that he shouldn't think like that. Anubimon had not deliberately manipulated him to his own ends or played some kind of game with him – he had just been doing his job and trying to bring Gallantmon back to life in the form of Guilmon but still… Takato could not admit he was a little put out… alright, he was incredibly put out. Guilmon was not entirely his own creation as he had thought, in both Rookie and Mega form. He wondered if Anubimon had had anything to do with the way that Growlmon and WarGrowlmon had turned out too. Had _they_ been altered in his mind by an outside force?

As to Guilmon, he was now wondering exactly who he was. He could not remember any of this stuff to do with the Royal Knights, but suddenly it had all been sprung on him and he could not deny the strange feelings that had been urging him onwards at the very start of this journey. He knew the Royal Knights were not lying but… who exactly was he now? He had always thought of himself as Takato's one true partner, drawn by his hand and created via his D-Arc.

But what was he really? Was he a Royal Knight? Or was he the partner of a Tamer? If he had to choose which one he should be with – Takato or the Knights – which one would he pick? He would want to pick Takato of course but… was that the right decision? Was that the best idea? Where should his ultimate loyalties lie?

Takato's partner was the only life that he could remember. But if he had been a Royal Knight first…

This wasn't like with Lopmon, Terriermon, Renamon and Impmon, and the fact that all four of them had once been warriors of the Celestial Heavens sent down into the world below. He had not been deliberately sent like that. He had apparently been killed in a previous life, before he'd even become a partner and sent to a human Tamer because he had not been able to be sent back to the other Knights. What if he could have? Would he have been sent back to the Royal Knights straight away if that had been an option? He probably would have… the Devas had been returned to the Sovereigns as soon as they had all been resurrected.

They were both feeling the emotional turmoil and both of them wondering what their relationship with the other one actually was so much that they momentarily lost their hold on their form – their data fluctuating and almost breaking apart. They wrenched their thoughts back together and their form stabilised moments later, and they could both feel where the others' thoughts had lain. Neither were really sure what their connection as Digimon and Tamer was anymore, as if the special nature of their relationship had been stripped away from them somehow and neither were quite sure how to take it.

But Takato swallowed and choked out an unconvincing, "Isn't that great, Guilmon. You're… back where you belong." It felt incredibly painful for him to say that – he had always thought the only place Guilmon belonged was at his side.

"Uh-huh," Guilmon replied, and it felt horrible for him to say that too because he had thought much the same thing. And now their thoughts on this were overlapping. Takato felt his pulse rise at the thought of what would happen if the Royal Knights called Guilmon back. Would he leave? And Guilmon wondered if Takato now thought of him as so special and personal to him now that he knew that was not entirely the case.

"Are you alright, Gallantmon?" Kentaurosmon asked. "You look a bit peaky."

"No… I'm… I'm fine," Gallantmon said, speaking with both voices and wrenching his thoughts back to the problem at hand, deliberately forcing himself on to talk about the real reason that they had come to speak to the Royal Knights at all. "Yes… I'm fine but thanks for your concern. Anyway… as you know the boundaries of the world and this other Pokemon World are collapsing against each other fast."

"Indeed," nodded Craniamon. "We have no clue what's causing it but we can tell that the powers of Darkness are somehow involved. Darkness similar to that of the Dark Ocean."

"But the Dark Ocean was destroyed along with GranDracmon and everyone in it, wasn't it?" Gallantmon replied.

"Well… yes," nodded Gankoomon. "But during the event where the Dark Ocean collapsed we did notice a similar tear in the fabric between the Dark Ocean and the Digital World, but then the former collapsed in on itself and wiped out the rip before we could examine it properly. It seems to me that something might have escaped from the Dark Ocean shortly before it was destroyed."

"Oh well that's _not_ good," Gallantmon muttered. "Not good at all."

"Indeed," Omnimon sighed. "And I would be willing to bet whatever that was is behind this collapse of the two universes, for half a year after that event these new tears began to spring up all over the place. At first just one or two a day, which were extremely difficult to close, but then more and more and more began opening up. Now they're opening up all over the place, as if the barrier has gotten so much weaker from the effects of whatever was tearing them in the first place that the two are starting to further collapse on their own, without outside interference. Unless something is done, it is clear to see that eventually things will become too late and we will no longer be able to hold back the storm. We will fail the duty that Imperialdramon gave to us."

"And we cannot let that happen," Dynasmon clenched his fists. "I will not allow it!"

"What can be done about it though?" Crusadermon asked. "We have tried most everything but… nothing seems to work and the barriers are breaking down at a faster rate than ever."

"I can help a little," Gallantmon replied. "We received visitors actually – from the other world that is collapsing with ours."

Magnamon sighed. "Opened a portal probably. Portals are so _irritating_. They bypass the barrier completely! If they went through the barrier then we would be able to stop the people inside from going through, but they don't. It allows Anubimon to open gates to his world for incoming and outgoing data without having to go by us and that's good, but it also means that people like GranDracmon and Parallelmon can get past us when they cross or open portals between their worlds."

"Yes… well," Gallantmon stated. "The person from the other universe also knew what was going on. His name was Uxie, and he told us that the only way to save both worlds was to wake up their respective Gods, Fanglongmon and the God of Pokémon… Archie, or something like that. Anyway, only the combined effort of the two Gods working together will allow the universes to unmesh. Neither one alone can do it due to some strange thing I didn't really understand about how the fabrics of the universes are now practically one at the border. We need to find a way of waking up Fanglongmon. Several of the others have gone over to the other universe to try and wake up the other guy."

"Well…" Omnimon mused. "This is not altogether surprising news. But there is no prophecy, as far as I know, that could be fulfilled in time to cause Fanglongmon to awaken. If awakening him is our only option then we have to pre-empt it."

"And how can we do that?" Gallantmon pressed.

"There is only one way that I know of waking Fanglongmon, and that is through Imperialdramon," Omnimon replied. "Only Imperialdramon Paladin Mode can do it, but he is not here. Nor has he been found or seen since he left to leave things to we, his Royal Knights. If we are going to wake up Fanglongmon, we will need him. He is our only hope."

"Then we'll have to find him," Gallantmon replied grimly. "It's our only chance. Does anybody have any idea where he might be?"

"I… I don't know," Omnimon hesitated, and several of the other Knights made similar uncertain gestures. "Alphamon might know. He was the leader of our force in the past and… he always did know where the rest of the Royal Knights were. He would surely know where to find Imperialdramon."

"Great… so where is he?" Gallantmon asked, then blinked. "Hey wait? If Alphamon was your previous leader then… where is he now? Why isn't he here too? What happened to him?

"That's… the complicated part," Omnimon breathed. "You see, the battle between Alphamon and that Apocalymon was immense. Power clashing against brute power. The rest of we Royal Knights couldn't get involved in the fight because there was so much destruction and ferocity going on that we were rushing around the entire battle site frantically repairing the incredibly amounts of damage it caused on the barrier around them. In the end, Alphamon triumphed, but he was mortally wounded, his mighty sword broken and he too died of his wounds before we could patch him up. That means that he is currently somewhere within the Digital World. I had to take over in his stead after that."

"Well… that's good isn't it?" asked Gallantmon slowly, but he already had a feeling he knew what the answer was.

"Not particularly I'm afraid," Omnimon replied. "Because you see, he does not exactly look like he once did when he was a member of the Royal Knights – he started out fresh in the Digital World just like any other Digimon. And not only that, but he does not know anything more about his past as the leader of the Royal Knights than you did, Gallantmon."

"Okay," Gallantmon muttered. "So… when you say that he doesn't look like he once did… that means he's at a lower level of Digivolution, right?"

"Indeed," Gankoomon nodded. "Our great and glorious former leader, hero of the battle against the mighty Apocalymon, now looks like this…"

He pointed towards the crystal ball that was still glowing in the middle of the room, which burst out into bright colours again, and another image appeared, floating in the air above it. Gallantmon stared, wide-eyed, at the shape that appeared in front of him.

"You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me," he moaned.

"No, I am afraid we are most certainly not," Dynasmon shook his head. "That is indeed Alphamon, right there."

The Royal Knights that surrounded the room were all staring at a small draconic looking Digimon that covered in purplish fur apart from the limbs, nose, underbelly and the tip of the long bushy and almost fox-like tail, which were all white. It also had tiny bat-like black wings protruding from its shoulders and a large red gem of some description centred in the middle of its forehead, between its long black-tipped ears.

"That can only be a Rookie level Digimon," Gallantmon cried.

"Correct," muttered Crusadermon. "Suffice to say that our esteemed leader hasn't seen much need to digivolve or grow since he was reborn some time ago. He's still living happily as a Rookie level Digimon. And if you want to use him to save the world, he's going to need to be at his final stage of Digivolution."

"And right now, he's just a tiny little Dorumon," agreed Magnamon. "Not exactly the best situation in the world, is it?"

"You mean that we have to find him and then get him to his final level so that we can find the missing Imperialdramon Paladin Mode?" asked Gallantmon.

"Well, yes, but that's not all," Omnimon replied. "I'm afraid to say that is not the only problem that you're going to have. Since times gone by things have very much changed. Imperialdramon created us through the use of his very own data, even in the process of dying as he was. He alone would no longer be enough to awaken Fanglongmon early – the ability would now require _all_ of the Royal Knights to be present. All thirteen of us, including the founder… and also including _you_ Gallantmon. That means that you will not only have to find and restore Alphamon to his true form, a task that sounds arduous enough in itself, but you're also going to have to find the rest of the Royal Knights."

"You've already met one of them," said Craniamon helpfully. "The UlforceVeedramon that helped you in the final battle against the forces of the Dark Ocean was the one that perished at the hands of Apocalymon. Finding him again should not be too difficult, I would imagine."

"That's great," Gallantmon muttered, not especially cheered up even by this piece of good news, his mind still reeling at the thought that he would be needed in this endeavour directly to wake up Fanglongmon and wondering what would become of him after that. "And what about the other two? Examon and Leopardmon?"

"Well," Kentaurosmon proffered. "Leopardmon lives in a secluded fortress on the very edge of the Digital World on the Desert Level so… finding him might be a little bit more difficult. Leopardmon was always a bit of a grouch even when he was a member of our forces and I'm afraid to say that he hasn't changed that much, even now, so talking to him might be a bit difficult."

"And Examon…" Dynasmon hesitated. "Actually we… don't know where he is. It took us a long time to trace Alphamon down since he is so unlike he was as a Royal Knight that sensing him was almost impossible. But Examon… we can't seem to detect him at all, and we don't know why that could be."

"Oh well that's _great_ news," Gallantmon sighed.

"Alphamon could probably find him in an instant," said Crusadermon. "And once Alphamon has located Imperialdramon, all of we Royal Knights must be present to restore him to his former glory, and then it will take all thirteen of us to wake Fanglongmon up. Since we're trapped in the barrier the best thing to do would be to bring Imperialdramon here, the one place in the Digital World that we are capable of using our powers even if we cannot emerge into it."

"It still sounds like mission impossible," Takato muttered.

"And it also sounds a bit like what those guys in the Pokémon World have to do by gathering all of those Legendaries," Guilmon said. "There really are some things that are so alike between our worlds that it's scary."

"Yeah, but at least they don't have to raise the Legendary Pokemon up to their true forms…" Takato muttered, then hesitated. "Oh lord, do you think they'll have to do that too?"

"I don't know," Guilmon shrugged. "But whatever happens, I think we can do this. I think that they can do what they have to do, and we will do what we have to do too in order to protect these worlds."

"Thanks, buddy," Takato said, then felt another surge of doubt about how close he really was to Guilmon surge up within him and he internally clenched a fist and gritted his teeth.

"We cannot stay any longer," Omnimon said. "If we do then the barrier may deteriorate too much for us to be able to repair it enough to keep it at bay for another few months."

"Alright," Gallantmon nodded. "So… we need to find this… Dorumon and find a way of getting him back into his Alphamon form again, and while doing it we also have to find UlforceVeedramon, Leopardmon, and a missing Examon. Then we have to find Imperialdramon Paladin Mode and revive him and all the Royal Knights have to combine their powers together to awake Fanglongmon so he can save the worlds. That is the gist of it, right?"

"Essentially yes," replied Omnimon.

"Lovely," Gallantmon sighed. "Nice to know we'll have things easy. If the Sovereigns hadn't got their hands full trying to find that mystery killer that's been attacking villages than we would just ask them for help."

"When it comes to levelling a Digimon to the next stage, Tamers are a force of wonder," Omnimon replied. "I am sure that, even if one of you are the partners of Alphamon, you will find a way of getting him up to his higher forms. It can be done. I have faith in you, Gallantmon."

"Glad to know somebody does," Gallantmon replied. "Alright then. Tell me where to find Dorumon and I guess we'll get underway."

* * *

"They've been gone for _hours,_" Kazu growled, as he kicked a nearby wall and immediately regretted it because it hurt his toes.

"They have _not_ been gone for hours, Kazu," Jeri sighed, leaning against the wall. "Just relax for a moment, would you?"

"How am I supposed to relax when we've been stuck on this sheet of metal for so long?" Kazu asked, gesturing at the large elevator that they had originally rode down into the tunnel system on from the top of the Tundra Level. The door that led into the trials had vanished and they had all been teleported back into the room after they had failed the trials. It was warm and cosy, but it still felt a little bit like they were in some kind of old cell.

"I am sure they will be along soon," Guardromon assured his partner. "The Royal Knights are honourable Digimon – they would not let anything bad happen to them I know."

"Well, I wish they would hurry up, is all," Kazu murmured.

"Just be patient, alright," Ryo said, without looking back at them – he had been resolutely staring into the corner ever since he had appeared back. "They'll be along."

"Yeah… we will," said Takato, as he and Guilmon appeared side by side in a slight flash of light a few moments later. Immediately as they touched down on the metal, the lift started moving back upwards again, heading up the huge shaft and out towards the bitter coldness of the Tundra Level above.

"Takato, you're back!" cried Kenta.

"Did you meet them? Did you see the Royal Knights?" Elecmon pressed. "Did you talk to them?"

"Yeah… yeah we did," Guilmon nodded. "That Omnimon was quite a nice guy."

"OMNIMON!" Kazu and Kenta squealed at the same time. "YOU MET AN OMNIMON! NO WAY!"

"And a Magnamon if that helps," Takato said.

As Kazu and Kenta wailed in dismay, Takato and Guilmon glanced at each other and then looked away quickly, fidgeting. Jeri noticed and frowned… the two of them were actually looking a little uncomfortable being in the presence of the other and that wasn't like them _at all_.

The thought in both Takato and Guilmon's heads were more or less exactly the same:-

_Is my partnership with him what I thought it was?_

* * *

Well, this chapter certainly had a revelation or two in it, didn't it? Guilmon's past is a lot more complicated than was originally known, and I hope that you liked the ups and downs and twists and turns that this chapter went through, as well as the many questions it answered and the new ones it brought up. And what will the future be for the two of them now? Takato was always a very emotional and paranoid kid, constantly worrying about his relationship with Guilmon throughout the series, and this is definitely going to shake him up once again, but this time Guilmon is taken aback by it too. How shall things proceed? Only time will tell.

* * *

Next time…

The attack on the cruise ship continues, with the passengers scrambling to get to the lifeboats as the Pokémon defend them against all comers. But the problems are not over yet, especially because there are still enemies waiting beneath the surface and the damage to the ship is beginning to tell. Will the defenders gain any help or are they on their own?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 26 : The North Wind**


	26. The North Wind

Hullo there everybody. Well, it's been a while since we saw what was happening on the S.S. Anne in the Pokémon World, so I'm hoping that you all want to find out how this will play out. To that end, I won't waste your time. Enjoy this action-packed chapter and I eagerly await your reviews.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 26:- The North Wind**

* * *

The S.S. Anne was still roiling in near complete turmoil, with frenzied activity going on all through the ship, up on deck and through all of the various levels, with humans running and fleeing for their lives, screaming as several Pokémon did their best to protect them from the masses of Digimon that were still swarming over the vessel.

One place that was, for the moment, free of attacking Digimon was the bridge at the fore of the ship, where the captain and several other members of the crew were currently holed up, desperately trying to get the ship functions to work properly again so they could do something about this situation.

The door was barricaded by the body of a burly Aggron, the Pokémon of the captain himself, and the huge, hulking creature that looked like a cross between a Tyrannosaurus and a Triceratops would not be moved. There were several Divermon trying to break past it but the Pokémon was having none of it, their spears ineffective against its Iron Defence while it laid low anything that can near it with a Metal Claw, while throwing Flash Cannons at anything that didn't.

The hands of the crewmen and captain were flying over the various controls, doing anything they remembered from their training and some things that they didn't in desperation, hoping that their living barricade would be able to continue holding the strange invaders off for a little longer.

"Come on, come on," growled the captain. "Come on, something! Work! Damn you!"

Several of the crew cried out in surprise when something sprang upwards from beneath the smashed windows of the bridge and landed on the windowsill amongst the shattered glass – a purple bunny-like creature with a yellow vest and red gloves. The captain yelled, grabbing a Pokéball from his belt, but the creature raised its hands and shouted, "It's alright. I'm a friend. I'm here to help."

"You got some nerve saying that when you creatures are running all over the ship," the captain growled.

"It's true," Turuiemon bounded into the room. "I'm here with a rescue force – I'm not with any of them out there attacking your ship. I need to know what's going on in here so that we can try and find a way of getting everyone to safety."

The captain hesitated, but right at this point he could not afford to hang around and debate whether this stranger could be trusted or not. He had a job to do, so he simply nodded to the crew members and they quickly returned to their stations, along with him.

"The ship's dead in the water," he snarled as he thumbed several switches. "They must have destroyed the engines, or the engine room somehow because we're not getting any response. We're just drifting right now. And the radio's down too. We've tried calling into the shore but these guys' spears have damaged it, possibly beyond repair and certainly too much to fix in any less time than a couple of days."

"Not time we have," Turuiemon gritted her teeth.

"Indeed not," the captain acknowledged. "We need to get the ship in towards the shore somehow – if the people on shore could see what was going on they would know we need help but I think we're too far out!"

"Don't worry, we'll find a way," Turuiemon assured him.

"How? The ships completely stranded! There's no moving it with some very heavy equipment."

"I have some powerful friends," Turuiemon promised. "I'll spread the word to them. In the meantime, I'll help you with your invader problem." And she bounded to the window, grabbing the side of the frame and swinging around it to catapult herself to the other side of the door, a feat of athleticism that those trying to get in were incapable of. She crashed both feet into a Divermon, extending her blades and spun between two more stabbing out to either side to impale two more and fling them into a third and then flew into a spinning pirouette that beheaded another while simultaneously allowed her to get out the way so the Aggron could shoot another Flash Cannon at a group of three others.

_Did you guys get that?_ She asked.

* * *

_Yeah,_ _I got it,_ Aayla grimaced as she bounded across the roof of one of the giant orange lifeboats that were hanging from the ceiling overhang on one of the middle levels at the side of the ship. _Sounds like the captain's right and moving the ship is no good. We'll have to concentrate on the lifeboats._ "Women and children first – I believe that's the way it's normally done," she shouted over the sound of the panicking crowd.

_These are all aquatic Digimon, Aayla,_ Henry's voice resounded across the link. _They're going to have a home advantage in the water. Protecting the lifeboats won't be easy._

_Someone contact Milotic and tell her to get in the water, and also try and get in contact with those that are capable of flying to help protect from the air,_ Aayla instructed.

_I'm on it,_ Turuiemon replied.

Aayla shouted over the crowd, "If anyone has any water Pokémon capable of fighting, we need to let them out into the ocean to help protect the lifeboats. Anyone who has any strong water Pokémon release them now!"

Several people responded to her cries and hurried to the side, throwing their Pokéballs into the air and releasing things like Seakings and Poliwhirls down into the water. One person even released a Gyarados, which broke the surface and roared a challenge to anything that would listen to it.

* * *

Turuiemon charged back across the ship, slashing a Coelamon across the side as she went and relieving a Divermon of its SCUBA tank with a quick stroke of her blade before grabbing it and smashing him in the face with it. She sprang off the edge of a ledge and plunged down below to land and spin around, slashing two Gizamon that had been about to roll on either side of her and disintegrating them on the spot.

Despite the reduced number of Digimon attacking the entire deck was still broiling with activity as Pokémon and Digimon pushed one another back and forth across its length. Several more Divermon hurried forwards and flung their harpoons together at Turuiemon, at least a dozen of them at once. Turuiemon sprang straight up and over the top of them, with Swellow twisting out of nowhere and seizing her outstretched hand in his feet, carrying her straight over the flying spears and flinging her into the Divermon pack where she sliced through four of them with rapid succession while Swellow curved back around and slammed another into a wall with Aerial Ace.

Nearby, Houndoom was standing out on an extended ledge, in plain sight, gazing up at the blazing sun and seemingly not attacking anyone. Several Coelamon spotted him and flung their attacks right at him, but Houndoom's head spun around and spat a fully-charged Solarbeam from his jaws - he had been absorbing the rays of the sun moments before – and the attack powered through the Coelamon's attacks and obliterated them on the spot.

Scyther shot overhead moments later in a full forwards-flip, landing in front of a pair of Gizamon and X-Scissoring through them, glaring at three Divermon as they flung their spears at him. The spears punctured Scyther's body and they cheered, only for the still-standing Scyther to vanish in a puff of smoke and their spears to clatter to the floor, while the real Scyther fell upon them from beyond with a madly swinging Fury Cutter attack that lacerated them before the smoke from his Substitute had even vanished.

Garchomp crashed upwards through the deck in front of a group of Gizamon that were about to throw themselves at Scyther and flung them aside with a Dual Chop, sending them battering through the air like little dolls. More Divermon flung their spears at his exposed back but his tail hardened into Iron and battered them aside without him even looking. The Divermon cringed as he turned around and glared at them and they turned to flee, but Garchomp span around, generating a whirlwind of sand from thin air which washed over the Divermon and trapped them inside the furiously spinning cyclone, leaving them unable to escape as Garchomp sprang over the Sand Tomb and Body Slammed down towards them.

Swellow whooshed around the Sand Tomb as Garchomp finished them off at an incredibly tight angle, flapping harshly and generating a pair of Air Slashes that sliced through the air and impacted on several Coelamon that were trying to attack Houndoom, before his body lit up with the aura of Brave Bird and he charged in to smash the rest of the group with the full-powered attack. As he twisted away he landed on a nearby railing, panting from the recoil damage of the attack. A Divermon tried to sneak up next to him, raising his spear for the throw, but Swellow suddenly spun around and shot for him, his Roost having restored his energy quickly, before he seized the outstretched spear in his talons and tore it out of the Divermon's grip with Pluck.

The Divermon yelled and clutched at its injured hand, but Swellow spun around and tossed the spear right at it, impaling it on its own weapon as it dropped to the ground.

Swellow turned to see Garchomp standing there with a slight smirk on his face.

"You know… Swellow aren't supposed to be able to learn how to use Fling."

"There's a difference between flinging something and Flinging something, you know," Swellow chuckled.

"That makes very little sense."

"I know."

And they both broke off so that Garchomp could spin around and Brick Break a Coelamon hard enough to shatter its scales and Swellow shot forwards to Quick Attack a Gizamon in the face.

Turuiemon bounded past the both of them, searching for the Pokémon that she was looking for. Moments later, she found her, as one entire swimming pool seemed to shoot upwards like a geyser and send every Digimon inside it flying. Milotic burst out of the Waterfall attack and onto the deck with no less than four Divermon Wrapped in her coils, where she quickly lashed her body back out straight and tossed them all into different directions before flashing a Confuse Ray at a few others to make them start bashing their heads into walls or with their own harpoons before she slithered over and Aqua Tailed the lot of them.

"I believe we may be making progress," she observed.

"Milotic!" Turuiemon called as she ran over to her. "News from Aayla. She wants you to get into the ocean and help to protect the lifeboats from anything that might still be down there."

Milotic nodded immediately. "I can do that," she said, slamming an Iron Tail into a spinning Gizamon aimed at her side. "Though I should point out that I'm on the top deck of a massive cruise ship. A fall from this height might hurt."

"Then we'll take you down," Latias said as she moved in next to her, blasting a group of Coelamon away with her mind as she did so. Latios swung in after her and the two of them combined their powers to lift Milotic into the air, carrying her over the side of the ship and towards the water below. Turuiemon turned around to see where else she could help out before something slammed into a wall nearby like a cannonball. When the dust cleared, it was revealed to be the Pukumon, looking a little battered but still very alive.

Fatemon landed next to her. "Keep going," he growled at her. "Leave this guy to me."

Turuiemon hesitated, but only for a moment. Then she patted Fatemon's arm and hurried away, calling, "Garchomp, Swellow! We might need your help protecting those lifeboats as well."

Pukumon pushed himself up onto his hands and glowered at Fatemon, who he could now tell was more powerful than himself, but refused to admit it. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?" he spat hypocritically.

"I could say the same to you," Fatemon replied. "That Chrome-Digizoid helmet of yours is really getting on my nerves though. I wonder if I can do something about that."

"I'm getting sick of you," Pukumon gurgled. "Let's continue this dance, shall we?"

"My pleasure," Fatemon replied, and sprang forwards at the exact same time as Pukumon, rolling away from the Mega pufferfish's punch and slamming his glowing Blade of Destiny into the armoured helmet, right down the middle of Pukumon's head. Pukumon batted the sword away and punched for Fatemon's face, but he quickly deflected with his own arm, ducking down and swinging underneath Pukumon as the fish went into a whirlwind of punches that forced Fatemon to bring up his sword to block, but was still hit with enough force to send him staggering backwards.

Pukumon seized a crossbar and swung over it, shooting himself right at Fatemon like a bowling ball, so Fatemon responded by tossing his sword straight up into the air and summoning Balanced Reality orbs into his hands to fling them to intercept. At such close range the impact of the attack blasted them both backwards, but Fatemon skidded and managed to regain control before he sprang up, seized his blade and shot after Pukumon, bringing his Blade of Destiny down again to slam it right into the same spot as last time.

Pukumon responded by blasting out another round of spikes from his helmet, which punched holes in Fatemon's own armour and even his wings. Fatemon yelled and reeled backwards and Pukumon landed a hammer blow to his helmet, sending him rolling. The pufferfish tried to pursue but Fatemon rolled back onto his feet and shifted into Beelzemon as he did so, shooting out a blast with his cannon that forced Pukumon to spin around and present his helmet to it to absorb the impact. But he still got tossed into the air and Beelzemon shifted into Fatemon yet again and slammed the Blade of Destiny down a third time. In the same place.

And this time it penetrated the armour – the three powerful and focused attacks slamming into the same place too much even for the Chrome-Digizoid. Pukumon howled as he felt the blade nick the top of his head and Fatemon kicked him away, shifting into Beelzemon again and blasting him back down to plough across the deck, leaving a huge cracked path in his wake.

Pukumon rolled to a stop, battered and bruised but still alive, and stubbornly refusing to give up.

* * *

Down below, the ship was still in just as much turmoil, and one member of the group was having a more difficult time of helping people than most.

"Stay back!" screamed the woman pressing herself into the corner, her eyes filled with fear as if the devil himself was standing before her.

When in reality, it was Absol, who was looking at her pleadingly, but she barely seemed to notice.

"I'm trying to help you get to safety, damn it!" Absol cried. "Just let me help you!"

But the woman mistook his cries, which she could not understand, for feral howls of anger.

"Get away! Get away from me you monster!" she screamed, kicking out at him. Absol growled in frustration, which didn't help his image. Normally he would be terrified of humans but considering the circumstances he had to try and help this woman and she was just not letting him.

He contemplated leaving her. Maybe she'd get moving and get herself to freedom if he wasn't here blocking her way as she so thought.

But before he could put that into motion, he noticed smoke coming out from underneath a nearby door and his eyes widened as a few moments there was an explosion from within that took out a large portion of the wall and the entire door and set the carpet in the corridor on fire. The whole room within was on fire – it was the kitchens and evidently things had gotten very out of control in the attack.

The woman screamed and tried to scramble away, but the fire spread quickly with the aid of some cooking oil that had been spilt onto the floor in the explosion and suddenly her leg was alight, her trousers catching fire in the blaze. She screamed and kicked trying to scramble away, but Absol quickly formed a Water Pulse and launched it at her foot, putting out the fire instantly. He sprang over her and aimed more Water Pulses at the fire to keep it at bay as she scrambled to her feet, staring at him uncomprehendingly.

"What are… you…" she breathed.

"GO!" Absol yelled, turning around and butting her with his head before spinning back to put out a flaming oven with a few more blasts. The woman responded and fled, Absol turning around and running right behind her, forcing her towards the main lobby of the ship, where the last of the stragglers were still making their way down towards the lifeboat level.

As they emerged into it they found that the place was still full of Digimon. Several Divermon spotted them and launched their harpoons at them, only for Lucario to spring out of nowhere and deflect them with swift strokes of his Bone Rush and slam through the group with an ExtremeSpeed.

_Madam, get to the lifeboats!_ Lucario said to her with his aura. _Absol and I can take it from here. Go!_

The woman glanced back at Absol in clear bewilderment but she hurried away straight afterwards, as Absol dashed after Lucario, who said, _There's two men being chased by some Digimon two corridors to the left._

"Got it," Absol replied, immediately dashing to the left while Lucario plunged to the right, following another faint signal with his aura. A group of Gizamon blocked his way and charged towards him, launching themselves into their buzzsaw motions but Lucario used his own Psychic attack to slam most of them to the side of the walls before he lashed out and seized the last one by one of its spikes, even while it was spinning and slammed it face-first into the floor before leaping over it and coming to a door, where the aura signal was coming from the other side.

Moments later he had slammed it off its hinges and bounded into the room, to find two beings in the room – a woman lying on the bed, unconscious but alive and with a bleeding head-wound, presumably from where she had smacked it against the wardrobe door in the tremors that shook the ship. And there was also an infant that couldn't be more than one year old in a cot beside the bed, screaming to high heaven.

"Damn," Lucario muttered, hurrying forwards. _Sceptile, I'm going to need a little help here._

_I'm on my way,_ Sceptile's reply came through, as Lucario pulled the cot over and pulled the infant out, holding him cradled to his chest to the best of his ability and ignoring his screams as he bounded over to the unconscious woman and wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her from the bed and back towards the corridor as best he could considering she was taller than him and he could only use one arm.

As soon as he backed out into the corridor several more Divermon saw him and started running down towards them with spears raised. Lucario cursed again and dropped the woman, clutching the baby tightly to him as he shut his eyes and focused, summoning his Metal Claw with his free hand and spun around, kicking the first Divermon in the side of the head and swatting the spear out of the hand of another before kicking it right in the chin and knocking it backwards into another. A fourth flung its spear at him, but he span around and blocked with his Metal Claw and summoned a one-handed Aura Sphere to hurl it right between the Divermon's eyes.

Several more bunched up, ready to attack, but suddenly Sceptile stormed down the corridor behind them and blazed through them, slamming one two the ground beneath his feet and cutting through the others with swift strokes of his Leaf Blades.

"Let's get moving," Sceptile said without pause, scooping up the unconscious woman in both arms and dashing back towards the main lobby, Lucario and the infant hard on his heels. As Sceptile arrived at the banister and made for the stairs he spotted a pair of Coelamon on the bottom floor hemming in a couple of children. Sceptile moved without thinking, throwing the unconscious woman into the air and diving over the banister, plunging several floors down and landing beside the Coelamon to Slam them aside and send them rolling, before twisting around and catching the falling woman he had just thrown in his arms again.

"Come on, kids, let's get you to those lifeboats," Sceptile nodded, dashing back up the stairs with the kids in tow, joining up with Lucario once again as they motored in the direction most of the crowds had taken.

They met up with Luxray a short distance away, the Gleam Eyes Pokémon leading most of the stragglers from the dining hall behind him to safety.

"I think that we've rounded up most of the passengers," Lucario called as they ran.

"Well, that's some good news at least," Luxray called back as they rounded a corner and abruptly all pulled to a halt, finding the corridor jam-packed with Divermon and Gizamon, who all turned around to smirk and glower at them – there must have been over two-dozen in there at least and they were blocking the way to the life-boats.

"Now what?" Sceptile asked, pulling the woman in his arms closer protectively.

Luxray growled and moved forwards into the centre of the corridor as the Digimon small horde charged. With a roar of anger he activated a Spark attack, shrouding his body with electric power and then unleashed a Discharge at the same time, the two attacks merging to create something like an electrical wall that crackled from one end of the corridor to the other. As the Digimon pulled to a startled halt, Luxray bounded forwards, slamming into the front ranks with his head and plunging through them, battering their ranks aside and frying each one with electrical power the moment he got within six feet of them. Lucario and Sceptile led the stragglers down the corridor after him as Luxray barrelled through the entire horde, pouncing on the last Divermon and biting into him with a Thunder Fang that dropped him instantly.

"Nice one!" Sceptile nodded as they hurried past.

"Guys!" Absol yelled as he emerged from a nearby corridor, drawing cries from the people behind them. "They're starting to unload the lifeboats! Hurry!"

"Come on!" Lucario shouted, clapping Absol on the shoulder as they ran on, the Disaster Pokémon joining them in the last leg, the passengers following, too panicked to really care much about the presence of an Absol at this stage.

* * *

Most of the lifeboats had been loaded up at this point, and the Tamers and Felkan were still ushering the last of the people on board while Aayla continued to shout instructions over the crowd, for the Digimon were drawing closer. Several Divermon had made their way out onto the deck beside the hanging lifeboats and were trying to throw their spears through the windows but the spears veered upwards instead and crashing into the ceiling harmlessly. The perpetrator, Gardevoir, blitzed into existence in front of the Divermon and brought her hands together, summoning a Hyper Beam between them and glaring challengingly at the Digimon.

"Get her!" one of the Divermon yelled and they all jumped for her. Gardevoir powered more energy into the Hyper Beam and then teleported away with it, the Divermon piling up in the place where she had just been while she appeared several metres to the side and unleashed the Beam – a massive explosion of orange energy blasting outwards from between her hands and obliterating the Divermon group where they stood, reducing them to data instantly.

"Come on, come on, get moving," Rika pushed a couple more kids up the ramp into the door of the lifeboat while Henry and Suzie worked together to help a man that had a cut on his leg from one of the Divermon's spears up another ramp, where the other passengers of the lifeboats helped to pile him in.

Felkan ushered another pair of women out of the nearest corridor and also up into the nearest lifeboat when he spotted Latios and Latias descending over the side of the ship with Milotic held in their Psychic grasp. He dashed to the railing and cried, "Guys! Is everyone alright up there?"

"Everyone was fine last time we looked," Milotic called back as she continued downwards.

Felkan sighed and gripped the railing hard, worry for all twelve of his team constantly gnawing at his insides.

"FELKAN! LOOK OUT!" Henry yelled, drawing everyone's attention, and Felkan spun around to see a Gizamon had bounded out of a door behind him and had sprung forwards, curling into a ball and buzz-sawing straight towards him, the viciously pointed spines on its back ripping through the air as it shot straight for Felkan's chest.

_FELKAN!_ Gardevoir screamed, still temporarily unable to move under the residual effects of the Hyper Beam and furiously wrenching herself to try and teleport in and save her beloved trainer, but able to do nothing but watch in horror as the Gizamon bore down on him.

Felkan, for a moment, froze in shock, undergoing the process that many people go by when faced with an incoming object that could spell their death, like a deer in the headlights.

And then something slammed into him from the side, knocking him sprawling and out of the way so the Gizamon crashed into the pillar that had been behind Felkan instead. Moments later, Gardevoir unfroze and blazed in furiously, seizing the Gizamon with her Psychic and summoning it straight at her where she slammed it full-in the face with an Ice Punch to take it out and then hurried over to Felkan.

Felkan himself sat up, bewildered and breathing hard, looking down at what had just saved his life.

Suzie.

The little girl had charged across the deck and thrown herself at him, bodily knocking him out of the way of impending death as they both crashed to the ground. The Gizamon had missed both of them by a fraction and Felkan could only stare in shock as what she had just done registered in his mind. She had just thrown herself right into the path of danger to save him! Why would she do something as… stupidly brave as that?

"You…" he gasped as he sat up.

"Felkan!" Gardevoir cried, seizing him in her arms and hugging him fiercely, tears in her eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I couldn't move! I shouldn't have used Hyper Beam like that – it was so foolish of me. I thought that I was going to lose you while I couldn't do anything about it."

"It's… it's okay, Gardevoir," Felkan hugged her back. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that would happen."

"Suzie!" Henry ran up to his little sister and pulled her close. "Don't go scaring me like that again! Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay. I'm fine," Suzie replied.

"What did you do that for?" Felkan gasped, as he and Gardevoir turned to look at her, not letting go of each other. "You nearly got yourself killed with that stunt! Are you mad?"

"No," Suzie replied with a grin. "But I'm a Tamer. Isn't saving people's lives what I'm meant to do? Especially the lives of my friends and team-mates. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing, could I?"

Felkan stared at her nearly uncomprehendingly for a moment. Gardevoir smiled, before releasing Felkan with one arm and using it to hug Suzie. "Thank you for saving my trainer. I will be eternally in your debt for that, Suzie."

"Yeah… that was… very brave," Felkan agreed. "…Thanks…"

"Welcome," Suzie smiled.

"Guys! I hate to interrupt but nothing's stopping around here to let you have this conversation!" Rika shouted from nearby. As if to prove her point, another Divermon rounded the corner and hefted its spear, but Gardevoir span to her feet and nailed it in the stomach with a Focus Blast. Everyone quickly scrambled back to their feet and continued to help a few remaining passengers onto the lifeboats, right as Lucario and his group ran out with several others and their own burdens.

"Fresh batch, Master," Lucario called, passing the infant to Rika, who hurried it up the nearest ramp while Sceptile took the mother up after her.

"We cannot delay for much longer!" Aayla shouted. "How many more passengers are there still in the ship, Lucario?"

"Still around thirty, Aayla," Lucario replied. "Glaceon and Kyubimon are heading towards some of them now."

Aayla gritted her teeth, feeling the need to wait until everyone was present but wanting to get the people already crowded in the lifeboats to safety before something came along that they would not be quick enough to stop.

What course of action should they take now?

* * *

A short distance from the surface, Latios and Latias had released Milotic from their Psychic grip and dropped her into the water. The long, slender Pokémon ducked beneath the surface, joining the other water Pokémon that were already there, released by their trainers and quickly looking around to scope the place out.

There was battle going on down here too. There were still a fair few Divermon, Gizamon and Coelamon down here that hadn't ascended up to the top of the ship with most of the others and the other water Pokémon around her were giving them a run for their money. But Milotic's eyes were drawn to the larger, darker shapes that were slipping through the water at greater depth. Milotic's eyes widened at the sight of them – they were long, about her size, and with light blue skin adorned with darker stripes along the back and long fins that swept out to either side like blades, as well as the actual metal blade that made up their dorsal fins. Their heads were covered in dark blue armour with white streaks and they had jaws lined with small but sharp teeth.

She was looking at Tylomon – at least four of them, and they were the creatures that had been initially responsible for making the ship judder before the others attacked in force. They had stopped their assault from before for now, but they were starting to get restless and before Milotic could do so much as twitch her tail fin one of them had motored forwards with a flick of its tail and launched an attack right at the flank of the cruise ship.

"No!" Milotic cried, as the Tylomon launched a pair of torpedoes from beneath its fins that looked like miniature versions of itself and which streaked through the water, winding past several of the others to slam into the side of the ship and explode in a concussive blast that made the whole ship shake again, blackening the hull and making everyone on board stagger and try and keep their balance.

The reinforced armour of the ship held under the attack but it had buckled a little and the other Tylomon took the actions of their partner as cue to home in on the attack too, motoring forwards and into position. Milotic kicked her own tail and whooshed to intercept, blasting out a Dragon Pulse that struck one of the Tylomon in the helmet hard enough to crack it and send it veering away, but the other two managed to unleash attacks of their own that struck the ship full on with double force, throwing up spray and making the whole thing shake violently.

The Tylomon that Milotic had attacked snarled and veered around, coming straight for her with a snarl of **"SHARK FIN BLADE!"** as his dorsal fin glowed and sharpened. Milotic swung herself around and swung an Iron Tail like a bat to counter the strike and knock the Tylomon away, but it swung around quickly and snapped at her with its teeth, forcing her to sweep her own body out of the way and unleash a Scald attack, boiling the water in front of her and causing the Tylomon to yell as it ploughed into it.

But the other three Tylomon had regrouped once more and launched another set of attacks at the side of the ship. Milotic wheeled around in horror and spurred herself forwards, hurling a Hydro Pump at a pair of the missiles, catching them early and pre-emptying them to explode. Another pair was taken out by a Hyper Beam from the Gyarados that was also part of the defending force.

But the middle pair slipped through, strike a part of the ship that had already been dented, and Milotic watched in horror as a chunk was finally torn in the bottom of the ship. And, inevitably, water instantly began to sweep inside to fill the gap. Milotic screamed, angrier than she had ever felt herself get and spun around to hammer blow the burned Tylomon in the jaw with Dragon Tail.

* * *

"What was that?" cried Rika at the rending noise from down below coupled with another judder from the ship as she had to steady another passenger. "Don't tell me that noise was what I thought it was!"

"Message from Milotic," Lucario said grimly. "There are more Digimon down below the surface like we've thought, and one of them has just blown a hole in the side of the ship! It's taking on water!"

"Then that means it's going to start sinking!" Felkan yelled.

Aayla swore, which she didn't normally do. "Then we have no choice. We launch the lifeboats. Now!"

"But there are still more Digimon down there and not everyone…" Henry started.

"The lifeboats are hanging beneath the an overhang on the ship. If the ship sinks before we detach them then it will take the lifeboats down with it and we can't take that risk. We need to try and get them to safety and protect them as best we can! We'll take our chances with the open water. Tell Milotic to organise the other Water Pokémon to guard the lifeboats as best they can."

The entire ship lurched violently to the side as if to confirm her words, water flowing into the corridors down below and beginning to weight it down, and it was already several metres lower in the water now.

"Hurry, let's move!" Aayla cried. "The ship's starting to get too heavy. It's…"

Suddenly the ship juddered and began to move more slowly, still sinking beneath the surface but at a slower pace. Aayla and the other blinked in bewilderment but then a voice grunted, "We'll buy you… as much time… as we can…"

It was Latios and Latias. The two of them were hovering off to the side with their eyes shut and their short arms raised, teeth clenched together as they pooled their Psychic powers together and used them to take hold of the entire ship, steadying its descent.

"Guys!" Felkan cried in concern.

"It's heavy!" Latias moaned. "Too heavy for us to hold up… and it's getting heavier!"

"But we… are Legendary Pokémon," growled Latios. "We are children… of Arceus. We… are strong. We can do this! We have to do this!"

Aayla had to admit she was impressed – the entire cruise ship probably weighed from eighty-thousand to one-hundred thousand tons, and yet the two of them were, with considerable effort, holding it steady with their minds. The fact that it was on water helped but they were still keeping one massively heavy ship up, slowing its sinking descent into the ocean even though they could not stop it. And this was a pair of Legendary Pokémon that had barely never practiced in the full extent of their powers.

"Hold on, Latios," Latias grunted. "We have to… get this thing moving again. Let's push it… towards the shore."

"I don't think… we can," Latios strained, his claws clenching as he exerted all of his Psychic strength onto the cruise ship. "It's too… heavy!"

"We've got… to try!" Latias growled. "Come on! We'll head for… the back of the ship! Give it as much of a push! As we can!"

"Okay," Latios nodded. "Good luck, guys!" And the two of them winged slowly away, not relinquishing their Psychic grip on the ship as they moved off.

"They're buying us some time but we still need to think of the passengers," Aayla said, pulling her re-breather off her belt. "We need to get them off the ship and towards the shore. I'll head into the water with Milotic. Gardevoir, take the Tamers and Felkan onto the roof of one of lifeboats when we get them down and stay in contact with my mind. I'll try and organise the defence but you'll have to relay my instructions to the others down there."

Gardevoir nodded.

"Shall we start winching the ships down?" Henry asked.

"I think it might be better to go for the more direct way," Aayla replied, bounding down from the top of a lifeboat. "Lucario, can you guys go back and rescue anyone you can but make sure that you all stay alive and get to the top deck if it starts to go down too far."

"Understood," Lucario nodded, as he and the others turned to head back in.

"Not you Absol," Aayla called, stopping the Disaster Pokémon in his tracks. "You can help me here."

"Help with what?" Absol blinked.

"With this," Aayla replied, activating both of her lightsabers and swinging around to fling them through the air. They lashed into whirling, humming spins and simultaneously severed the two chains that were holding one of the lifeboats up while Aayla blasted the door closed with the Force. The passengers inside screamed as they dropped past the side of the ship and crashed down into the water in a fountain of spray, but stayed afloat.

"Ah," Absol nodded, as Aayla recalled her blades with the Force. "I get it."

"Let's go," Aayla said, and ran across the railing, waving her hand at every boat she passed to slam the door closed, while Absol ran along behind her and swung his head violently, generating Psycho Cut blades that sliced upwards and severed the chains two at a time, dropping lifeboat after lifeboat to crash into the water in a long line. Gardevoir immediately took Aayla's advice and seized all four humans in her embrace, teleporting the down to the top of one of the boats and the crew members inside them got the message and began to pilot them out and towards the shore.

Once Aayla and Absol had severed all of the lifeboats from their moorings, Aayla called, "Now, you can go help the others. Stay safe," as she sprang over the side and landed on the roof of the last lifeboat before it could hit the water, bracing as it crashed onto the surface and the spray shot up around her as she fitted the re-breather into her mouth and sprang over the side, plunging into the water before the boat had fully settled and swimming out with the aid of the Force, while Absol turned and hurried back into the ship.

* * *

On shore, the people were beginning to get an inkling that something was not right out there. For two reasons mainly – the first being the fact that the ship had not gotten any closer for the last fifteen minutes, almost as if it had stalled out in open water, and the other being that in some places, faint trails of smoke could be seen coming from the side of the ship.

That wasn't right, was it? Not right at all?

But as the humans deliberated about what could be going on, discussing anything from engine room failure to someone jumping overboard, a pair of ruby red eyes watched from on high, at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and as close to the city as their owner dared to get.

It seemed that its preliminary hunch had been right, and there was a problem out there. It couldn't tell what, but it was now wondering if it should investigate. It did not normally show itself in a place where many humans would be liable to see it, and was a little reluctant to do so now, otherwise it would have gone already.

But the smoke decided things. Smoke could never be a good thing, and while the creature was not inclined to be seen by most humans, it did have a duty to protect them. So it sprang off the cliff and sailed out over the water, determined to strike out for the ship.

* * *

Inside the S.S. Anne, there were still some people trapped inside. Another couple of people on one of the bottom floors that had both been knocked unconscious in their room before had just woken up and, hearing the sounds of the chaos all around them, decided to flee, only to find the corridor filled with water that was rapidly rising.

Naturally panic had risen and the man and woman had run for the stairs, splashing through the corridor as the water level ascended upwards and upwards, over their knees and pretty quickly getting up to their waists. The man fell and splashed beneath the surface and the woman frantically helped him up, practically hauling him towards the stairs, and then screaming when something else shot out of the water behind them – something that looked like an armoured SCUBA diver crossed with a fish with claws – a Depthmon. And several more emerged behind it. They had been unable to board the ship before due to their lack of legs, but now they could finally get in through the hole the Tylomon had made.

"First blood, boys," the lead Depthmon cackled, raising his claws… only for a pair of blue fireballs to slam into his shoulders and knock him backwards.

"Get away from them!" Kyubimon snarled, bounding through the water in great leaps, splashing everywhere as she raised her flaming tails once again, launching another flurry over the heads of the humans at the Depthmon group, who hissed as they dodged through the water which was now past waist-height.

"Fire in this environment! Give us a break!" the Depthmon laughed, raising their hands and forming their watery Bubble Bombs that they hurled at the humans. Kyubimon sprang high, over the water and over the humans, whipping herself into a ferocious Dragon Wheel that seared with such heat that the water in the corridor instantly began to turn into steam and the Bubble Bombs were vaporised before they hit their mark. The Depthmon screamed as the attack washed over them and back down the corridor, lowering the water level again considerably as it became gas and Kyubimon landed beside the humans.

"Come on! Go! Move!" she cried, pushing them onwards towards the stairs as the water began rising again instantly and then there was another judder to the ship and another rending sound. Kyubimon spun around, eyes widening as a torrent of water suddenly filled the corridor behind them and rushed towards them – another hole had been opened in the side by the Tylomon.

"GO!" she screamed and the three of them ran for their lives, dashing towards the stairs at high speed, but not fast enough, as the wall of water bore down towards them like a single great wave of death. Kyubimon flung barrages of Fox Tail Infernos back against it without turning around but if it made any difference this time it was not visible.

Then suddenly the woman took her turn to fall over, crashing to the ground. Kyubimon seized her by the back of the shirt in her jaws and attempted to pull her up, but she was considerably slowed and she watched the water wall surge the final distance towards her…

A beam of light blue lanced past her and suddenly the water wall froze solid, stopping in its tracks mere inches from crashing down on them. Kyubimon spun around to see Glaceon standing there, an Ice Beam being projected from his jaws.

"Oh, you are a miracle worker," Kyubimon sighed in relief.

"Why thank you," Glaceon said. "But that won't hold it long! The whole level is flooding – it'll be coming around the other way soon too." Even as he spoke, the ice wall started cracking behind him and jets of water burst through the cracks. Glaceon blasted it again to re-freeze it and Kyubimon hauled the woman up, breaking for the stairs once more, Glaceon right behind them. They finally reached the foot of the stairs and dashed up it just as another wall of water washed towards them from the other side, Glaceon freezing it moments before it cut off their escape and hit them and all four bounding up the stairs and to safety.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the top deck, some of the fights were still going strong. Rapidmon was tiring fast, the effects of the Dark Deluge from when he had saved that child wearing him down considerably. He was currently indented in the wall, groaning, having just been slammed there by one of MarineDevimon's tentacles. He grimaced as the giant Ultimate launched another burst of ink from its mouth at him and he shot upwards, narrowly avoiding being splashed once again and whipping round to kick him in the back of the head and spring off to launch a pair of Rapid Fires at his back.

MarineDevimon swung around and took the brunt of the attack on one of his arms, his tentacles swinging outwards wildly and seemingly of their own accord, flailing almost randomly about as they tried to hit him. Rapidmon dodged from side to side like a dragonfly, whooshing through the wildly swinging tentacles, but he was flagging, not able to go at nearly the speed he should have been able to and sure enough one of the tentacles hit him side on, the spike cutting into his leg and sending him crashing into the deck, sliding across it and coming to a stop at the edge of a swimming pool.

MarineDevimon sneered, bearing down on him with tentacles raised as Rapidmon pushed himself back upright, wincing slightly as his leg seared at him. But he looked up, glaring defiantly as the MarineDevimon towered over the top of him.

He glanced back at the pool that he had landed beside and suddenly he got an idea. Lifting himself into the air, he hovered over the surface of the pool and gestured to himself with one bazooka. "You think you've got me? I can go like this all day! Let's see what you've got!"

MarineDevimon took the bait and disgorged another large Dark Deluge from his mouth, vomiting up the copious amounts of paralysing ink that spread out like a hole-less net and descended towards the hovering Rapidmon. The Ultimate put on a spurt of speed backwards, fast as he could manage, and avoided the attack, which splurged into the pool and practically displaced all of the water in it, turning the entire thing black.

"Perfect," Rapidmon smirked, firing off a Miracle Missile that shot not at MarineDevimon, but straight downwards and into the deck, blasting a hole in it. Rapidmon dropped through the hole and into the ship, motoring forwards smashing through a nearby wall until he was directly beneath the ink-filled swimming pool. Spinning around, he aimed his bazookas straight up and Rapid Fired.

The missiles collided with the ceiling beneath the pool and the explosion tore its way upwards, upheaving the entire pool and all the ink it, which sloshed upwards like a small tidal wave and immediately drenched MarineDevimon in it. The Digimon did have a resistance to his own ink to prevent accidents but this was too much even for him and he reeled backwards, screaming and flailing as he felt his limbs begin to succumb to the effects of the ink and seize up. Rapidmon shot up straight through the blast hole at the bottom of the now mostly empty pool as MarineDevimon's motions slowed to a crawl.

"**TRI BEAM!"** he screamed, blasting out the triangular energy beam that lanced forwards and pierced its way straight through the near-immobilised MarineDevimon's chest, bursting out the other side. MarineDevimon had time for a single gurgling cry before he burst into data and Rapidmon, slumped onto the deck, trying to catch his breath and work some feeling back into his limbs, but otherwise relatively fine.

* * *

The last of the major monsters that had clambered onto the deck was the Ebidramon that Charizard was facing. Charizard's back was currently pressed against a wall, his hands grasping the Ebidramon's huge pincers and straining to hold them back as they snapped within inches of his face, trying to reach him. The Ebidramon snarled and pushed harder, and Charizard pushed harder back, returning a snarl of his own.

"I'm not going to buckle so easily to a giant shrimp," he leered. If the Ebidramon was capable of talking, which it probably was, it did not respond, deciding instead to just continue snarling, mouth wide open. Charizard smirked and spat a colossal fiery whirling attack from his mouth – Inferno, a move that was normally not very accurate because it was difficult for the user to control, but at such close quarters how could he miss? The Ebidramon was practically charbroiled inside its own shell and backed off screeching, and Charizard responded by shooting forwards to launch a Shadow Claw at its face.

But the flailing Ebidramon spun around and slammed Charizard in the side with its wide tail. Charizard went rolling, slamming across the deck and into the barrier, denting it and almost causing him to fall off the edge. He winced a little at the pain in his back, and saw the angry Ebidramon turning around again and charging straight for him, Twin Scissors raised.

Charizard quickly jumped backwards and into the air, sailing over the edge and wings flapping to keep him aloft. To his surprise, the Ebidramon sprang straight into the air with the aid of the watery energy from his tail, legs flaming as he tried another Lobster Step attack on him, even though in doing so he had just jumped off the side of the ship.

"This guy isn't too bright," Charizard muttered and grinned as he powered his wings straight upwards to meet the Ebidramon with his most powerful physical attack – Flare Blitz. He slammed the Ebidramon straight in the stomach with such force that he carried the much larger being straight back up into the air with a cry of shock, sending him flying, but Charizard was not done, flapping back up to catch him yet again and seizing him by the underbelly, forcibly flipping him over and then shooting right back down towards the front of the ship like a projectile.

Moments before impact, Charizard completed the Seismic Toss by flinging the Ebidramon down with a massive wrench of his arms and winging away. The Ebidramon smashed into the front of the ship so hard the both the deck and its shell splintered, and this proved to be the final nail in the coffin – he burst into data moments later.

"Hope they don't charge us for the damages," Charizard muttered, staring at the trashed ship's fore. "Because I don't think we can pay for that."

* * *

Despite the various victories, the ship was still in a state of chaos. Latias and Latios were now at the back of the ship, forcing it as much as they could towards the shore while trying to keep it up at the same time. Their efforts were paying off, albeit slowly, because the sheer weight of the ship was incredibly taxing even on their pooled minds. Latios was now wishing that he and Latias had trained to become stronger as Psychics like some of the other Legendaries – he was sure that someone like Lugia could probably do this much more easily.

But the ship was still getting lower and lower in the water, still under attack from below as it was. The water Pokémon around the area had started listening to the commands relayed to them by Gardevoir, forming a vanguard around the bunched lifeboats and giving their all to prevent anything from getting through to damage the boats.

Aayla swept to and fro beneath the boats, her re-breather clamped tightly between her teeth and watching the ship steering after them as the boats headed for shore, and getting lower in the water with each passing second. She spurted through the water to slash through a Divermon's tank, which sent it shooting away before the tank exploded moments later and twirled over to deliver a double slash to a Depthmon before it could attack her, flinging one lightsaber to the side to impale a Coelamon that was viciously attacking a Goldeen. The Twi'lek called orders to Gardevoir, tightening any holes she saw in the defences and glancing back to make sure that Milotic was alright.

Milotic herself was locked in combat with one of the Tylomon, both of them twirling around on another as they traded blows viciously – you would not know to look at her that Milotic was the peaceful Pokémon that Aayla had come to know. Milotic slammed the Tylomon aside with Dragon Tail and it twisted back around and snapped at the tail, which she yanked back out of the way just in time and twisted forwards to slam an Iron Head into the Tylomon's nose, breaking the armoured tip. The Tylomon roared and veered away, but slammed its own tail out to smack Milotic across the face.

Aayla kicked forwards with intent to help her but spotted another Tylomon zeroing in on the lifeboats, its fin cutting the water like the blade it was as it bore down on the defensive party, launching two of its miniature torpedoes in their direction. Aayla quickly moved to intercept, throwing her arms out wide and re-directing the torpedoes out to either side with the Force. The Tylomon bore down towards her but Aayla brought her hands back together again and the torpedoes swung back in and streaked into either side of the unsuspecting Tylomon, which was blown into data particles instantly.

A frenzy of activity behind her drew Aayla's attention and her eyes widened as she saw a third Tylomon had gotten around the other side and had knocked aside a Seaking and a Golduck, and was making its way straight for the lifeboats. Aayla knew she wouldn't make it in time to confront him herself, so she yelled for the others to try and intercept, rushing forwards anyway even though she knew it to be futile.

She was therefore quite shocked when something plunged into the water right above the Tylomon in a shower of bubbles and crashed into it with a furious, blazing purple aura, eliciting a roar from the Tylomon as it was slammed down deeper. The attacker was Garchomp, who had plunged straight down in a full-on Dragon Rush that broke away a portion of the Tylomon's armour.

The Tylomon lashed out at Garchomp with his own tail, but Garchomp slammed his teeth down on it with Crunch and bit into it, yanking his head up and swinging the Tylomon towards him where he slammed it in the side of the head with Dragon Claw, span around to crash an Iron Tail into its chin and complete the spin to crash a Brick Break into its nose. The swift and rather brutal assault was too much for the Tylomon and it fractured into data moments later.

Aayla spun back around in time to see the Tylomon that Milotic was facing come back towards her with full force but suddenly Milotic bunched up her coils and batted her eyes at it, generating several pink hearts that wafted through the water and burst seemingly harmlessly against the Tylomon's face. Aayla blinked when the Tylomon suddenly slumped and stared at Milotic with a strangely goofy look on its face – Milotic had just used Attract on it, and since it was a male, it had worked.

Milotic then practically sidled up to the Tylomon in the water and fired a Dragon Pulse straight into its face, finishing the job.

The fourth and final Tylomon was having a similar brawl not far away with the Gyarados, but as the Gyarados fired a Hyper Beam at it, which carried it upwards and out of the water, something came streaking in from above with a furiously blazing white aura surrounding it that slammed into the top of the Tylomon with explosive force. Aayla's eyes widened in alarm when she saw that it was Swellow. Garchomp being underwater she could understand but Swellow wouldn't be able to make any headway at all with feathers like his. He'd never stand a chance.

But the Tylomon roared under the intensity of the massive move – Sky Attack – and succumbed to it thanks to the wounds that it had already received from the Gyarados in their brawl. As it dissolved into data, Swellow floundered in the water, beating his wings to little effect as his feathers began to take on water. Aayla quickly motored over to him with the aid of the Force and gathered him up in her arms, kicking out towards the lifeboats moments later and slashing a Coelamon that tried to get in close as she did so.

With Milotic and the Gyarados swimming over to help the defenders hold back the remaining underwater Digimon, Aayla surged out of the water and flipped onto the roof of one of the lifeboats, bounding from roof to roof until she reached the one that the humans and Gardevoir were perched on and depositing the bedraggled flying type in a soaked bundle as Garchomp shot out of the water nearby and flew over to join them.

"Swellow, what were you thinking!?" Felkan cried as he ran over to him and helped him onto his feet, dripping a puddle onto the boat. "That was incredibly dangerous!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Swellow coughed, flapping his wings and sending a spray of water everywhere.

Garchomp chuckled. "Swellow are very reckless by nature but that? That was a whole other level of recklessness. You should probably watch yourself before you step over the line, Swellow."

"Damn right you should," nodded Felkan. "But congratulations anyway. Somebody call Charizard down here so Swellow can use his tail-flame to dry off."

"On it," Gardevoir nodded, shutting her eyes and broadcasting her Psychic powers.

"And well done you too Garchomp," Felkan smiled up at the Dragon type. "Though it wasn't as stupid for you to do something like that… well done anyway…"

Garchomp didn't respond – he was staring out across the surface of the water with yellow eyes wide. Felkan frowned. "Garchomp?" he prompted.

"Is that…" Garchomp pointed with a claw. "…what I think it is?"

Everyone turned around and several pairs of eyes simultaneously widened as they beheld an extraordinary sight. There was something hurtling in their general direction with great, springing leaps, literally bounding across the surface of the water as if it was as solid as land with nothing but ripples to mark where it placed its paws. It was a quadruped, with a long blue crest on its head, blue fur with a white muzzle and patches, a long purple cape-like mane and two ribbon-like tails extending from its rump and flowing out to either side of it. And as they beheld it running past them in the direction of the S.S. Anne, they all felt the breeze pick up around them, flowing in the same direction as the creature was running.

"No way…" Henry gasped.

"It is…" Rika breathed.

"The North Wind," Felkan whispered, with no small amount of reverence. "Suicune."

* * *

The Pukumon crashed back onto the deck, its armour chipped in the place where Fatemon's sword had impacted on it multiple times, and its arms battered from the multiple blows that he had received. Fatemon landed nearby, looking a little worse for wear himself, but still significantly better than his opponent.

"You going to give now?" he asked with Impmon's voice. "You can answer a few questions for us, if you like… such as why the heck did you launch an attack on this ship in the first place?"

"I'm not telling you squat," Pukumon replied with a slight edge in his voice, pushing himself back onto his knuckles with a little effort.

"Shame," Fatemon replied. "You want to keep fighting, don't you?"

"You bet I do. I ain't giving up until you're a smear beneath my fist."

"That might take a bit of effort," Fatemon rolled all three eyes.

"**NEEDLE SQUALL!"** Pukumon yelled again, blasting out another round of iron barbs from his helmet. But Fatemon saw that coming this time and sprang into the air, swooping around and out towards the edge of the attack before forming Balanced Reality orbs and flinging them down at him. Pukumon sprang up and they detonated beneath him, the explosion pulsing him upwards into the air, shooting straight towards Fatemon.

Fatemon drew his sword and swiftly swung it out to counter the punch that was about to be thrown at him, like he had done with so many already. But he was shocked when instead of punching Pukumon grabbed his sword by the blade, ignoring the fact that it cut into his hand and yanking it forwards, dragging it out of his hand and pulling the startled Fatemon forwards.

Pukumon seized Fatemon by the neck, cutting off his air and then seized him by the wing in his other hand, hauling him over, pulling the wing down. Fatemon abruptly lost control of his flight and plummeted downwards, Pukumon still grasping him tightly, and slamming into the largest pool in the middle of the ship, both of them disappearing beneath the surface.

Houndoom and Scyther, who were nearby finishing off some of the last of the Divermon still on deck, both saw what had happened and immediately darted forwards to try and help, but suddenly the sound of a gigantic amount of water moving drew their attention to the side. Their eyes widened in disbelief as a _massive_ wave of water rose right over the side of the ship, a colossal tidal wave of pure power, and riding on the crest of that wave, in all its glory, was the Legendary Pokémon, Suicune.

With an easy bound, Suicune leapt off the wave and alighted nimbly on the deck, the wave crashing back into the sea behind her. Her eyes roved over the ship, focusing on Houndoom and the Gizamon that he had pinned to the deck with one paw and she immediately loped over to him, opening her mouth and speaking in a silken voice that matched her amazing grace.

"Would you mind explaining to me exactly what's going on here?"

Houndoom's voice froze for a moment, unable to believe he was in the presence of a Legendary – Latios and Latias didn't count anymore since they'd gotten so used to having them around. But then he quickly regained his senses and lowered his respectfully. "There's little time to explain," he said. "But the short version is that this ship has been attacked by invaders."

"So I see," Suicune stared down at the Gizamon and then looked across the see Scyther Slashing through another Coelamon.

_Suicune,_ a Psychic voice suddenly appeared inside the Legendary's head. _Suicune, is that you?_

_Latias?_ Suicune's eyes widened in amazement, not having expected to have heard that voice here, and having not heard that voice for many years now. _Latias, are you here? Where are you?_

_I'm here. And so is my brother. Oh thank Arceus we found you. Can you help us out?_

* * *

Fatemon writhed and struggled in the water, rolling over and over as he tried to pull the incessant Pukumon off him but the pufferfish Mega was not letting go. In the water he moved much easier than he had on the deck, whereas Fatemon was hindered now and was struggling to move properly in the liquid. Plus, he couldn't breathe. This wasn't the Digital World where he could breathe under the water – this was water that obeyed regular water rules.

Fatemon growled and bubbles burst from his mouth as Pukumon dragged him down to the bottom by the wing and reared back to deliver a hammer blow to the side of Fatemon's head, though fortunately he had lost the knuckle-duster some time ago. Fatemon grunted and coughed, but Pukumon as already rearing back for another punch, so he lashed out with his own hand and succeeded in grabbing Pukumon by the wrist and forcibly halting him. Pukumon released his wing and struck out with the other fist but Fatemon grabbed that too, with some difficulty, then reached up with one foot and planted it in Pukumon's face kicking him away and then kicking back up towards the surface.

Pukumon crashed into the wall, but quickly motored back up, shooting through the water towards the floundering Fatemon like a bullet. Fatemon immediately summoned his Balanced Reality orbs and, in a burst of invention, slammed them into one another to merge the dark and light orbs together and hurled it at Pukumon. As usual he automatically rolled over and took the brunt of the attack on his armoured helmet but the colossal impact was still enough to slam him into the bottom of the pool hard enough to dent it while simultaneously giving Fatemon a boost back up.

He surged up and onto the side, hauling himself up, his wings flapping wetly behind him as he pulled himself onto the side. "I've should have tried that merging thing earlier," he muttered as he stumbled to his feet, spotting his sword lying nearby and running to retrieve it.

Behind him though, Pukumon exploded out of the water, sailing high into the air and falling towards the bedraggled Fatemon, who swung around to face him with a grimace on his face.

"Just die already!" Pukumon yelled.

And that was when the wind picked up around them in a colossal Gust that scooped the alarmed Pukumon back into the air, sending it spinning. With some effort it right itself, just in time to see a bluish blur bounding up several platforms in swift strides and springing high into the air, propelled upwards by a powerful Tailwind and sailing right at him. Suicune's eyes narrowed as she flew straight as an arrow, pulling back one of her dainty looking paws, which began to glow a bright yellow as she closed the distance between them.

Fatemon's jaw dropped at the sight of her.

"Is that that Legendary? Mako asked

"Where did she come from?" Ai demanded.

"I dunno, Teradalets. But if she's attacking that guy, then I'm not complaining," Impmon concluded.

The Pukumon automatically rolled over in mid-air, as it always did, presenting it spiny armoured head to the incoming Suicune, by the Legendary Beast sailed upwards unperturbed, pulling her paw back and then slamming it forwards. The slender paw easily slipped through the narrow gaps between the spines to avoid a nasty skewering and hammered Pukumon in the helmet, right on the weakened line in the armour that Fatemon had previously created. Pukumon, who had been smirking in the belief that his armour would hold, suddenly howled as his helmet splintered beneath Suicune's powerful attack.

After all, Rock Smash worked on more than just rocks and Suicune's blow was with an incredible strength that seemed inconsistent with the structure of her dainty-looking paw.

If it hadn't been for the damage Fatemon had already done, the helmet would had withstood even that attack, but as it was the entire metal surface fractured like it was glass and a good portion of it shattered away, leaving Pukumon's head exposed as the spines fell uselessly back towards the deck. Suicune planted her hind paws on Pukumon's face and sprang up into the air above him, twisting around in mid-air and gathering energy in her maw, firing a copious Bubblebeam down at the falling Mega, slamming him with explosive force and sending him spinning back down at high velocity. Straight at Fatemon.

Fatemon smirked, hefting his sword and flexing his wet wings, throwing himself into the air and flapping hard to force himself upwards to intercept the incoming opponent. **"BLADE OF DESTINY!"** he roared, and with a single stroke he sliced through the falling Pukumon from top to bottom, his sword no longer blocked by the Chrome-Digizoid armour. That armour had been Pukumon's saving grace up to this point, and without it he stood no chance and he disintegrated into yellow particles like most of the rest of the Digimon had.

Fatemon landed in a rather sodden crouch nearby, sword point buried in the deck, and looking up as Suicune practically slipped through the air to land smoothly on the deck in front of him. She was truly a beautiful creature, her body incredibly streamlined as her tail-ribbons and mane-cape wafted constantly in the wind that blew southwards around her. She turned to regard Fatemon with steady eyes, and he smirked and gave her a thumbs up.

Suicune said nothing for a couple of seconds, and when she did it was to say, "Latios and Latias tell me that you're supposedly a 'good guy.' That you were not with the attacking force that plagued this ship."

"Or what's left of it," Fatemon added watching as Scyther and Houndoom pursued some of the last of the Digimon across the deck nearby. "No, I'm not with them. That was their leader I just destroyed. Thanks for the help with that."

Suicune inclined her head. "I'm going to want an explanation later," she said. "But right now I have something else I need to attend to. Namely, the sinking ship we are standing on."

As if to prove her point the vessel lurched again, Latios and Latias straining with everything they had to slow its sinking and push it towards the shore – to their credit they had managed to get if half a mile closer to Vermilion and if they hadn't been holding it up it would have gone beneath the surface by now, but as it was it was around half submerged.

"What can be done about that?" Fatemon asked.

Suicune didn't respond because she was already running, bounding across the deck towards the rear of the ship. Nearby, the Kyubimon and the other Pokémon who had been beneath the decks emerged from the stairs with the surviving passengers that had not been able to reach the lifeboats in time, just as Rapidmon descended from the sky and Turuiemon bounded over nearby. All of them spotted Suicune as she ran along and the Pokémon gasped in astonishment.

"Was that…?" Sceptile started.

"Yeah," Fatemon nodded. "It was."

* * *

Suicune reached the damaged railing on the back of the ship and sailed off it, the wind whipping around her and easing her passage downwards as she flew over the heavily panting and straining Eon dragons still trying to force the ship forwards and landed on the water's surface, bounding outwards towards the open sea several times before turning back around to face the back of the ship, eyes narrowing.

"My forte is fresh water," she murmured. "But I can do this."

And she charged, dashing straight towards the ship, blazing like the cheetah she resembled across the surface of the water. As she ran, the water beneath her swelled upwards, rising upwards like a giant oceanic hill that swept ahead of her and washed against the back of the ship, displacing the entire ocean behind the ship to wash up against it almost as high as the railing itself and sweep out to either side to fall back down the other side. It was a not a wave – it was a giant swell water continuously rising up one side and down the other, pushing against the back of the vessel as it did so.

Latios and Latias slumped, feeling their burden much relieved but still heavy and they piled on as much power as they could to force the ship forwards instead of bothering to try and keep it up. Suicune ran along behind them up the back end of the giant swell, the water and the Psychic powers working together to push the ship forwards at high speed, straight towards the shore.

The three Legendaries were practically herding the cruise liner towards the shore, flying and running along behind it and forcing it on with their respective powers.

The people in and on the lifeboats watched the cruiser ship pile on speed, so much so that it drew level and began to overtake the lifeboats themselves, now so low in the water that half the level the lifeboats had been on was under the surface but moving at speed towards the shore, their attention so distracted that Charizard's tail-flame almost charred the drying Swellow.

"Now that… is something new," Henry murmured.

"Does that mean that getting all these people on the lifeboats was pointless?" Suzie asked.

"No," Aayla shook her head. "Half the inside of that ship will be underwater now and it got everyone out the way to allow our friends to fight freely, so we still saved possibly hundreds of lives. But still… that… is incredible."

* * *

Rapidmon had flown to the fore of the ship, perched on the very nose of the vessel and watching as the shore drew closer. He raised his bazookas out and whooped, feeling the sea-spray around him as he roared, "I'M KING OF THE WORLD!"

"Really?" Turuiemon clapped a hand to her forehead. "Did you really just say that? Don't you think quoting from the Titanic movie is in bad taste in a situation like this?"

"It had to be said," Rapidmon laughed. "But at least this ship isn't going to sink like the Titanic did."

"No, but it's going to crash straight into the docks!" Kyubimon shouted with some alarm. "And there are crowds of people there waiting for the ship to come in."

Rapidmon's eyes widened and he swore. Without hesitating any further he shot into the air, grunting as the residual effects of MarineDevimon's ink continued to slow him down but he motored the final distance towards the shore as fast as he could, streaking ahead of the ship. When the people on shore, who were cheering at the sight of the ship coming closer, saw him there were gasps of amazement and cries of wonder as he whooshed to a halt in front of them.

As several of them raised their cameras he screamed, "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THAT SHIP'S GOING TO CRASH ITSELF HERE – IT WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP IN TIME. GET OUT OF HERE! GO! NOW!"

There were mixed reactions. Some panicked and immediately tried to flee, other's seemed too caught up with this strange being to pay much attention to it. But then most of them began to notice the ship bearing down towards them at a speed that it wasn't supposed to be doing and they saw the huge swell that was pushing it forwards as well and then full-blown panic did start as everyone turned and fled away across the docks, some of them jumping into boats and motoring away in them but most of them just heading back for the city. Rapidmon dived down to catch a young girl that got knocked over the side of the dock before she could fall in the water and hurried away to put her down nearby before shooting back towards the ship.

As they neared the shore, Latios gritted his teeth and yelled, "Come on, sis!" and relinquished his Psychic grip to shoot out and around the side of the ship, Latias right behind him. The two of them swung around to the front of the ship, flying backwards in front of it as it drew closer to the docks and threw out their Psychic powers again, this time pushing against the ship as the water forced it onwards.

Under their direction the ship began to slow, but it still would never be able to stop before it reached the docks, and if it did then it would sink anyway.

"Push!" Latios yelled.

"What the heck you do think I'm doing?" Latias cried back, right as the prow of the ship crunched into the empty end of the docks with a colossal splintering of wood and massive grinding noise. Suicune stopped running, the enormous swell falling back into the surface as the ship ploughed on without it.

Latios and Latias were panting with exertion as they continued backwards, keeping ahead of the ship as it burst through the docks, crushing smaller boats beneath it and sending shards of wood chips flying as the dock they had once been fractured beneath the impact. Now it was scraping now against the sea-floor beneath them, which helped to slow it down and with the aid of that and the two Eon dragons it got slower, slower and slower until, with a groan of metal it came to a stop, resting in a furrow it had created in the ocean floor and having ploughed its way through three-quarters of the thankfully empty docks.

The S.S. Anne was safe.

Slumping with exertion, Latios and Latias floated upwards and back onto the front of the deck before they collapsed down onto it, panting heavily. The Pokémon and Digimon still on the ship joined them. Rapidmon swooped down a moment later and just after that Suicune bounded back onto the side of the ship.

"Well," Latios said. "That was exciting."

* * *

And some distance away, the dark shadow scowled as it stared at the unsunk ship. It itself had been forced to make a quick escape from its hiding spot beneath the docks to avoid being flattened as well, which is was noticeably not happy about.

But now it had seen what this group was capable of, and it had to admit, it did give it some cause for concern.

"They passed the test then," it mused to itself darkly. "They're more powerful than I thought. Well-organised, resourceful, strong willed… this might take some thinking about."

* * *

WHOOHOO! This chapter was a BLAST to write, and I'm hoping that it was a blast for you guys to read. As usual it didn't really go the way that I initially planned it out but I'm extremely happy with the result. Though its fair to say that the Digimon have announced themselves rather spectacularly to the world after THAT! What will happen next? Well, you'll have to wait and see. But one good thing did come from this attack on the cruise ship – they've found their first Legendary. I know you all very probably saw that coming but still…hehehehe.

See you next time then.

* * *

Next time…

Forced to make a quick escape from the city after the disaster on board the ship; the team regroup somewhere to the west to recuperate from the attack. But despite everything that happens, they have finally found their first Legendary Pokémon.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 27 : The First Addition**


	27. The First Addition

Heya everybody. Here I am again, posting to you from the Isle of Man, since I've gone on another filming trip for wallabies. I don't know how much writing I'll get done in the next few days, but I will try to stay as on target as I can. Now that I have posted this, only two more chapters remain before I have got through my ten chapter quota for this month. Maybe I can even get in an eleventh. XD.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 27:- The First Addition**

* * *

The S.S. Anne groaned and creaked as it settled further into the seabed mid-way through the docks, coming to its final rest after the trauma it had undergone. During its beaching it had rose many metres above the level that it had sunk too, rising higher on the seabed while it also carved a furrow deep into it. The water that had built up in the rooms and the lower levels was pouring out through the holes that were now above the surface and the people on the shore were staring at the beached ship and the destruction it had caused to their world-famous port.

This was not the yearly anniversary of the ship's return that they had been hoping for or expecting in the slightest. It was an unmitigated disaster. Thankfully because of the quick actions of Rapidmon nobody had been killed by the ship's impact, though the passengers that were still on board had been thrown for a loop in the crash. Now police were being called to the scene, swarming out across what remained of the docks and out towards the sea in the police boats that had not been smashed by the ship, trying to find a way aboard as they inspected the damage to the ship with shock on their faces.

It wasn't long after the ship beached that the lifeboats began to pull into the shore. The last of the underwater Digimon had been dealt with by Aayla and Milotic and the Pokémon force that had rallied to help them. As the lifeboats drew level with the ship, Felkan rubbed Milotic's head, assuring her that she had done a good job, before recalling the much-relieved Water Pokémon into her ball. As the lifeboats neared the shore and the police vehicles surged towards them, Felkan clasped Gardevoir's hand and Swellow's foot, the former teleporting both back up onto the ship, re-appearing with the rest of the group.

Charizard and Garchomp allowed the others to board their backs and flew upwards with a passenger each and soon the entire group was clustered together at the prow of the ruined vessel, all alive and none of them, miraculously, with any severe injuries. A lot of them had cuts and scrapes from where they had been slashed by an enemy claw or spear, but they were all intact

And for that, Felkan was profoundly relieved.

"Felkan, are you okay?" Glaceon cried, bounding into his trainer's arms almost the moment he appeared.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," he nodded, looking around the group and deciding not to mention the moment that he had come close to being sliced open by the spinning spikes of a Gizamon. "It's you I'm worried about? Anyone hurt?"

"Not really," Luxray chuckled. "They weren't ready for us, were they? I haven't felt so wild since… I don't know when."

"You all accomplished something great here today," Aayla said as she hopped off Garchomp and stepped up to the group. "Each of you were phenomenal in your bravery and courage. Lesser beings would have folded under the sheer enormity of what they were being asked to do, let alone fallen while actually trying to do it. You should be proud of yourselves."

"We are," Sceptile nodded. "This was not a particularly pleasant affair, but it proved at least to me that the years we spent training at Mount Silver were not a waste."

"Indeed not," Charizard grinned. "We really got to test our mettle today."

"Yes, but many of us also took lives for the first time today," Gardevoir nodded solemnly. "I've been in many battles but never before have I slain another being, and some of us here today are the same. We shouldn't forget that."

Some of the others, like Glaceon and Swellow, did look a little uncomfortable, and Latias gritted her teeth, bringing Terriermon and Lopmon's words from that morning about how they had been doing the right thing to mind, reassuring herself. Most of the other Pokémon looked solemn, but not all of them had not killed before – Garchomp and Charizard for instance were carnivorous by nature and had killed for food in the past, but this was still the first time they had ever killed and _not_ eaten their victim.

It left a mark on all of them in some manner, some bigger than others.

"That may be," Kyubimon stepped up, de-digivolving into Renamon as she did so, while the other Digimon shrank back into their smaller forms as well – Fatemon splitting into his three component forms. "But in fighting and taking the lives of the malicious we helped to save the lives of countless innocents on board this ship. It is grim that we could not get here in time to save everyone but we did what we had to do."

"That is true," Lucario nodded. "I agree. Yet it will never be easy and some would say that violence is never the right answer, no matter how bad things get."

"I have met people like that myself," Aayla nodded, her mind wandering back to Duchess Satine of Mandalore, who she had met briefly and once in the past. "And they certainly have good values, albeit impractical ones. I must say though, rushing into battle as I have done today and last night is not the way I would usually wish to do things. If a conflict can be avoided then it is best to take all measures to ensure it doesn't arise. But today the conflict was already in full swing before we arrived, and when that is the case you must do what it takes to protect the bystanders."

The Pokémon all nodded, grasping Aayla's words and taking them to heart. She was a Jedi, and though most of them still had little understanding as to what that really meant they knew enough now to know that Aayla had probably had her ethics challenged multiple times in this manner.

"Besides," Impmon added, folding his arms. "Our mission is to save the world and all. If you can't protect people along the way then you're not a worthy candidate for the task. But you gotta maintain your morals at the same time. It's a hard balance to strike, but take it from me – start losing your morals and you start doing nearly unforgivable things, but stand back and do nothing and who knows how many innocents could die because of that."

"We understand," Scyther nodded. "And we take your words seriously. Because something tells me that this will not be the last fight that we get into before all of this is over. This is our fourth Digimon encounter in three days. It cannot be a coincidence surely."

"Indeed not," Henry agreed as the mood instantly turned sour. "Going from lost Digimon, to loners, to spying sneaks to a full-scale attack like this in that short amount of time? The first two I can understand as being coincidences but the others… I don't think so?"

"What are you saying, Henry?" Rika asked.

"He's saying," Lopmon folded her arms. "That this attack on the ship can't have just happened so close to where we were coincidentally right after we discovered the small army in Fuchsia. It must be connected in some way."

"Connected through us, you mean?" Latios asked in alarm.

"Possibly," Lopmon nodded. "We know that the Digimon in Fuchsia were masters at stealth. What if we missed one while we were there? But they didn't miss us?"

A heavy silence fell over the group.

"Then…" Absol muttered. "The attack on this ship…? It was because of us? This was some kind of… some kind of… sick test?"

"We cannot say that for sure," Renamon told him. "But I'm afraid it seems likely. If an evil Digimon saw some of us wiping out a large number of less powerful ninja Digimon they might try and evaluate just how much of a threat we are with something big like this. It sounds like the kind of thing that they would do. Still, there is the possibility that this is all just one big coincidence and that this is a completely unrelated event."

"I dunno," Impmon said. "That Pukumon wasn't willing to tell me what the reason behind the attack was. If that doesn't say that they have something to hide then I don't know what does."

"Just like those ninjas that killed themselves so that we couldn't get any information either," Latias shuddered at the mentally scarring memory.

"That sounds about right to me," murmured Henry.

"So, we've made ourselves some personal enemies?" Felkan folded his arms. "Wonderful. Just wonderful. I thought that this quest was supposed to only be a simple affair of finding the other Legendaries. I did not sign up to this so that my family could fight against an army."

"It is an unforeseeable complication," Aayla said. "If you wish to back out of this now, Felkan then you can by all means do so. We will understand if you do – you have your family to protect… But regardless of how difficult it gets, my group shall press on, and if there is any hope of saving the world then Latios and Latias must too. But you… it's your decision…"

Felkan opened his mouth to respond, but then there was the clearing of a nearby throat that cut him off.

"Would somebody like to explain to me what on earth you are all talking about?" asked Suicune.

The entire group turned around to face the Legendary Beast, who was standing off to one side, tall and regal, head held high and ribbons flailing around her as the wind ever whooshed on south around her. In the aftermath of the battle and the relief that everyone was alright, many of them had barely registered her presence there, even despite her display of incredible power shoving the ship into the shore with the force of the sea.

Several of the Pokémon immediately inclined their heads, bowing in reverence to the Water Type Legendary that was standing in front of them.

"Hey!" Latias complained. "How come you never bow to Latios and me?"

"Because you act so silly all the time that it's quite hard to think of you as a noble child of Arceus?" Houndoom suggested.

Latias pouted. Recovered somewhat from her ordeal of psychically pushing and lifting the ship, she immediately destroyed Suicune's noble image by rising up, sweeping over and enveloping her in a hug around the neck. "Hiya Suki! It's been so long since I last saw you! How are you doing?"

"Oh get off," Suicune chuckled, nudging Latias loose with her nose. "It's good to see you again, Latias. Admittedly I have been better, but from the sound and sight of things, so have you. What's all this about you on a mission to save the world? And can somebody tell me who these strange new beings are, as well as who the ones that attacked this ship were?" Her eyes fell on the four Digimon still standing on the ship. "They are not Pokémon – that I can tell."

"Momentai, your Ladyship," Terriermon smiled, making an exaggerated bow to her and sweeping his ears out and around like arms in a ridiculous looking gesture. "We'll explain everything to you, for we have searched high and lo for you to bring you these tidings. Forgive me for not knowing the right etiquette in this situation – should I kiss your paw?"

Suicune stared at him. "Is he mocking me?" she asked.

"No," Renamon sighed. "He's just being silly. You may have to get used to that."

"I see," Suicune muttered.

"But it is true that we have been looking for you," nodded Latios, pushing himself up and moving forwards, feeling that it might be better if someone Suicune actually knew should do most of the talking. "Or any other Legendary for that matter. We heard that you might be in the area and we were about to start looking for you when Absol sensed the attack on the ship."

"Then you travel with this group?" Suicune asked.

"Yes, they're our friends. You can trust them," Latias nodded emphatically.

Suicune looked over them again, her eyes narrowing. "Where did you hear that I might be in the area?"

"From another human," Felkan replied. "You do know that you have a stalker, right?"

"Oh, you must be referring to that man with the white cape," Suicune nodded. "Yes, I believe his name is Eusine. Of course I'm aware of him – I have fun running rings around him and I have seen him many more times in the last ten years than he has seen me. I must admit he's quite a funny little man and I find the attention and determination to find me flattering. I've only shown myself to him twice though, both times to keep his determination up. I suppose you could say I've turned his stalking into a game."

Latias gasped. "Suicune, that's so mean. I approve."

"Me too," Terriermon grinned. "He was quite a stuck-up guy anyway."

"Yes, it seems like the first time that he saw me did go to his head a little," Suicune chuckled. "And it might be a little mean but he finds the challenge of tracking me down exciting so if I was too obvious it wouldn't add so much of thrill for him when he did see me again. But let us forget about him for now and focus a little more on this saving the world and enemy army business?"

"Right," Latios nodded. "Well… it's a bit of a long story and…"

"Hey," said a gruff voice from nearby, causing many heads to swivel around and stare. With the attack no over and the ship beached, the passengers that had not had time to reach the lifeboats were standing around nearby, staring at Suicune, Latios and Latias in awe and waiting for the police to get up here and rescue them. But the captain of the ship and what remained of his crew had now emerged from the deck, and on seeing the group that had saved the lives of so many while he had been near powerless to intervene, the captain had gone over to thank them.

But he had stopped before he reached them… and he was staring right at Absol.

"What exactly is an Absol doing on my ship?" he asked, with a slight edge in his voice. Absol cringed and shrank back, with Houndoom and Luxray moving forwards to stand in front of him protectively, warning growls on their faces. The captain regarded them for a moment and then his eyes swept over the rest of the group. "An Absol with a Luxray and a Houndoom… a Glaceon, a Garchomp, a Lucario… a Swellow, a Scyther, a Charizard…a Sceptile, a Gardevoir… a Gardevoir without a chest horn…"

Felkan's blood froze as the Captain's eyes fell upon him, widening as they did so. And then the words that Felkan was above all not hoping would not come out of his mouth, came out.

"I know who you are! Felkan Spencer!"

"Gardevoir!" Felkan yelled immediately, even before the captain had finished speaking his name. Gardevoir cast out with her Psychic powers and plucked most of the Pokéballs off Felkan's belt, spinning them around to point at the various Pokémon they belonged to and activating them. In an instant all ten of Felkan's other Pokémon that were still out were absorbed back into their Balls, which were returned to Felkan's belt like pinballs.

The Psychic Pokémon then seized her Trainer and cast an eye over the others, mentally yelling, _Meet you at the eastern border of the city,_ and vanished in a flash, whipping herself and Felkan away, along with the rest of the team, leaving only the offworlders and the Legendaries behind.

"What was…?" Suicune frowned, not understanding the significance of what was going on.

"Suicune, we'll explain later," Latios said. "But right now we must go! Can you help us carry some our friends?"

Suicune hesitated, but only for a moment, deciding to put her trust in her fellow Legendary Pokémon for now. She nodded and said, "Of course," before she bounded over to Suzie, Rika and Henry, lowering herself to the ground and indicating to get on her back with a jerk of her head. Suicune could barely remember the last time that she had carried a human passenger, but she held still as the three Tamers scrambled onto her back, pushing her mane out of the way as Rika and Henry helped Suzie up, while Latios and Latias levitated the four Digimon and Ai and Mako onto their backs between them, Aayla bounding onto Latios behind Renamon as Latias held the group of smaller individuals.

"Hey, wait! Stop!" the captain dashed forwards, but too late. Latios and Latias shot over the side of the ship and out over the ocean, while Suicune sprang off the edge and plummeted downwards, a mixed assortment of screams and whoops coming from the Tamers on her back as they obeyed the call of gravity. A surge of water washed up from below to cushion the fall as Suicune landed on it and it carried her down onto the docks, before she blazed away in pursuit of Latios and Latias, mane and ribbons streaming and Suzie punched the air with a fist and cried out ecstatically, just as she did whenever she rode Antylamon.

As the crowds that had gotten closer to the ship gasped and pointed at the sight of Suicune bounding past, Suzie spotted the awestruck and shocked face of Eusine in the crowd. She waved and cried, "Hiya Mister Stalker!" before Suicune leapt out across the water, bouncing over the surface and away after the Eon twins.

"Suzie," Henry chided with a slight chuckle.

"What? Did you see his face? He was all snobby with us before when we asked to see Suicune and now we're riding her while he isn't," she giggled.

"He did deserve to have a bit of air let out of his balloon," Rika snickered. "And I think that this did it."

"Fair enough, fair enough," Henry laughed. "I suppose you're right."

Suicune smiled. "I can tell that he's going to be more determined to track me down than ever after this," she murmured.

"Probably," Henry nodded. "But I'm sure you can still give him a good chase."

Suicune frowned. "Hold on… how can you understand what I am saying? You've been talking to the other Pokémon ever since I saw you but I assumed that the Gardevoir was translating for you. But the Gardevoir is not here now so… you can understand my speech?"

"Yeah, we can," Rika replied.

"How is that possible?"

"It was a gift from Uxie," Henry answered.

"Uxie? You have met Uxie?"

"Yes. And Azelf and Mesprit. And Giratina as well."

"I am impressed," Suicune replied. "That is more Legendary Pokémon than most humans ever see in their lives. Combine that with Latios, Latias and I and you have seen seven of us in total?"

"Yep," nodded Suzie. "But Impmon, Ai and Mako think they also might have seen Entei two days ago."

"My brother?" Suicune asked sharply. "Where? Where was this sighting?"

"Cinnabar Island, I think it was called," Rika replied.

"The volcano," Suicune snorted. "Typical of him, always running around to meet them. You'd think that he had more to do with lava than Heatran. But he'll probably be long gone by now, which is a pity because I need to speak with him."

"Maybe you'll get the chance in the future," Rika said. "Because we need to speak with him too."

"About?" Suicune queried.

"We'll explain when we're all together again," Henry said, "But it is important. Uxie said that it was vital to… pretty much everything."

"Uxie said that?" Suicune frowned, thinking hard. "Well, Uxie has never been wrong about anything before… Very well, I shall hear you out. I have deigned to let you ride me – something no human has been granted for well over half a century. And if you travel with Latios and Latias then I suppose you can be trusted – Latias might be a bit adolescent but Latios wouldn't let untrustworthy people stay close to his beloved sister."

"Thank you," Rika smiled. "You'll understand why it was so important that we find you when we tell you."

"I sincerely hope so," Suicune nodded, and the Tamers felt the wind around them stir a little as she turned back onto land and headed north, into the wind. "And I hope that whatever it is, it will provide me with the answer to the question that I have been seeking."

"Question?" Henry asked. "What question?"

"Perhaps it will be best if you do the explaining first, human," Suicune replied.

"Henry. My name is Henry. And this is my sister Suzie and my girlfriend, Rika."

"A pleasure. Though just for the record I have never understood your human custom of boyfriend and girlfriend. If Pokémon find themselves attracted to another being they would just mate with them and have done with it. Then they are bonded for life."

Henry and Rika both turned crimson while Suzie made retching noises and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Did I say something wrong?" Suicune asked.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Felkan growled as he paced backwards and forwards, his arms flailing wildly in the air as the Eon twins and their passengers pulled in to land, Gardevoir standing anxiously nearby while the rest of his team had been called out once again, this time including Milotic. "What the heck did we stick around for? Why didn't we just get out of there as soon as it was over? People saw Absol running around that ship and the captain of that ship recognised me! He put two and two together when he saw me with the team!"

"Felkan, it'll be alright," Gardevoir tried soothingly.

"Alright?" Felkan gesticulated madly. "Gardevoir, someone recognised us! Someone with a lot of say in a port city like Vermilion! This was exactly what I was hoping would not happen! This was why I didn't want us going into human settlements and interacting with other humans. Now it won't be long before the entire police force of the region is out in force looking for us."

"We helped to save that ship," Gardevoir reassured him. "We fought against the intruding Digimon and lots of those passengers saw us do it. We saved lives out there. That'll give us some credibility, won't it?"

Felkan snorted. "Knowing humans they'll probably blame us for the disaster in the first place. That's what happened last time, even when we warned people that something was about to happen they still blamed us. They always do."

"I'm sorry Felkan," Absol muttered, closing his eyes and shuddering. "I should have stayed in my Ball. I should have just stayed out of it. If that man hadn't seen me… if those passengers hadn't seen me… maybe we would have been alright. But we had to cut and run because of me. I'm sorry."

Felkan's face drained of its frustration as he beheld his Pokémon trembling and immediately knelt down, ruffling Absol's head fur beside his horn. "Hey. It wasn't your fault. You helped save lives just as much as everyone else did today. You did me proud out there Absol. You were doing what you had to do just like everyone else."

"No, you can't say that," Absol shook his head harshly as Suicune ran up nearby to join them. "Because it _is_ my fault. Don't you see? This time the disaster that I predicted… this time it _was_ my fault. Those Digimon wouldn't have attacked that ship if it wasn't some kind of test like we were saying before. This is the first time that any of the disasters I've predicted really _has_ been my fault and we were recognised for it."

"Don't you dare try and shift the blame solely onto yourself," Felkan growled. "I won't have it. The test was for all of us, not just you. Whoever organised it probably didn't even know you exist."

"Well, yes but…"

"…It's still not your fault," Aayla said sharply, stepping up beside him. "It is the fault of nobody here that that ship was attacked and people died. It is the fault only of the Digimon that instigated the attack. No blame for that lies at our feet, for we did not ask them to do it."

"She's right," Gardevoir nodded. "If we had stayed out of it, _then_ the fact that lots of people died would be our fault. But you stepped up, Absol. Despite the fact you don't want to get close to other humans you threw that aside to protect them while they were in danger. If that's not a reason to be proud then… well…what is?"

Absol looked mollified, but still unhappy. "It's still my fault that you were recognised," he said.

"No, I should have made the call to get out of there instantly," Felkan replied.

"None of us can be blamed for that either," Renamon said. "We were recuperating after the massive attack and trying to work out the cause. We had, at the time, other things on our minds."

"Regardless of that," Felkan muttered, standing up. "This isn't good. At all! How long will it be before the search parties are out looking for us again? Five years of hiding reduced the number to zero when we were at Mount Silver, but now that we've announced ourselves rather spectacularly to the world like that, they'll turn out in force once again. Especially since they saw me in the presence of you Digimon," he turned to look at the group. "So much for keeping a low profile, huh? I wasn't the only thing that sprang out of nowhere today. They'll be looking for you too now."

"This would not be the first time that we've had to go sneaking around," Renamon replied. "And unlike the last time, the people looking for us do not have a personal grudge that has made mortal enemies out of us. Granted Sidious didn't know we Digimon existed but that was because we didn't let him see us."

"Do we have to go sneaking around?" Henry asked, a little uncomfortably. "With such a large number of Digimon in this world already shouldn't we go the authorities and tell them what we know."

Felkan gave Henry a glare and opened his mouth, probably to tell the Tamer that that was a stupid idea, but Aayla raised a hand and beat him to it. "That probably wouldn't be wise at this stage, Henry."

"But the monsters just attacked a giant cruise ship and killed people! Killed humans!" Henry protested. "Surely the people of this world have a right to know what is going on?"

"They do," Aayla admitted, "but that still doesn't change the fact that it would probably create some widespread panic and we don't know, at this stage, just how big the threat is. That cruise ship attack was likely a one-off, at least for now. Not to mention our mission is, by nature, discrete. If we told everyone what we're trying to do, we could get any number of reactions to it. Some people would try hard to follow us if they knew we were trying to find Legendary Pokémon, and would therefore walk straight into what is probably a danger zone. Some people would blame us and possibly try to attack us. In all, people might get in the way of what we're trying to do."

"Besides, Henry," Terriermon hopped back onto his Tamer's head. "There were a lot of survivors from that attack on the cruise ship thanks to us and they'll all go out and tell the same story – of how these huge monsters the like of which had never been seen before attacked the ship in huge numbers. We crashed a freaking cruise ship into a world-famous port. If that doesn't get people's attention and make them start taking precautions without deliberately revealing ourselves, what does?"

"Well, we don't necessarily have to tell the people in general, just the authorities," Henry persisted. "Yes, the cruise ship will give them a heads-up but unless they know what they're up against properly…"

"It still wouldn't be a good cause just yet," Aayla said. "If there haven't been any major Digimon attacks in this world up to this point then getting people to start preparing for attacks from them is more likely to draw them out. Whatever is going on here these Digimon have an agenda. We shouldn't do anything that will make them accelerate it until we know more."

Henry looked put out but nodded. "You're right," he said. "Of course. But I do wish that this wasn't our responsibility alone, like it usually seems to be. I just wish we had some kind of back-up. Suzie was almost killed today on that cruise ship?"

"She was?" Lopmon asked in alarm, for she had been busy slashing through several Digimon at the time and had not had the concentration to focus on both that and her Tamer at the same time. "When was this? What happened?"

"It wasn't that close," muttered Suzie.

"Wasn't that cl… Suzie that Gizamon tore a line out of your shirt," Henry protested.

"It did?" Suzie blinked, looking down at herself. Henry indicated a thin hole in her short sleeve, which was as neat as if it had been cut with a pair of scissors. "Oh… I didn't realise it was that close. But I couldn't just stand there, I had to do something."

"What's she talking about?" Charizard asked.

"I believe," Gardevoir raised her voice, "that she is referring to the fact that she saved Felkan's life on that ship."

"What?" several voices cried out. "How? When? What?"

"I'm sorry, Felkan," Gardevoir looked down at the floor. "I couldn't move. I was trying so hard to move but… the Hyper Beam effect, it…"

"Gardevoir, I don't blame you for that," Felkan replied. "It was a case of unfortunate timing and that thing was nowhere in sight when you cast the attack. It practically came out of nowhere, so I am telling you not to beat yourself up over it. I know you Gardevoir – I can order you not to if I feel that you still are."

"Okay," Gardevoir smiled, giving Felkan a quick hug. "But I will still make sure that that never, ever happens again."

"That's very reassuring," Felkan smiled. "I have one-hundred percent faith that it won't."

"Can somebody tell it to us straight please?" Houndoom drawled.

"One of the Digimon," Felkan muttered, "Those little orange ones that buzz-sawed at people…"

"Gizamon," Impmon pointed out.

"One of those, yes," Felkan grimaced. "One of them did just that at me – it came around a corner and threw itself at me faster than I could blink. I… have to say I thought that my time had come in that moment and then… then…"

"Suzie saved his life," Aayla smiled. "She threw herself at him and tackled him out of the way of the strike. I believe that might be one of the single most reckless things that you've ever done, Suzie, but it paid off. You saved someone's life today. Directly. And you were not even biomerged to do it. You should be proud of yourself. And you should be proud of her in turn, Henry."

Before Henry could say, "I am proud of her but that doesn't mean I won't have a panic attack at the thought of her doing it again," the Pokémon clamoured forwards and practically surrounded Suzie, all looking towards her with grins on their faces.

"Our hero! Our hero! Our hero!" Glaceon yipped, bouncing round and round Suzie like some kind of crazy carousel.

"You, small one, just became a legend in our eyes," Garchomp smirked.

"What would we have done if we had lost Felkan?" Absol cried. "We'd all practically be orphans."

"Seriously, you can be sure that we have your back from now on," Sceptile grinned. "And if there is anything we can do to repay you…"

"…You would only have to ask," Swellow finished.

"Thank you so much for saving our trainer," Milotic leaned down and nuzzled her, leading Suzie to giggle and hug her nose. "He means absolutely everything to us. Everything! And we have you to thank for making sure that our family stays intact."

"That's alright" Suzie smiled. "I was glad to do it, and I would do it again if I had to."

"Yes, well let's hope it doesn't come to that," Milotic smiled. "For both Felkan and your sakes."

Gardevoir chuckled. "Well," she said. "I think that it is safe to say that any residual doubts or reluctance that we Pokémon had about working alongside you Digimon and your Tamers is gone now. We worked very well together during that attack on the cruise ship, just as we did against IceDevimon, where we in turn helped to rescue one of you."

"Indeed," Charizard roared, blasting a jet of fire into the air and pounding his stomach. "If we get into another brawl like that, you have my word that every one of us here will watch your backs! And we are all proud to call you our friends."

There was a roar of agreement from all present, the two legged Pokémon thrusting their fists into the air while the four-legged ones reared up and batted the air with their forelegs, and Milotic span into a full rotation. The Digimon and Tamers grinned as Terriermon leapt forwards to land on Garchomp's head, Lopmon raised an ear and Charizard leant down to give her their version of a high-three, Impmon flicking a small fireball the Houndoom caught in his mouth as they two grinned at each other toothily, while Renamon and Lucario bashed their forearms together in a warrior's form of salute.

Felkan stood to one side, watching as his Pokémon openly declared their friendship with the rest of the group, not sure what to be feeling since half of them were humans. But then he noticed several sets of eyes falling onto him, asking for his verdict on the matter and it a short span of time every eye in the place was focused on him. He hesitated, feeling uncharacteristically put on the spotlight and freezing up in the process. What was he supposed to do now? All his Pokémon, even the ones that had suffered at the hands of humans in the past like Luxray, Houndoom and even Absol, had just claimed their friendship with the offworlders. But what did he feel?

_Go on,_ Gardevoir said in his mind, smiling encouragingly at him.

Felkan slowly stepped forwards, closing the gap between him and Suzie. She was still quite short, being only eleven, and Felkan towered above her slightly as he looked down at her impassively, making her have to suppress a sudden urge to shiver; everyone else around them watching with bated breath.

Felkan muttered, "Well… I guess you're not so bad, kid. I owe you one at any rate." And he reached down and ruffled Suzie's hair beneath his hand.

All the Pokémon laughed and Suzie beamed. "Yay! I've won approval!" she cried and seized Felkan's around the waist in a hug. Felkan gasped, shocked at the strength in the little girl's arms, and Terriermon and Lopmon both winced, having been recipients of Suzie's crushing hugs many times in the past.

There were smiles on faces all round as Felkan awkwardly attempted to lever Suzie off, muttering, "Yeah, okay, okay, one step at a time," though the little girl could not be budged.

"Does this mean that you intend to stay with the group?" Latias asked eagerly.

"I suppose," Felkan muttered. "If you guys are going to continue going stealth then I have no real complaints. I still owe it to Latios and Latias and, since I started this I might as well see it through, for all our sakes. Especially if we really are being targeted by something – it would be better to stay in a bigger group. But I warn you," he fixed each of the Tamers. "This does not mean I trust you yet. Just that I will deign to continue to work with you with no more complaints. I'm still going to be watching you."

"Fair enough," Aayla chuckled. "You see, Henry. It looks like we have our back-up after all."

"I suppose," Henry said, with a half-smile. "Welcome to the fold Felkan."

"Pleasure," Felkan muttered dryly.

"And in case you hadn't noticed Henry," Rika nudged him. "We _do_ have another kind of back-up now as well. In the form of the majestic looking Legendary Pokémon, Suicune."

"Majestic?" Suicune purred, taking on a mock-air of royalty as she tossed her head and flicked her mane. "My, my. You do know how to flatter a lady. Here, small white rabbit, you may kiss my paw if you so wish."

"It would be my honour," Terriermon laughed, bounding down from Garchomp's head and giggling as he lifted Suicune's paw in one ear and pressed his lips to it. Renamon rolled her eyes and Impmon snickered.

"Now then," Suicune lowered her paw to the ground. "I believe that I am owed some kind of explanation. I have gained a rudimentary understanding of some of the things you have been talking about, but some more would be quite nice."

"Well, what would you like to know first?" asked Renamon.

"Starting at the beginning is usually a good way to begin stories," Suicune replied. "It would be nice if you could start by explaining what you are and where you came from, and then what you're doing here, why you were looking for me and what exactly happened back there. If you would be so kind."

"Well, I'll take the floor shall I," Terriermon smiled giving Suicune another flourishing bow. "Allow me to regale you with our story and leave you amazed and filled with wonder at the tales that we have to tell. Would you like that, your Worshipfulness?"

"I would be delighted, merry jester," Suicune smiled, settling down onto her haunches and then onto her stomach. "My, you are indeed a charmer, aren't you?"

"Careful. He's taken," Impmon snickered, jerking a thumb at Renamon.

"He's an idiot, is what he is," Renamon was shaking her head. "A complete lunatic."

"But you love me that way," Terriermon grinned.

"Of course I do," Renamon smiled warmly. "And not just because if you weren't that way the entire cosmos would probably unravel in shock."

"Yep," Terriermon nodded. "Anyway, I'm Terriermon and as you probably worked out, that's my mate, Renamon…"

"You see," Suicune glanced across at Henry and Rika. "A mated pair, just like any sensible couple should be. None of this boyfriend and girlfriend silliness, just straight to the point mates. Maybe you should give that a try…"

"NO!" Henry and Rika had gone pure scarlet this time and practically everyone else around them cracked up, apart from Suzie who looked a bit ill again, and Ai and Mako who both looked confused.

"And why not?" Suicune asked.

"We're… well, for one thing we're not of legal age yet," Rika mumbled, practically able to see the waves of heat coming off her body now."

"Humans and your rules," Suicune snorted. But then she turned back to Terriermon and added, "Go on."

"Yes, Terriermon and Renamon and that's my sister Lopmon and her… well they're not mates yet but that's Impmon…"

And Terriermon quickly went into a roster of introduction through the rest of the group, finishing with Aayla and deciding to allow Felkan and his bunch a chance to introduce themselves later, as Suicune knew what they were. The small bunny quickly outlined everything that he could about them, like what a Digimon was and how they lived in the Digital World. Fortunately Suicune knew what a computer was, to an extent anyway – "Yes, it's one of those human doohickeys that they like to use to poke things with a little arrow," she said – so that part of the explanation was a little easier, but Terriermon kept it brief as he could.

"And this Digital World of yours. There are no Pokémon there at all? Only you Digimon?" Suicune asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"There are no humans either – at least none that live there – they live in the human world parallel to our own and technically all of us live there too so that we can protect it from the dangers of the more powerful Digimon of our world that don't like humans."

"Well, if you have a duty to protect the other world, then why are you here and not there?" Suicune frowned. "Surely that should be your first priority."

"It normally would be, but the Human World is not in danger of complete obliteration," Terriermon replied. "And this one is, so here we are."

"Excuse me?" Suicune asked, her head shooting upwards. "Complete obliteration."

"Well broken to her," muttered Henry.

"I'm afraid that's what Uxie said," Latios moved forward and spoke with the fellow Legendary. "He came to us a few days ago with these Digimon and their friends in tow and he told us all about it."

And he took over the explanation from there – everything about how the universes were supposedly clashing with each other and how the group were needed to go on a quest to find every single one of the Legendary Pokémon so that they could awaken Arceus, because only he and the God of Digimon would be able to pull the two worlds apart – not even Palkia was capable of doing that now without obliterating them.

He gave a brief outline of how their journey had been so far and how they had unexpectedly run into other Digimon at practically every turn even though it had only been three days since all of this had begun, culminating in how they had failed to find Articuno and were now on their way north to try their luck at finding Zapdos.

"But it appears we struck lucky in finding you before we even got there," Latias chipped in at the end. "Yay us! We have our first Legendary addition to the group. You would have been second if we'd caught Entei in time but we didn't so you're first. Feel honoured!" she cried dramatically and grinned

After that, they fell silent, giving Suicune the chance she needed to digest all of this information. It took her about half a minute or so before she spoke again.

"So… you're saying the time to awaken Arceus… has finally come?"

"Yes. Our world cannot be saved without it," Latios nodded.

"Things sound pretty grim indeed," Suicune murmured, although Henry caught an expression on her face that made him frown.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked, with narrowed eyes.

Suicune looked up at him. "Forgive me," she said. "I understand the severity of the situation and what would happen in you failed but at the same time, I cannot help but be a little excited by this news. I will finally be able to meet my grandfather if all of this is true."

"You're… grandfather?" Henry blinked.

"She means Arceus of course, dummy," Latias grinned.

"You call Arceus your grandfather?" Henry stared.

"Well, why not?" Suicune asked. "I am one of the youngest Legendaries and I am one of the few that was not created directly by Arceus himself. I was created by Ho-Oh, along with my two brothers. Since we were directly created and given a new form by the power of a Legendary, that makes us Legendaries ourselves in every way, and Ho-Oh is effectively our mother and she's a daughter of Arceus just like Latias. But we were only created a few hundred years ago, and Lord Arceus went into his deep state of slumber and hibernation before that, meaning that I have, in fact, never set eyes on Arceus before."

"How sad," Suzie pouted.

"Yes, we do wish that we could meet him," Suicune nodded. "And while it might be taking world-ending potential for it to come about I am still exciting by the potential for raising Arceus up once again. And that's why you're on the hunt for the Legendaries is it? To allow for the ritual in which we all work together to raise him?"

"Indeed," nodded Latios.

Suicune frowned. "Why does Uxie not gather us himself then? He knows where every one of us are in the world at any given time, so telling us should be little problem for him. Why are you and your offworlders friends the one that have been given the task?"

"I… really don't know," Latios grimaced. "According to Uxie it has to be us that does it. He said there is no other way."

"There isn't?" Suicune blinked. "That doesn't make sense – he could gather us all in the space of half a day if he felt the need. He could teleport right in front of me while I was running and I would have to stop and listen to him. Why had he sent a bunch of others out to do it in his place?"

"We don't know," the Eon twins both said.

"He _is_ helping Giratina and the others to seal up all of the gaps that open up in the barrier through the Distortion World," pointed out Lopmon.

"Maybe but surely the barrier is not in such a state of disrepair that the other two cannot manage a single day without him helping them out," Suicune snorted. "If it were then there would be no hope for any of us, even if you were searching for the Legendaries as you are now – there would be no time for _anyone_ to do anything and probably no time to even conduct the ritual since that would require them abandoning their posts to do it."

"Believe me, Suicune, we've already asked ourselves all of these questions," Latios muttered. "But Uxie said what Uxie said and you know that he knows what he is talking about. If he says that it is us that are needed then I guess that it really is us."

"You have a point," Suicune nodded. "And I suppose that means that I would probably be forbidden from setting out on my own with the intention of helping you to search for the other Legendary Pokémon since you would not be directly involved in my efforts?"

"Possibly," nodded Latios. "To be honest I… don't really know about that one but… erm…"

"You think it is better to be safe than sorry, but you don't know which of the two options is the safe one since one increases your chances of finding all of us and the other is closer to what Uxie said?" Suicune guessed.

"Pretty much," Latios nodded.

"That is a bit of a problem," agreed Aayla. "But in this case I believe that sticking together might be the better option. Suicune does not really have the capacity to use a communicator and many things can go wrong that could waylay a party if we made a plan to meet somewhere after a certain amount of time. We wouldn't want to find Suicune only to lose her again, would we?"

"Indeed not," Henry agreed. "We should stay together until we can at least organise a better or a way to establish contact."

"In that case, welcome to the party, Suicune," Latias grinned. "It's going to be great having you around."

"Thank you," Suicune nodded. "I must admit the idea is slightly daunting. I've always been a solitary Pokémon, running around the world and purifying lakes where I can. The idea of travelling with this many companions is… new… to say the least."

"Well I'm sure we'll get along like a house on fire," Rika replied.

Suicune's hackles suddenly raised, the wind picking up around them with her ribbons and mane flailing out around her as she bared her teeth. "Is that some kind of threat, child?" she snarled.

"What? No!" Rika stepped back, alarmed at Suicune's rather violent reaction, as Renamon stepped in front of her. "Of course it wasn't a threat!"

"Well it didn't sound that way to me," Suicune glowered.

Terriermon cleared his throat and said, "Rika, if you remember from what Eusine told us, Suicune died in a fire in her previous life, before she was resurrected by Ho-Oh."

"Oh. Yeah. I didn't think of that," Rika murmured, looking embarrassed. "Um… sorry. I guess that was not the best turn of phrase to use."

"It was perhaps the very worst," Terriermon replied. He then turned to Suicune and said, "But that wasn't a threat – it means that she thinks we'll get on great. It's a human expression."

Suicune blinked. "How…how can anyone possibly take a burning building as a phrase to mean getting along? A burning building it sure to collapse and be eaten away by the flames unless the fire is put out. There is no context in which a house gets on well with fire when it is ablaze."

"That's what I always say," Terriermon gestured emphatically. "It's a stupid phrase, but then again, humans seem to be full of them."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence in us," Felkan remarked dryly.

"You don't like other humans anyway," Terriermon snorted.

"True."

"I really am sorry," Rika piped up. "I wasn't thinking."

"It is alright, child," Suicune lowered her defensive stance. "Forgive my ignorance of your race's peculiar and nonsensical phrases. But fire does not worry me now. I can put out any natural fire that I wish. But since we are on the subject of the fire that first killed me and how I was resurrected by Lady Ho-Oh, I do have something I need to tell you. And it does concern our quest."

"More bad news?" Impmon griped.

"I am afraid so," Suicune nodded. "It concerns Lady Ho-Oh herself. If we need to find all the Legendary Pokémon then at some point we shall need to find her too."

"Indeed," Latios nodded. "What of it?"

"Well, you claim that we only have three months or so to find every one of the Legendary Pokémon and yet the task of finding Lady Ho-Oh alone is something that I myself have been trying to do for four months now."

"What?" Latias asked sharply.

"Ho-Oh is missing," Suicune said bluntly, her gaze hardening as the wind picked up yet again, whipping through the trees and shaking their tops rather violently, as well as forcing Charizard to fold his wings to keep from being blown over.

"Missing?" Latios asked. "How can Ho-Oh be missing? I know she's withdrawn herself from the world and only reveals herself to humans that she believes to have pure hearts but, define missing."

"Very well," Suicune murmured harshly. "Well, as you may or may not know, of the three Legendary Beasts that Ho-Oh created after the fire, I am the closest to her. The other two honour her just as much but they spend more time out by themselves, whereas I would regularly meet up with her and discuss the humans and the rest of the world. We share a great friendship, my Lady and I."

"Is that the Legendary version of gossiping?" Terriermon asked innocently.

"I suppose you could call it that," Suicune replied sincerely. "We did like to talk quite a lot, and we used to meet up every three months or so to catch up on the events of when we had been apart. But lately, as I went to Ho-Oh's roost in the mountains to the north of Johto, she was not there. I didn't think much of it at first – for she would often go out on a flight to meet up with another Legendary or survey the world from above for a while, so I sat and waited for her on the peak. But she did not return. From the scent of the place she had not been there for quite a while and I waited for her for two weeks and she still did not come back."

"You think something might have happened to her?" Latios asked, worry etching itself in his voice.

"I do not know," Suicune ground her teeth and clenched her eyes shut. "But I feared that something must have waylaid her – it is not like her to spend so long away from the roost. So I set out to try and find her and I have searched, high and lo, all over the Johto region, the Kanto region…everywhere that she is most likely to be, for the last four months.

"I have not found a trace of her anywhere. And I can usually sense her when I get with roughly ten miles or so, so I was sure that I would come across her long before now. And I have returned to the roost once a month during those times and it is clear that she has not returned in all that time. Her scent grows ever staler on the mountain-top, and her nest lies undisturbed. I have even checked the Tower in Ecruteak City that she would roost in long ago, before she created me, but she is not there either.

"I am utterly at a loss. I have not found her anywhere. I was hoping to run into Raikou or Entei at some point and ask if they have had any news on her location, but I have not chanced upon them either. That was what I meant earlier when I said that I wanted to speak to Entei. If neither of my brothers have heard from Ho-Oh in the last four months either… well, I am worried enough as it is. I am the closest Pokémon to her with the possible exception of Lugia, and if I can't find her…"

She trailed off, letting the sentence hang. The 'who can?' that would have followed did not need to be said.

"Well," said Houndoom a moment later, "Way to put a positive spin on things."

"One problem laying up after another," Luxray agreed. "Finding the Legendary Pokémon was hard enough but with one missing like that? As well as this mysterious Digimon army that we're fighting against now. How much harder can it get?"

"Do you think that the Digimon force in question and the disappearance of Ho-Oh are somehow linked?" Lucario mused.

"I hope not," Aayla replied. "But it sounds as though it could be a distinct possibility."

"But what could they possibly do to Ho-Oh?" Latias asked. "They can't kill her. Or they can, but she would resurrect a few moments later. It's literally impossible to kill her… unless the universes do collapse in and obliterate everything in it – that might do the job. But by just about any other method, Ho-Oh cannot die and stay dead. She must be alive somewhere surely."

"I believe so," nodded Suicune. "I think I would have sensed it if she had been destroyed. Raikou and Entei would have sensed something to. I believe that she is definitely alive. But for the life of me I cannot find out where she may be. It's beyond frustrating! No matter how hard I search I cannot find any signs at all. I've driven myself practically mad trying to locate her."

"Now you know how Eusine must feel when it comes to trying to find you," Impmon said dryly.

Suicune blinked. "Touché," she muttered. "But this is different. Ho-Oh is my mistress, my lady, my leader, whereas I am just a fascinating subject to that man."

"Nobody's doubting that you're worried," Gardevoir replied. "But we will all definitely help you to find her. And not just because we have to find her in order to save the world with her help. We would help you anyway even if that were not that case, is that not so?"

There was a round of nodding from the other Pokémon and Suicune smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said. "I would be glad of your help. Goodness knows my solo search has been going on long enough without success. But how do you propose we start? If we have only three months to find everyone else then how do we find her too in that time?"

"There's really nothing we can do except continue on with the search for the other Legendaries," Aayla replied. "We have found one, and that is a start, even with the revelation that another of the number is missing. We must continue with the quest as a whole and hope that some of the other Legendaries have more information that the rest of us."

"I suppose that is better than nothing," Suicune sighed. "I shall have to be patient if I am to join this quest. But the longer that Ho-Oh remains missing the more I worry about her. She is a very powerful Legendary – mistress of the sky and second only to Rayquaza in that regard. I can only hope that one other Legendary will have the information I seek."

"What about Lugia?" Rika asked. "You said that he was close to Ho-Oh, possibly closer than you."

"Yes, that is true," nodded Suicune. "Lugia is Ho-Oh's counterpart, the guardian of the sea second only to Kyogre, and also the representative of soul as Ho-Oh is to heart. It is likely that he will know where she is, or at least have some vague inkling. But the problem with speaking to him is that he spends the vast majority of his time down in the deep ocean trenches. I may be a Water Pokémon but even I cannot go down that deep without buckling under the pressure. In fact I rarely go in the water itself ever – I usually just run across it. If I knew how to find and speak to him then I would but I neither know his location nor how to reach it if I did."

"Well that is helpful," Lopmon murmured. "How on earth are we going to penetrate down to the bottom of the ocean trenches and find a single being in their vast expanses?"

"Everywhere we turn things seem to be stacked against us don't they?" Garchomp remarked with a growl.

"Things seem desperate," Suicune remarked. "We will have to find him anyway, won't we, for all of this to work? Perhaps if we could find Kyogre or Manaphy first – they should be able to do it… but how would we go about finding them?"

"We'll have to start somewhere," Lucario put in. "But perhaps it would be best, for now, to focus on our current objective and that is to find Zapdos. We're heading to the Power Plant now, where we do hope to find him. Do you know anything about him, Lady Suicune?"

"Some things," Suicune nodded. "But I'm assuming the things I know about his personality have already been told to you by Latios and Latias. And they probably know him better than I, for as you know we Beasts are the youngest Legendaries. But I have seen him flying around a few times and every time it has been during a thunderstorm."

"You think the Power Plant might be a good place to find him?" Felkan asked.

"He loves being surrounded by electrical energy," Suicune stated. "Hence the thunderstorms that he creates so often. To that end, perhaps a Power Plant would indeed by a place he likes to visit. That's a human structure that generates electrical power for all their doodads like the computers that you guys mentioned before, right?"

"Yep," nodded Terriermon.

"Well then, your guess is as good as mine but I would say that it's a pretty good shot," nodded Suicune.

"Then the Power Plant it is. Hopefully Zapdos will have some of the answers that we're looking for," Aayla said. "And if I may suggest, perhaps we should consider moving away from Vermilion City now and heading out a little further. If the authorities do go out and start looking for us then we do not want to be here when they do."

"Quite right," Felkan nodded. "Come on, guys. Let's move out. We'll walk for a bit – give everyone a chance to recuperate."

"Yes, but Felkan, one more thing," Aayla said as she drew level with him as they all began to head east. "Assuming there is a next time that you are recognised by someone, perhaps it might be better to stick around and try and explain yourself to them before you go leaping out of there like that. There are few things that make a person look guiltier for something that instantly taking off when things get hairy. And we know that you are guilty of nothing but taking in a Pokémon that most others would shun, which is definitely not a bad thing."

"I'll consider it," Felkan muttered dryly.

"Oh, by the way Suicune," Latios moved in to hover beside his fellow Legendary as she walked along at a much slower pace than pretty much anything that she had done for the last four months, running about everywhere as she had been. "There is perhaps one other thing that you can help us with."

"And what is that?" Suicune asked curiously.

"It's a matter of the other Legendaries that we have to find," the blue Eon Dragon related. "According to Uxie, now that we have found you we have an additional twenty-four Legendary Pokémon to find. That number does not include the Creation Trio of Giratina, Dialga and Palkia, or Uxie himself or his own two siblings, Azelf and Mesprit, or Arceus himself. Or us, obviously."

"A large number," Suicune murmured.

"Yes," Latios agreed. "But can you name them all? Can you think of all the other twenty-four Legendary Pokémon out there?"

"Well, let's see. There's Lady Ho-Oh of course, and Lugia and my own brothers Raikou and Entei, Zapdos who we are looking for now…" and she began to rattle off the same list of Legendaries that Latios and Latias themselves had given right at the start of their exploits, rounding off with, "then there's Cresselia and Darkrai, which make up numbers twenty-two and twenty-three, and the twenty-fourth must be… must be… erm…"

"You don't know, do you?" Latios sighed.

"Give me a moment," Suicune frowned, wracking her brain and feeling a little sorry for the Legendary that she was missing out, guilty that she had forgotten about them. "Erm… did I say Heatran?"

"You did," nodded Latios grimly.

"Hmm," Suicune frowned. "I… I can't remember the last one. Who is it I missed? And please don't tell them I missed them out when we found them – I could not bear the indignity of forgetting the existence of one of my fellow Legendaries.

"That's the thing," Latios replied. "We don't know who the twenty-fourth Legendary is either. We were rather hoping that you would know yourself."

"You don't?" Suicune blinked. "I haven't forgotten anyone?"

"If you have then so have we. We cannot call the final member of the group to mind either, and we've spent hours trying to think of who it is. And everyone you gave in that list; Deoxys, Shaymin, Jirachi… all of them; they were all the ones that we thought of too. We can't think of the final member either."

"Then is it possible that…"

"…that Uxie gave us the wrong info?" Latias chipped in. "We thought that too, but we really don't think it can be true. Surely if he made a mistake in telling us, which he has never done before anyway, he would have doubled back and told us by this point that he'd made a mistake."

"Would he though?" Latios murmured. "He's the Pokémon of Knowledge and he's never been wrong before. What if he made a mistake and is too embarrassed to come back and admit it."

"The entire world is at stake here, Latios," scoffed Latias. "Uxie might be proud of his mighty brain but he's not so proud as to admit he was wrong if the result of it is the entire world being destroyed."

"True enough," Latios nodded.

"Maybe it's some weird thing that he's doing," Mako suddenly suggested. "Where he wants us to think that there are twenty-five and then we're all panicking at the end because we've only found twenty-four and because we've only got that many we think we have to try the ritual without the final member and because we try anyway a miracle happens and it works even though we think it probably won't."

…

"Erm…" Latias said.

"That's a distinct possibility," Latios said immediately before his sister could say any more. "Well done, small one for thinking of that."

Mako beamed.

_What are you saying? _Latias questioned in her brother's head. _That kid's explanation made absolutely no sense whatsoever._

_He was just trying to be helpful to the discussion,_ Latios replied. _Let's just give him the benefit of the doubt on this, even though what he said is…_

_Baloney?_ Offered Latias.

_Yes, that,_ Latios agreed. _But we can agree ourselves that Uxie is most likely not wrong about there being twenty-four remaining Legendaries, right?_

_Yes,_ Latias nodded. _It would seem as though Lady Ho-Oh is not the only one of our number that is missing, but the other may prove even harder to find than her, considering he is missing even from our minds._

_Indeed,_ Latios muttered silently. _Every way you look at things, it seems that everything just gets more and more impossible._

_We'll muddle through,_ Latias said soothingly. _We always do._

_Yes. But we've been lucky so far in finding Suicune. Will we be lucky again, or will our luck eventually run dry?_

* * *

Across a few dimensional barriers, a journey was now drawing to an end. That was the hyperspace journey of the four Jedi, that had set out from Coruscant close to a full day earlier, leaving their friends and their fellow Jedi behind in order to investigate that strange signal deep in Wild Space that the 501st had picked up.

"Journey's reaching its end now, guys," Anakin said, flicking a control in front of him to prepare for the deceleration from hyperspace. "A couple more minutes and we'll be at the co-ordinates marked into the navicomputer that Master Yoda gave us."

"About time," Ahsoka stretched her back, lifting herself briefly out of the seat to thrust her hips forwards and arch backwards so her montrals touched the seat. "Sometimes I do wish that teleporters had been evented by someone. Weren't they making great strides in that area at some point?"

"Some scientists theorised that it might be possible," Obi-Wan said from the seat at the front. "But the problem with it is that transporting a person across the universe in an instant is physically impossible – the theory behind it involves the person being transported being destroyed in their original position and recreated at the recipient end. Admittedly they would still be exactly the same person but still, with such a haphazard way of travelling around nobody wanted to risk something such as that. There are far too many variables that can go wrong with a procedure like that."

"Not to mention the process of destruction and recreation in and of itself is also extremely complex," Anakin stated. "It was still only theory. It's doubtful that it will ever really become reality."

"Didn't you once say that the Digimon were able to teleport themselves and the Tamers from one cruiser to another while they were still in space?" Barriss asked.

"Well, yes, but remember who you're talking about," laughed Anakin. "They're Digimon – they can just _do_ things like that."

"Point," Barriss snorted.

"Anyway," Obi-Wan nodded. "Teleportation could be possible by other means that that method, but scientists have been unable to really come up with a plausible one."

"Shame," Ahsoka grimaced. "Hyperspace is great and all, but this Galaxy really is so vast."

"And that's not even mentioning the Galaxies outside our own," agreed Anakin. "Anyway, we're coming out of hyperspace now."

Ahsoka plonked herself back into her seat and she and Barriss monitored the ship's internal functions to be sure of no mishaps and outside the front window the blue funnel of hyperspace jumped back into the view that made it look like the stars were elongated before they whooshed back into normal, the view the same picturesque view as usual, each star twinkling in the distance like a myriad of glowing pinpricks on a pitch-black canvas.

And that was pretty much it.

"This is the rendezvous point," Anakin murmured, looking around them at the vast expanse of nothingness. "The navicomputer says the co-ordinates are correct. So…"

"…so where is the heavily armed escort that was supposed to be meeting us?" Ahsoka finished.

Anakin nodded. "Captain Rex and Yularen are meant to be meeting with us here with the _Resolute._ Commanders Bly and Cody aren't meant to be here since they're hanging back for some surprise back-up, but Rex is."

"Haven't they been waiting in the area for most of the day for our arrival?" Barriss asked.

"They should have been," Obi-Wan agreed, bending over the controls and activating the com-channel. "I'll try contacting them now – they should be in the area."

"You think something could have happened to them?" Ahsoka asked, her throat tightening a little.

"I should hope not," Anakin frowned. "They've got to be around here somewhere."

Moments later and sure enough, Captain Rex's hologram appeared on the small communicator installed into the dashboard in front of them, turning to look around at them. "Master Jedi," he said, standing to attention with his hands clasped behind his back and his chest out. "I take it the journey is going well. When can we expect your arrival at the rendezvous point?"

Anakin blinked. "We were just about to ask you that, Rex," he said.

"I'm… sorry, sir?" Rex frowned.

"We've just arrived at the rendezvous point now, Rex," Anakin replied. "And I'm not seeing the _Resolute_ out the window. When do you think you'll get here? Weren't you supposed to be waiting for most of the day?"

"But sir, we have," Rex insisted. "We are at the rendezvous point right now and there is no sign of you anywhere, neither by visual or on the scopes."

"Excuse me?" Anakin started. "You're at the rendezvous point?"

"That's what I just said, sir," Rex nodded.

"Then how is this possible?" Anakin turned to the rest of his crew with a bemused expression. "For two ships to be in the exact same place in the exact same co-ordinates where neither of them can see each other? Last time I checked, neither the _Resolute_ nor this ship had a cloaking device and I can tell you that even if this ship did have one it would not be on right now."

"Could there have been a mix-up?" Barriss asked. "Could one of us have been given the wrong set of co-ordinates?"

"Doubtful," Obi-Wan replied. "But it's worth checking I suppose? Rex, can you state your location for us please?"

When Rex did just that, Anakin and Obi-Wan both glanced at each other.

"It's no mix-up," the former said. "That's exactly where we are right now as well."

"But sir, that makes no sense," Rex frowned. "Are you totally s…"

His hologram abruptly blurred and vanished, leaving the dashboard empty. Obi-Wan frowned and bent down, trying to re-instate the call, but muttering, "There seems to be some kind of interference. I can't locate the signal anymore."

"Are we being jammed?" Anakin asked, bending over to take a look as well.

"I… am not sure…" Obi-Wan replied. "I'll try re-routing the…"

"Um… Masters," Ahsoka stood up and patted them both on the shoulder. "What exactly… is that?"

Both of them looked up and blinked in surprise, wondering pretty much the same thing when they saw what Ahsoka was referring to. Barriss stood up behind them and the four of them stared out of the front window at the _gigantic_ structure that was in front of them. It was very clearly not natural, and they were getting closer to it, heading towards it all the time.

"What the heck?" Anakin gasped.

"That… does not look like something that should be here," agreed Obi-Wan.

They were staring at a giant monolith, which looked massive and none of them could even begin to guess how vast it probably was, miles and miles and miles. It was in a great three-dimensional diamond shape, like two pyramids with the bottoms stuck together, but the whole thing was made of a dark metal with red running lines flashing across some sections of it like a giant strange looking circuit board. The thing looked practically like the size of a planet and all of them were sure it had not been there before.

"Why are we heading towards it?" Ahsoka asked, a little nervously.

"I don't know," Anakin said, turning back to the ship's controls. "The scanners aren't registering our movement, nor are they registering that giant thing."

"Could we be caught in some kind of tractor beam?" Barriss asked.

"If we are they it's not detecting that either," Anakin said, attempting to steer the ship around. "But everything's non-responsive. And we're either heading towards it or its heading for us."

"I'm not sure which option I like the sound of least," Obi-Wan uttered dryly.

"What can we do?" Barriss asked.

But before anyone could answer the question the monolith seemed to split right at the nearest corner to them and a fiercely bright light emanated through the gap as the monolith opened both horizontally and vertically like some giant maw opening. It only opened a small way before it stopped, but the light forced all of the Jedi within to shield their eyes and before they could think what else to do the ship was dragged through the small gap and into the light, and everything promptly became darkness as all four of them blacked out.

Unsteered, the ship moved on, deeper and deeper into the light, as behind it the side of the monolith closed as slowly and smoothly as it had opened, soundlessly slamming together again as the maw-like entrance shut, sealing them in.

* * *

A pair of eyes, black with green irises, and set in a lined face with a long nose and an even longer grey beard, opened and stared levelly ahead.

"He is here," the owner of those eyes stated, in a voice that had a deep echo to it, almost as if there were two people speaking at pretty much the same.

"Excellent," said another voice, a male and slightly sinister sounding voice with a similar echoing edge to it. "Allow me the pleasure of… going out and greeting out honoured guests."

"No, my Son," the first person replied sternly. "They are to be given the hand of friendship during their visit. My Daughter, I wish for you to extend them that hand. Bring them to the monastery."

"As you will, Father," a female echoing voice replied.

"It is time," the first being decreed. "Yes, at last. It is time."

* * *

Hehehe. Well, lots and lots of conversation in this chapter, and admittedly yes a lot of it you will have seen already or guessed at by now, but for the purposes of the characters, this had to take place. And we saw some progress and characterisation and received some more information about various subjects, most notably the missing Ho-Oh. I hope that you enjoyed the various ups and downs that the chapter actually did take nonetheless.

I also hope that you are looking forward to seeing what happens next to the Star Wars characters. Their roles will grow bigger soon, as we have gone through the last of the snippets leading up to the start of what's going to happen to them.

Until then, sayonara.

* * *

Next time…

After their ordeal on the cruise ship, most of them agree that it would be best for the group to regain their strength and rest before they continue onwards. But many of the group are determined to keep themselves busy and there are a few things that they can do in their downtime, such as train with one another. Plus, Suicune needs to get used to her new companions who are certainly a rowdy bunch.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 28: Growing Closer**


	28. Growing Closer

Hullo again everybody and here I am with another chapter. This one doesn't really advance the plot forward in that many ways, but it is still pretty important to show the development of the characters amongst one another when they're not running around and stopping enemy Digimon attacks, so this chapter is mostly dedicated to that. I hope you enjoy the character interactions that come with it, for some of the things that do occur are quite significant, though at first glance they may not seem it. Enjoy.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 28:- Growing Closer**

* * *

It was a while before the group drew to a halt, but they made some significant progress during that time, each of them doing their best to just enjoy the feeling of being outside and all moving together as a single unit. For most of the Pokémon, it felt a little like their lives had begun anew or something – they had not done any long-distance group travelling like this since the days where they had been welcome in the Pokémon World, over half a decade ago now.

For Felkan it wasn't easy – he wanted to be putting a lot more distance between themselves and Vermilion City before everyone turned out in force to look for them, as he was sure they would. But Aayla pointed out that they would probably be a little busy with the cruise ship that was now halfway through the docks, and tomorrow they would head on their way much faster.

For Ai and Mako, this was also a new experience, as when they had been on long journeys like this before, they had usually ridden on the back of Behemoth – Impmon's motorcycle. Impmon briefly wondered what the bike was doing with itself at the moment. He regretted not being able to bring it with him, but it would probably draw quite a bit of attention, since it was so epic to look at and since it was practically half-insane.

Still, the twins eventually got tired, stating that their feet hurt, and so Latios and Latias allowed them to clamber aboard and take the rest of the journey easy.

But the rest of them, they made up a single procession – a long line that stretched from Aayla and Sceptile at the front of the party, to Suicune at the rear. The Legendary Pokémon was deeply engrossed in conversation with the Eon duo, determined to learn as much as she could about exactly what she had found herself becoming a part of.

"I am still struggling to get my head around some of this," she observed. "Beings that come from another dimension, completely unrelated to this one. This is stranger than Giratina. This is stranger than Deoxys. I used to think that they came from far-flung places but they pale in comparison."

"I know," Latios nodded. "Sometimes it's a little difficult for us to believe even now."

"Well, maybe you," Latias grinned. "But I've gotten quite used to it by now."

"Think fast!" Terriermon suddenly cried, flinging what appeared to be some kind of berry directly at the red Eon twin. Latias turned around and balked right before the small piece of fruit hit her in the face, squelching across her nose and mouth. She blinked a couple of times before she started to lick it off her face like she was preening.

"Mmm, Sitrus berry," she smiled. "Yummy. Thanks for that. Sitrus berries are the best for restoring people's energy. All the more to get you back with, huh?"

"Yipe," Terriermon cried, and motored away, Latias shooting off after him, the two of them giggling as they whooshed and weaved around the rest of the group, Terriermon taking advantage of smaller gaps while Latias proved to be a lot faster.

Latios rolled his eyes. "Those two have gotten used to one another's presence so quickly. I weep for the future, I really do."

"You and me both," Suicune chuckled, watching as Latias caught Terriermon with her Psychic powers, yanking him into her arms like he had been caught with some kind of lasso and pinning him there.

"Ah-ha! Gotcha!" she grinned.

"No fair!" Terriermon cried. "I call no Psychics."

"You should have done that earlier. Or just considered not tossing a piece of fruit at a Psychic type Pokémon. Now, I wonder where I can find myself a pineapple."

"AAAGH! No! Please! Not that! Anything but that!"

"Oh, that's right!" Latias smiled. "I can just project the image into your head."

"NOOOOOOOO!" Terriermon cried, resorting to some chuckling from just about everyone nearby.

"Hey, be thankful that I'm not Darkrai," Latias grinned. "If you think you're afraid of pineapples now then he could make you a gibbering wreck whenever one comes within a mile of you."

"He _already_ becomes that if he's aware of it," Renamon rolled her eyes. "He saw a pineapple on a webcam once when Jeri went on holiday with her family. He freaked out when he saw a pineapple that was in the United States of America when he was still in Japan."

Several of the others belted out laughing, even the ones who didn't actually know where those places were, which was most of them. But Felkan then cleared his throat and said, "Could you all keep it down a bit please? I don't like creating too much unnecessary noise."

"Eh, you worry too much, mate," Rika smirked at him. "Loosen up some. It's not like the police are going to pounce of the nearest bush."

"She is right, Felkan," Lucario nodded. "I am monitoring the surrounding area, and there are no humans for three miles in any direction from us. We are quite safe from the authorities."

Felkan grumbled, but nodded. "Alright fine, but just… make sure it stays that way, shall we?"

Glaceon yawned and sat down briefly, rubbing at his eyes with one paw. "I'm getting a bit tired," he reported. "All that action on the ship before really took it out of me. We haven't had a workout like that for some time."

"I'm a little tired too," Luxray agreed.

"That's because you're a perpetually lazy bum who would much rather sleep than do anything else," Houndoom snickered.

"I could take offence to that, you know," Luxray scowled at him. The canine grinned eerily at him.

"Well, if you guys are getting tired then you can head back into your Pokeballs for a rest," Felkan suggested, raising them up.

"Actually," said Renamon. "Perhaps it would be better if we stopped and found a place to settle for the night. There is not that much daylight left by my prediction and we are all a little worn out from that earlier skirmish."

"Renamon has a point," nodded Aayla. "We can press on fully in the morning, but until we know more about what we're dealing with it would be best not to overexert ourselves too much. I suggest that we make camp here for the rest of tonight."

"What do you mean overexert ourselves?" Charizard snorted smoke. "Some of us might be a little tired, but we're certainly not knackered. And we can go on all night if so we choose."

"That may be true," Milotic slid over to him. "But that's not the case for the humans." She nodded towards the Tamers. Ai and Mako looked close to falling asleep on Latios and Latias' backs – they had been directly involved in a battle after all when they had biomerged with Impmon to fight that Pukumon. And while they had come out of the fight with no damage to their natural bodies, they were still tired. Suzie too was yawning quite widely, though she tried to cover it up as best she could and try and look strong.

Charizard felt a little guilty for not considering that. Not all of the members of their party were toughened Digimon and Pokémon after all. Or Twi'lek Jedi. "Well," he said brightly. "Shall I get a fire started? Someone bring up the wood."

The group began to settle down, with Sceptile darting off into the trees and returning ten seconds later to dump a pile of wood into the middle of the group, which Charizard lit by dropping the tip of his tail onto them. The Tamers gathered around the fire and sat down, enjoying the warmth it gave off in the chilly evening air. Felkan deliberated momentarily about what to do before he sat down beside the fire himself, still maintaining a slight distance from the other humans, but not openly leaning away from them anymore.

Gardevoir knelt down beside him, allowing a sleepy Ai to rest against her slender legs as she began to doze off, stroking the young child's hair with a look of affection on her face. "Well, today was certainly a lot more eventful than we expected when we began moving, wasn't it?" she asked with a fond smile. She was currently feeling almost at peace, for despite the fact there was clearly something much bigger than they had been expecting going on with this world her trainer was finally getting a few chinks in the wall around his heart and that was enough to keep her content.

"You can say that again," Felkan muttered. "Tell me, are the days that you guys have on your adventures usually as hectic as this one was?"

"Pretty much," Henry nodded. "Sometimes quite a bit more so. After all there was one day when we were in Aayla's universe where a huge battle on Jedi Temple took place and we and the rest of our team had to use it as a distraction while we went and invaded the Capital planet of the new Empire to help take down its leader and all his powerful minions. I think that was the most hectic day I've ever had."

"Wonderful," Felkan snorted dryly. "I look forward to the days when our own lives get as constantly hectic as this."

"You're already in them, Felkan," Impmon grinned. "They started yesterday and they probably won't stop anytime soon."

"Good to know," Felkan settled himself down with a slight roll of his eyes. Gardevoir looked across at him, then towards the other Pokémon, who were all standing around waiting to see what else was needed of them. The Psychic type quickly rose and nodded to them, sending them a quiet message within their heads that was relayed to the Dark types by Lucario.

There was a mass nod and the Pokémon dispersed. The Digimon, for a brief while, didn't notice as they were absorbed temporarily with making sure that their Tamers were alright. But at the sound of activity going on around them, the group looked up and their eyes widened at what they saw.

The Pokémon all seemed to have started doing various random things. Gardevoir, for instance, had found a massive boulder and was standing before it, raising her arms slowly into the air as she seized said boulder with her Psychic powers, lifting it slowly up into the air like some kind of strange, slightly glowing UFO. It raised steadily upwards to a height of about thirty feet before Gardevoir lowered it gently back towards the ground. Then she lifted it again, in pretty much exactly the same mtion as before, her pose never shifting except for her moving arms.

Glaceon had found another nearby rock and was shooting an Ice Beam at it. But not just a brief blast of ice – an extended blast that he was not relinquishing. And icy stream spurted from his open mouth and plastered against the boulder, and it kept going and going and going, Glaceon frozen as if he had been turned to solid ice himself instead of the boulder.

Lucario had pressed himself up against another that was twice as big as he was and was rolling it over and over up a nearby hill, as if he was some kind of dung beetle, teeth gritted and muscles straining as he went. When the boulder reached the top of the hill, he would give it a little flick that sent it rolling back down to the bottom, whereupon he would head back and start again.

Sceptile and Scyther had started a slight brawl between them, their respective arm blades extending outwards as they sprang at each other, slashing and spinning and hacking in a frenzied dance-like pattern, both of them using their flight and their leaping ability between them to spin and twist all over the place as their swords passed within a hairsbreadth of one another and clashed against each other, but never once hit the opponent's actual skin.

Luxray was doing something similar to Glaceon, in that he was pouring a huge amount of electrical energy into a potent Thunder attack, blasting the enormous yellow bolt towards his target – Garchomp. Garchomp merely stood there and took it, smirking as his Ground type nullified the effects of Luxray's attack, but the pseudo-legendary grinned and just yelled, "You call that an attack, Luxray! Put your back into it!"

"Oh, you asked for it then," Luxray smirked and increased his attack still further.

"It tickles a little bit now," Garchomp laughed. "Keep at it!"

A similar drama was playing out nearby, where Charizard was firing his Flamethrower attack directly at Houndoom, who merely sat still and yawned widely, the flames licking round him and being absorbed into his skin thanks to his Flash Fire ability, before he expelled a huge blast of fire of his own up into the air in a giant plume, then returned to just absorbing more from the Fire-breathing lizard.

"Nice and toasty," Houndoom smirked. "Just the way I like it."

Swellow had taken to the trees nearby. He seemed to have recovered pretty well from the dunking into the ocean that he had put himself through thanks to the quick action of Charizard, and now he was shooting between the trunks and branches of the trees like a bolt of blue lightning, zipping from left to right and up and down with incredible speed, his wings folding into his side causing him to be able to shoot through gaps that looked far too narrow for him like some type of arrow. When he reached a point that was some distance away from the group, he turned around and came shooting back the other way, using the trees like some kind of obstacle course.

Milotic was resting in a stream, slowly rotating on the spot with eyes closed as she focused on her surroundings. The water of the stream seemed to lift up around her in glittering droplets that she twirled around her body as she revolved it on the spot, using a Twister to keep it swirling around her, but in slow motion, sending water sprinkling around her like some kind of summer shower.

And Absol… he was sitting and seemingly not doing anything for several moments, before he snapped his eyes open and charged straight for another nearby boulder, rearing his head back as his horn began glowing, and then going into a frenzy of motion that was almost impossible for the onlookers to see, unleashing a Megahorn, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, X-Scissor and Razor Wind from the horn all in rapid succession. The boulder never stood a chance and crumbled into dust in an instant.

"What are they doing?" Suzie asked, looking out across the group of Pokémon, all twelve of Felkan's team participating in the activities.

"They're training," Renamon realised, her tail swishing out behind her as she said it. "They're honing their skills so that they can become stronger, with feats of stamina, skill, speed, endurance… Am I right?"

"Yes," Felkan nodded with a vague smile. "This is the sort of thing that they did practically every day for the last five years when we were one Mount Silver. I kept telling them to give it up – we would never be welcome amongst the other Trainers again so, what was the point really. But they kept on going all the time. They're all much stronger than they were when we won the tournament all those years ago."

"They did this kind of thing every _day_?" Terriermon gawped, staring at the group as they boulder-lifted and fenced and dove and threw attacks with everything they had. "Gosh, just how committed are they to this sort of thing?"

"I used to train every day too, you know," Renamon observed dryly, folding her arms and looking down at her mate. "Before you became a major distraction in my life, that is. And Aayla still trained daily herself back in our world."

"Major distraction?" Terriermon pouted. "Come on, you love it really."

"Yes. Yes, I do," Renamon chuckled. "But I used to be fully committed only to becoming stronger. And we trained ourselves after we became mates too if you recall. Even as a Rookie, you are now capable of taking on many Champions without the need to Digivolve or receive a Modify Card."

"Yeah, I know and that was quite the brutal training, but still, every day for five years? That's some commitment right there."

"Virtually every day anyway," Felkan replied. "But yes, they certainly are." He sighed. "Gardevoir always told me that it was their way of showing they would never stop believing in the future. That they would never give up."

"And it's a good thing they did," Aayla observed. "Most of the other Pokémon that were a part of the resistance on that ship folded to the numbers of Digimon that were attacking, but your team held strong, Felkan. They stood firm and drove the hordes back wherever they went. And it was their faith in you that did that."

"Unfounded faith," Felkan muttered. "I haven't had a hand in their training for the last four and half years."

"You really think that they would continue to go to such lengths for you if their faith was unfounded?" Renamon asked. "They're not stupid, Felkan. If they believed in your for so long after you gave up, they must have had reason to do it. Obviously you used to be a talented trainer. And regardless of what happens with you and the other humans now, you know… you could be again."

Felkan opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it again moments later, not quite sure what to say to that. He was barely a Pokémon trainer anymore – he could only call himself that because he owned twelve Pokémon. They had long been their own trainers.

But he did recall that brief battle that he had had with that Gym Leader Blaine at the Seafoam Islands, his Houndoom against Blaine's Rapidash. It had only been for a brief moment because Absol had interrupted the fight, but he did remember feeling that old adrenaline rush that came from directing a battle. It had been quite minute, but it had been there.

It certainly had felt good.

But he just shook his head. "They don't need me to train them anymore," he said. "What's the point? Pokémon training if for the league-directed battles that determine who's the most powerful. This quest isn't like that – it's practically a war, and I can't direct all of them at once. It's better if they just learn how to fight on their own in this situation."

The four Digimon looked across at each other momentarily, not sure how to respond to that. He did have a slight point. Their bond with their Tamers was one-on-one, or in Impmon's case, one-on-two, and while the Tamers generally looked out for all the Digimon they tended to focus mostly on their own. Felkan wasn't like that. He had no less than twelve monsters in his ownership. Keeping up with all of them at once would be next to impossible.

Still…

"You are their human, Felkan," Renamon reminded him. "You may not be a Tamer, but with us, the whole point of we Digimon progressing is that our Tamers progress alongside us."

"We may not know much about this Pokémon training," Lopmon agreed. "But it looks to me that if the same principle does not apply, then it should do. Perhaps you should think on that a little."

Felkan fell silent and said nothing more, turning to watch his various team members go about their different activities with an impassive look on his face.

"You know," Terriermon added with a slight smirk. "We haven't actually done any training of our own for a while now. It couldn't hurt to get in on the act a little bit, could it?"

"Perhaps not," chuckled Impmon. "Maybe we can show this Pokémon a thing or two about what we Digimon are made of. They haven't got a real taste of us thanks to those lame guys on that cruise ship."

"I seem to recall Sceptile and Scyther managing to carry you to the ground when you were in your Mega form when we just met," Terriermon quipped.

"Shut up," Impmon growled.

"It couldn't hurt to get in a little extra training," Aayla chipped in. "We may need it in the future. And it will help us mesh a little better as a group to get to know one another's fighting styles a little."

"Well then," Impmon cracked his knuckles. "Shall we do this? I never thought I would say this of my own free will, but let's get some training done."

"About time you started taking the initiative," Lopmon giggled, before all four Digimon sprang forwards and into the midst of the Pokémon.

* * *

Impmon was the first to leap up and attract the attention of the others, hurling a Bada Boom straight at Houndoom. The canine Digimon easily took the hit, but his head swung round and he glared at the smirking little Digimon.

"Oh, so it's going to be like that is it?" he grinned sadistically, stepping around as Charizard relinquished his attack on the Dark-type dog. "You want to try and take on the Grim Reaper, do you?"

"Meh, I'm not so fussed either way," Impmon said, forming a ball of fire in one hand. "But way I see it, we can try some kind of test between us. An accuracy and evasion test, if you like. You try and dodge my fireballs and I… well, try and hit you with 'em. Sound good?"

Houndoom leered. "If this were a race, I would say you're going to eat my dust. In fact, you're probably going to be eating my dust anyway with all the running I'm about to do."

"Great," Impmon grinned. "But just to spice things up, how about Glaceon joins us?" He raised his other hand and formed a sphere of ice in it. "I learned this attack recently. I tell you, I didn't have a flaming clue that I could use ice as well as fire until Ai and Mako looked up my stats on their D-Arc. Here, Glaceon? You going to join in?"

"Oh, sure," Glaceon smiled. "Give me one second," and he suddenly shot what appeared to be a sphere of ice into the air of his own, which then expanded outwards and began to rain little shards down over the area where Glaceon was. "Go," he said.

Impmon blinked, unsure as to why Glaceon wanted other bits of ice to rain down on him when he was about to start throwing ice himself, but then he grinned and launched to it with a will, leaping forwards and lobbing his flaming attack at Houndoom and the icy one at Glaceon, summoning more before the other attacks had reached their targets and spinning around to hurl them again.

Houndoom took off, leaping over the fireball and skidding underneath another, whirling around at an incredible angle to avoid another that just missed his tail before he flattened himself to the ground to let another sail over his head and sprang up to keep running, leaping into an incredible barrel-roll, something that no dog looked even capable of doing, to spin past a couple of others. Another one sailed straight for him as he landed, but he turned around and caught it with a snap of his jaws, swallowing it and leering before he took off again.

But Impmon's attention was mostly captured by what Glaceon was doing. At first the fox-like Digimon dodged around the same as Houndoom, rearing onto his hind paws as a ball of ice shot past the spot where his shoulders had just been and spinning around to leap away. But then, on about the fifth ice ball that Impmon flung at him, he suddenly faded out of existence and appeared again several feet away, the ice ball sailing harmlessly by. It was the same thing that he had done when IceDevimon's Avalanche Claw had been raining down on him.

Impmon blinked and threw a flurry of more ice balls in his direction, and like before Glaceon dodged them before fading away again to appear this time right next to Impmon and give him a cheeky flick in the side with one tail.

"How the heck are you doing that?" Impmon asked.

"It's his special ability," Houndoom smirked. "It's called Snow Cloak. As long as it's hailing, which it is doing now thanks to his Hail attack, his ability to evade incoming attacks goes up by allowing him to phase out of their way if necessary. Just like how my Flash Fire allows me to absorb your fireball. Like this." He stopped and allowed the next fireball to hit him in the shoulder, and he didn't flinch for a moment.

"Oh… interesting," Impmon said, a smirk growing on his face. "I smell a challenge."

"Bring it," Glaceon smiled. "You'll never hit us."

And the three of them went into a frenzied whirl of motion, Impmon spinning and twisting on the spot and hurling countless fireballs at Houndoom, and an equal number of ice balls at Glaceon, his Infernal Funnel attack working nineteen to the dozen as he laughed uproariously. Glaceon and Houndoom twisted and dove around on either side of him, all three making it look like they were having some kind of snowball fight from hell, literally, since half of the projectiles were also made of fire. They'd turned the training into a game, and they were having endless amount of fun playing it.

* * *

"Okay, boys," Renamon said as she glowed and, for the third time in two days, shifted into her Kyubimon state with a handy card swipe from Rika. "Is anyone up for a race?"

She was addressing Luxray and Absol, the latter of which had just slashed up another rock, and the former of which stopped his attack on the still-as-stone Garchomp, both turning to look at her.

"A race?" Luxray sniffed. "Races aren't really my thing? I much prefer curling up under a tree any day. Not really a fan of running."

"I've had plenty of experience with running," Absol muttered. "Usually because I'm running away from something else."

"Well not this time, Absol," Kyubimon smiled. "You've certainly had a hard life, I know, but you deserve to cut loose and have a little fun once in a while, and you can do that in your training. And come on, Luxray. You're going to have to put your back into this quest so why not start now? Unless you feel that you're not up to the challenge, of course."

Luxray narrowed his eyes. "Not up to the challenge? I'm quite capable of running when I want to, you know."

"Then why don't you prove it?" Kyubimon smirked.

"Oh, it's on now," Luxray grinned back. "Absol, you in?"

Absol hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "Why not? It can't hurt to test my speed once in a while. But no speed boosts of any kind – we race with our own natural speed only."

"Agreed," Kyubimon nodded, flaring her tail in readiness. "That boulder over there in the distance – the first one of us to make it from there and back to here…" she swept a line in the dirt with one paw, "…five times is the winner. Of this warm-up."

"Warm-up?" Luxray asked. "Oh joy."

"I haven't been in a race for a long time," Absol remarked as he stepped up to the mark in the ground on Kyubimon's right, Luxray stepping up onto the left. "What's the signal?"

"ON YOUR MARKS!" Latias grinned as she swung in to hover beside them, causing all three to immediately tense up. "GET SET! AND… PSYCHE!"

Luxray bounded forwards, then realised what Latias had just said and stopped, glaring at her. "Very funny," he muttered, stepping back into position. "I'm laughing on the in…"

"GO!" Latias cried, taking all three of them off-guard before they hurtled forwards helter-skelter towards the distant rock.

"When did you learn how to start a race?" Latios asked as he drifted over to his sister.

"I watched a school sports day once," Latias giggled. "In fact, I invisibly took part in it and I won every race. Except the Egg and Spoon one, that one I just skipped."

The three racers meanwhile were pounding along the grass towards the distant boulder, but Kyubimon had quickly taken the lead, her streamlined body blurring yellow as she blazed across the ground like a yellow streak. Still, Absol and Luxray proved to be quite fast themselves and slammed along behind her, Absol in second and Luxray at the back.

"Come on Luxray," Kyubimon grinned as she bounded on top of the rock. "Put your leg muscles into it. Is that as fast as you can go?"

"Oh, so you're resorting to taunts now are you?" Luxray smirked as his body started to glow with a light blue aura. "Well, I may not have the same speed as a lot of electric types, but I do have _this!"_

"Wait, Luxray!" Absol cried. "I thought that you hadn't mastered that move yet…"

Luxray ignored him and slammed himself into the rock that Kyubimon was on, forcing her to leap into the air as the rock…did nothing. Luxray slammed into it and yelped, staggering backwards and he thudded to the ground. Absol hurried over to him, as did Kyubimon, the race momentarily paused.

"Are you alright?" Absol asked.

"That looked like it hurt," Kyubimon winced.

"No, I'm fine," Luxray growled as he pushed himself back to his feet, seemingly undamaged. "The attack force decreased most of the damage. But ugh… that's frustrating."

"What move was it that you were trying to use?" Kyubimon asked.

"Superpower," Luxray replied. "It's a Fighting-type move, and a very powerful one, but I haven't yet been able to get the hang of it. I can't build up the necessary muscle strength in my limbs in the short space of time required to pull off the attack efficiently, and I'm having trouble channelling the strength I can gather into the attack."

"Well, I'm sure the way to master that attack, as with any, is with practice," replied Kyubimon. "Though perhaps not on boulders. Maybe you should try doing that while Absol and I continue the race."

"Oh no," Luxray grinned. "You challenged me to this race and I'm going to finish it." And then Kyubimon stepped back in astonishment as Luxray began to levitate off the ground, his legs hanging beneath them as stiff as if they were standing on solid ground. "But I don't have to touch the ground until the finish line." And then he shot back the way they had come, his legs flailing in the air as if he were running on something solid. He was using Magnet Rise, and Luxray had long since found himself able to run much faster on air than on the ground, probably due to the less friction and the repulsing power of Magnet Rise pushing him away from it.

"Hey! No fair!" Kyubimon cried, blazing back into the race once again. "Get back here!"

"Come on, Luxray," Absol cried as he pelted after them. "That's wasn't in the rules."

"It wasn't _not_ in the rules either, Absol!" Luxray chuckled back.

"Well, if you can go airborne then so can I," Absol grinned, and he suddenly sprang straight up into the air with tremendous force, sailing up and up to a ridiculous height that no four-legged creature should be capable of reaching in a single bound… or rather Bounce, as the name of the attack was. And he fell straight down like a white-furred meteor, crashing into Luxray from above and knocking them both to the ground in a rolling heap. But they were soon all back up again and barrelling along helter-skelter, weaving out and in and between each other as they slammed all their efforts into the race.

* * *

As to Lopmon… take three guesses as to which Pokémon she started training with. She grinned as she too digivolved to the Champion level yet again, gasping a little as she grew into the form of Turuiemon for the third time in less than twenty-four hours, before she sprang straight towards Sceptile and Scyther and caught their blades on either of her own as they swept in towards each other yet again, leaf and scythe clashing against switchblade and reaching a stalemate as she held them at bay.

"Oh," Scyther smirked as he drew back his scythes. "So you want to join the party, do you?"

"Why not?" Turuiemon grinned. "You wanted to spar with me and now is your chance. Are you still interested?"

"Of course," Scyther replied. "I've wanted to test myself against you since I saw what you were capable of last night. I would be glad to fence with you."

"Is it safe?" Sceptile asked.

"What?" Turuiemon blinked.

"Your blades? Are they safe for a practice fight?" Sceptile asked. "We may be well-practiced warriors both but we never assume that we will not hit and potentially harm the other in our bouts. Regardless of how skilled anyone may be with a blade, you should never assume that a mistake cannot happen."

"You seemed to be fighting one another quite fiercely before," Turuiemon frowned.

"True. But we were both using False Swipe," Scyther nodded. "It's a move that carefully suppresses the power of out slashes. It's impossible to kill, knock out or even cut an enemy properly with that attack."

"I see," Turuiemon nodded, retracting her blades. "Well, that sounds reasonable enough. But my blades are made of Chrome-Digizoid, and they _definitely_ cut when they connect. No question about it. How about this? Suzie? Can I have a couple of practice swords please?"

Suzie nodded and swiped the card, and a few moments later and there was a glow in Turuiemon's palms, which extended outwards into a pair of wooden swords, that seemed suspiciously familiar to Scyther.

"Hey," he indicated them. "Aren't those the swords that that Digimon I fought last night used? I forget what you called it – began with Y?"

"Yasyamon," Turuiemon responded, raising the blades. "Yep, these are one in the same. They have the ability to cut when used properly with the right specific attack but in most cases they're just as blunt as a cricket bat. Will these do?"

"Certainly," Scyther nodded.

"What is a cricket bat?" Sceptile asked.

"Never mind, let's spar," Sceptile raised his swords and grinned. "Swords only, no punching or kicking and no side-taking. It's a complete three-way fight. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Turuiemon nodded.

"Agreed," Sceptile hunkered down, ready to spring. "Three… two… one… battle commence!"

And so the thoroughly three-way brawl between the lot of them began. Turuiemon took the initiative and sprang toward Sceptile, but he blocked with a simple flick of his arm and struck upwards with his other blade as Turuiemon span around and slammed out her other blade, the two of them connecting together sharply. Sceptile stepped back and swung for Turuiemon's head, but she ducked underneath it and rolled away just as Scyther blurred in from the side with a double slash towards Sceptile's chest.

Sceptile dropped down and twisted under Scyther's slash, striking out at the Bug types, back only for him to spin around and slam a scythe behind him to catch the strike, the other slashing around after him as Sceptile swept up his other blade and locked them together briefly, before they both span away with a sound like scraping metal, right as Turuiemon launched herself at Scyther and gave a rolling downwards slash as she spun through the air above him.

Scyther though flung himself backwards so the swords breezed in front of him and Turuiemon caught his follow-up cleave as she spun around back onto her feet, whipping around just in time to parry another strike from Sceptile. Sceptile grinned as Scyther launched himself at him and he dived forwards to roll beneath Scyther's blow, the Mantis Pokémon responding by swinging around and slashing straight for Turuiemon, trading several quick blows with her in the space of a second before Sceptile slammed in between them and knocked their weapons wide with a double slam of his own.

As both Scyther and Turuiemon span away, Sceptile whooshed around and slashed downwards at Turuiemon. With lightning reflexes the rabbit ninja bent over backwards so Scyther's False Swipe breezed past her stomach, but Sceptile continued into a circle to bring the other blade sweeping out the side and towards her chest. Turuiemon brought up both wooden swords and caught the blow, angling Sceptile away so he skidded to the side just as Scyther came speeding in from the other side, blades raised towards her.

Turuiemon immediately skidded underneath him so he overshot but instead of trying to turn and swipe at her again he went straight for Sceptile. Turuiemon stood up and watched, impressed as the two brief span and twisted and hacked at one another about twenty times between them in the space of about seven seconds, before Sceptile suddenly leaned backwards and flung his legs up into the air, standing only on the thick leafy appendage that was his tail as Scyther's strikes narrowly avoided hitting him in the back of the knees.

Sceptile completed the flip with a rapid flick of his tail to toss his body backwards but even as he relanded on his feet he swept upwards from the ground towards the Bug type.

Scyther swung a blade down to parry but the force of Sceptile's attack knocked it back up and threw Scyther into a spin, which allowed Mantis to sweep a blade out to the side as he came back around. Sceptile flung himself into a sideways flip to pass over the blade so Scyther span past him and then rebounded of the trunk of a tree to come flying back at him.

The lizard Pokémon swiftly somersaulted backwards over Turuiemon as the rabbit Digimon charged in from the rear and dived at Scyther, clashing wooden blades against his own and using her weight to push him backwards, but Scyther flipped over in the air to throw Turuiemon off. They both skidded onto their feet and spun back round at the same time to smash their weapons together again, just as Sceptile bounced off two tree-trunks and came diving towards them from above with weapons raised.

Turuiemon and Scyther both withdrew from each other and swung up to parry, catching Sceptile's blades against their own and bringing him to a halt before he touched the ground and then heaved him back into the air. Sceptile backflipped and landed nearby as the other two combatants leapt backwards and away from each other, so the three of them formed the corners of a triangle between them.

"I can see what Scyther meant," Sceptile nodded to Turuiemon. "You definitely do have skills."

"As do you," Turuiemon nodded. "You are both proficient with your natural weapons. Very impressive. Remind me to stay on your good sides – I would hate to have to go up against either of you when you were serious."

"And we you," Scyther nodded. "But for sparring… yes, you can challenge us anytime anywhere."

"Good to know," Turuiemon smirked. "But this particular challenge itself is not over. None of us have landed a proper hit on another yet."

"Indeed not," Sceptile laughed, readying his blades in front of him again. "Shall we continue this dance?"

Nobody needed to say anything else, for they all sprang forwards to engage each other in combat once again, laughing loudly through the exhilaration of combat as they jumped and twisted and ducked and span in an intricate web around one another with frenzied motions of their various weapons. Turuiemon preferred not to fight when she had the chance, but a friendly competition like this? Yes, _this_ was fun!

* * *

Terriermon stepped towards some of the other members of the group. Robbed of their partners by the activities of Impmon and Kyubimon, Charizard and Garchomp both turned to look down at him, smirks appearing on their faces.

"You seeking to challenge us, little Buneary?" Garchomp asked.

"Heh, this guy is more Eary than any actual Buneary," Charizard quipped. "Buneary cannot use their ears to fly. Neither can Lopunnies, though you'd think they probably could since their ears are so big."

"Whatever," Garchomp rolled his eyes. "The question still stands? You want to try and take us on in a battle?"

"Well, I wasn't necessarily planning on it," Terriermon cracked his knuckles, well aware that he probably looked quite ridiculous standing up to the two much larger and quite formidable looking dragons. "But if you're offering, then feel free to bring it on."

"You sure you shouldn't shift into something a little bigger first?" Charizard asked, but then before he could get any further a blue streak shot between him and Garchomp and over Terriermon's head, going so fast it created a powerful slipstream behind it, before it arced around and settled on a nearby rock, revealing it to be Swellow.

"Uh-uh," he shook his head, raising a wing and motioning away with it. "Back off, you two. I want the chance to train against this one."

"Do you now?" Terriermon asked, folding his arms. "What do you have in mind?"

"I saw you on that cruise ship," Swellow replied simply. "I saw that cyborg thing that you turned into, and how fast you were capable of going in it. You were going so fast that most creatures wouldn't be able to follow your progress, but I could. Albeit only just. And you were going faster than any Pokémon I've ever seen go, and that's including Latios and Latias."

"Your point being?" Terriermon asked.

"We Swellow are the fastest bird Pokémon in this world," Swellow said, with no small amount of pride in his voice. "And yet I saw you going faster than I ever could."

"Swellow are also quite prideful," Garchomp remarked. "It took a lot of… Guts… to say that."

Charizard snickered and Garchomp grinned, the two of them apparently sharing some inside joke that Terriermon didn't understand. Swellow scowled at them before turning back and saying, "My point is that my speed is one of my biggest assets and yet with creatures like you, Latios and Latias in the party, all of whom are faster than I am, I feel like I'm losing my value a little. So I want to start training with you to increase my speed still further. I want to be the swiftest non-Legendary Pokémon on the wing, and I want you to help me achieve that goal."

"Sounds like fun," Terriermon said with a smirk. "Alright then. You've got yourself a deal. Just let me get my fleet-feet on. Henry!"

The card was slashed, and Terriermon burst into light and grew his way up into the shape of Rapidmon, his eyes betraying the smirk that the armour covered on the rest of his face. "Okay then," he stated as he hovered himself into the air. "Let's keep it nice and simple with a game of aerial tag. You're it. Now… let's see if you can catch me."

"Don't hold back on me," Swellow spread his wings.

"Had no intention ofWHOAH!" Rapidmon cried as Swellow shot up like an arrow, a single burst of his wings catapulting him upwards. In Rapidmon's experience, beings that used wings instead of levitation usually required more effort to get off the ground, but Swellow made the transition in an instant. Rapidmon blitzed out of the way so Swellow knifed straight past him, but actually that had come pretty close.

"Not bad at all," Rapidmon chuckled. "You certainly have…" He blinked in astonishment as Swellow span around so tightly that he seemed to totally defy physics as he launched himself back down at him once again. Rapidmon fell back down towards the ground and shot aside, Swellow hard on his heels, the bird Pokémon curving upwards a fraction a second before he hit the ground and swooping back up from underneath. This time Rapidmon was more prepared for it and he managed to roll out of the way fairly easily.

But the chase began, with the two of shooting off like comets around the tops of the trees, weaving and dodging and curving and rotating around so they seemed more like a couple of dancing fireworks than anything else.

"Well," Rapidmon called as he swung away from another of Swellow's dives and steeped into one of his own as Swellow spun around for another pass. "You certainly are fast. Faster than most Digimon that I've ever met."

"That's good to hear, considering we'll like be fighting more of them at some point in the future," Swellow called out, the two of them flying so low that their stomachs were practically brushing the canopy.

"But your manoeuvrability its what's really got me impressed!" Rapidmon called back. "You turn and dodge with a speed that does not physically real! It's awesome!"

"Thank you," Swellow called, as he swung in from the side in a furious barrel-roll that Rapidmon shot up to dodge, arcing upwards to follow him almost instantaneously. "But I can tell you're still faster than me, so let's see if I cannot improve with your help, shall we?"

"Alright then!" Rapidmon cried. "Let's see what you're _really_ capable of, shall we?" And he shot from underneath Swellow to above him in a split second, before blitzing to the side and whooshing beneath him again towards his other side. No ordinary creature would have been able to track that motion with the naked eye, but Swellow curved around with him, albeit at a slower pace and soared straight for him once again. Rapidmon flung himself to the side and landed with his feet square on the top of tree, which bent underneath him as Swellow spun around once again.

"Cowabunga!" Rapidmon cried as he used the top of the tree like a trebuchet and hurled himself into the air and past Swellow again, but the bird Pokémon curved tightly around the top of the tree and whooshed upwards to follow him.

"He's good," Rapidmon muttered. "Time to really pull out all the stops." And he motored into his fastest speed and pulled a fair distance ahead of him, sweeping around in a wide arc before motioning straight for Swellow yet again from behind. Swellow tilted one wing and flipped over onto his back, flying briefly upside-down and back towards Rapidmon before he rolled back over onto his front to fly properly. Rapidmon shot off to the side before Swellow could get close and without relinquishing his speed in the slightest, Swellow curving round a moment later to try and follow him, only to be outstripped by Rapidmon once again.

"Boy you really do have skills with turning," Rapidmon said as he pulled to a halt.

Swellow put on a spurt of speed as he shot towards him, though Rapidmon rolled over in the air so Swellow merely passed overhead, and the Digimon grinned, "But how are your skills at dodging?" And he suddenly motored after the smaller Pokémon at high, but not his highest, velocity.

Swellow was already in the middle of turning around when he felt, rather than saw, the incoming Rapidmon, sensing the displaced air him made as he zoomed forwards. Swellow span to the side while retracting his wings so Rapidmon zoomed past, extending them again almost immediately so he arced upwards again.

"I can dodge all day," he yelled back.

"Oh good," Rapidmon cried, as he shot round to side and came for Swellow once again, only for the bird Pokémon to flap his wings hard to carry him above the strike and bank around in pursuit once more. "Good to know. Now let's keep working on this, yeah? You want that speed of yours to go up? Let's do this!"

"It will be my pleasure!" Swellow smirked, motoring forwards once again as the two of them continued their wild aerial game of charging and dodging around each other with absolutely no pattern to their movements whatsoever, arcing round and up and over and under and every which-way.

"You'll never hope to catch me at that speed," Rapidmon laughed.

"I don't expect to," Swellow replied. "But I'll give it a damn good try."

"Good answer," Rapidmon grinned as the two whooshed on.

* * *

"Wow. Swellow's really getting into it," Charizard observed.

Garchomp nodded. "I haven't seen him that fired up for a while now. That Rapidmon must be a good teacher. I have half a mind to go up there and join them myself. I'm the second fastest member of the team after him, after all."

"Sure, sure," Charizard nodded. "But you still couldn't match either of them even if you _can_ fly so fast."

"I didn't say I could, but I could sure give it improving that speed a shot," Garchomp replied. "But I don't think I will because I have another idea," he turned and stamped his foot into the ground, smirking as he squared off against Charizard. "We haven't had a bout for a couple of days. You feel like trying your luck once again?"

"Trying my luck, huh? Is that what I'm doing?" Charizard socked his fist into his hand. "Because you see I always thought that I was rising to the challenge."

"Well, let's find out for certain," Garchomp smirked and suddenly shot forwards, Charizard leaping to meet him head on with a glowing Steel Wing as Garchomp activated his Iron Head, and the two of them crashed into each other with a clang of metal so strong it generated a miniature shockwave around them, but neither of them were thrown backwards by it and twisted away, slamming around an Iron Tail at one another that generated an even bigger shockwave as the two crashed into one another.

"I saw you take down that giant lobster today," Garchomp grinned as he lashed out with a Brick Break that Charizard countered with his Shadow Claw. "Very impressive."

"You weren't so bad yourself," Charizard grinned as he sprang back to avoid Garchomp's Slash attack, flaring his wings to steady himself before he dived in and tried a Fire Fang attack that Garchomp avoided by disappearing underground with a Dig. Charizard immediately motored into the air and readied a Flamethrower, his head snapping around and aiming it at Garchomp the moment he burst out of the ground nearby. But Garchomp already had a Fire Blast prepared in his own mouth and launched it, the two attacks slamming into one another in a gigantic inferno that cancelled one another out.

"Thanks for the compliment," Garchomp grinned as he Dragon Rushed forwards and Charizard rolled over so the attack missed him by a fraction and raced up after him, covered by a Flare Blitz. "But don't think I'm going to take it easy on you. I could have beaten that lobster thing too after all," he added as he swung down an Aqua Tail to slam Charizard head-on, the blazing fire straining against the watery blow before Charizard jerked backwards and away.

"Wouldn't expect you to," Charizard grinned as his hands came together to generate a Focus Blast with them and lobbed it at Garchomp. "Wouldn't want you to either."

"Good, because I meant it," Garchomp smirked as he ducked under the Focus Blast and surged forwards. Charizard smirked back and shot upwards, activating Dragon Dance as he did so and whooshing around at high speed. Garchomp turned to watch him for a moment before he crossed his claws and said, "So you wanna raise your stats, do you? Well, two can play at that game," and he spiralled into a Swords Dance, scraping his claws against one another as he did so.

The two closed in on each other again, with twin leers on their faces as they prepared another massive showdown between them.

* * *

And nearby, another training session was taking place – one which did not seem to involve a lot of activity. Aayla was sitting cross-legged on a rock; the same rock that Lucario had been pushing up and down the hill earlier. Lucario himself was standing in front of her, and both had their eyes closed.

Aayla had approached Lucario earlier and asked if he would like to continue his training with the Force. They had not done much, but they had been able to do a little on the backs of the Lapras a few days ago, experimenting to see just how similar Aayla's Jedi abilities and Lucario's aura powers really were.

As it turned out, very. Just like they had expected. Lucario had been able to do a few rudimentary Force mental exercises and had practiced trying to use it to levitate objects. He had the ability to do that with Psychic anyway, but this had felt different and much more natural than his Psychic abilities, which made sense because he was not a Psychic type Pokémon.

But this time Lucario had declined and offered to try and teach Aayla some rudimentary aura techniques instead – since he had proved to be at least able to use some basic Force skills it was only fair that they tested it the other way around first.

"Aura is the essence of every living being in this world of ours," Lucario was saying. "Therefore you may find that there are many Pokémon that are capable of using it to some extent. It is true that we Lucario are naturally much more adept with it than most other Pokémon, but a lot of other can use it in some of its most basic forms. There are certain Pokémon attacks, for instance, that require Aura to use."

"And which attacks are those?" Aayla asked.

"There are three main ones," replied the jackal-like Pokémon. "Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse are two examples of this. They require the use of aura on some of its most basic of principles, being able to manifest your personal energy within their own body and expunge it. But then there is Aura Sphere, and that is a move that much fewer Pokémon are capable of utilising as it is more complex that the other two. It requires you to manifest that power outside of your body in the palm of the hand. Some people believe that Focus Blast also uses Aura, but this is false, as Focus Blast draws power from the mind only and not aura."

"It is a good thing that I have already spent a few days in this world, or I might not have understood any of that," Aayla chuckled.

"Indeed," Lucario nodded. "And it is Aura Sphere, that I shall be trying to teach you."

"You believe I am capable of using a Pokémon's attack?" Aayla asked.

"If you have the capacity to use Aura, then yes," Lucario nodded. "In times gone by there were humans who were capable of using Aura and there probably still are somewhere in the world today. Because Aura Sphere is powerful almost solely by aura, they too were able to use it. The only Pokémon move a human really could learn. It was rare, that is true, but it was possible."

"Very well," Aayla nodded. "Begin whenever you feel ready, Master."

"Master?" Lucario opened one eye to look at her with a slight smirk. "I'm not your Master, you know."

"Oh, but you are in this case," Aayla chuckled. "You are trying to teach me a new technique that could be similar to the Force. It is Jedi custom to refer to their teacher as Master. In this situation I am but a Padawan again."

"I see," Lucario shut his eye. "Very well then. Raise a hand, palm upwards and we shall begin. Start with some brief meditation. Find your centre, if you know what that means."

"Oh, I do," Aayla nodded. "I am no stranger to meditation. It's something that Jedi practice regularly."

"Good," Lucario nodded. "Then find it and open it, allow it to fill you up entirely from the tips of your toes to your… head-tails… lekku did you call them?"

"Indeed," Aayla nodded, following Lucario's instructions calmly, her palm held outwards as she focus her energies and felt them rising up within her, no different really to any other time that she had meditated through the Force in an attempt to learn a new technique.

"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…" she murmured to herself.

"What?" Lucario asked.

"Never mind, it's nothing important," chuckled Aayla. "I probably shouldn't have been introduced to that show."

"…Right…okay," Lucario muttered. "Well, have you achieved absolute focus of your entire body?"

"I believe so," Aayla replied. "This is little different from some of the other things that we go through in training for various Force techniques."

"I had a feeling it would be. That's what it felt to me when you were teaching me the ways of your Force. Anyway, now that you have achieved your focus you must drown out all distractions and focus solely on the task at hand, which is to shift that energy out from your body and into the palm of your outstretched hand."

Aayla nodded, feeling the tingling sensation rushing out from all around her body and beginning to move down one arm, curling around the tips of her fingers in much the same way as it did when she was firing off an Electric Judgement. She focused harder, pulsing the energy into the palm of her hand alone. She could feel it swirling around as if it was practically beneath her skin.

"Once you have done that," Lucario continued, reading the aura signals coming from her, then try and draw it out through the palm but focus on holding it steady above your hand. If you can do that then the energy within your palm should become a solid sphere of energy hovering above it. It will feel like it is thrumming and that it is constantly alive and turning over and over, but that is because it is – it is the essence of life itself concentrated above your hand. That is the way that it should feel to you."

"That too sounds similar to a lot of things I have heard before," Aayla replied. "The Force too is alive, binding all living beings and everything in our Galaxy back home together. Though I have never tried any techniques like this before. But very well, I shall attempt it."

Lucario watched steadily as Aayla focused on the thrumming in her palm. It did feel like the energy beneath it was trying to escape of its own accord. That's what it felt like when she fired orange lightning from her fingers. But she narrowed down her mind onto it, controlling it more carefully and easing it through her hand and out into the open air, her mind focusing round on it and warping it before her.

Lucario opened his eyes to watch. Monitoring the aura within her was showing him some incredible results – it felt like he was looking at another Lucario in many ways. She was as naturally attuned to the Aura as he was and he was now more convinced than ever that the two powers were practically the same thing. Perhaps slight parallels to one another if not _exactly_ alike, but if there were differences between them, they were almost minimal.

He knew now that Aayla would definitely be capable of using aura and he the Force.

He watched as a glowing light began to appear above Aayla's hand, small at first but then growing larger, writhing and pulsating until it began to form a more solid spherical shape. It was the same colour as Aayla's skin, therefore making it a slightly lighter shade than his own Aura Sphere, but he could tell that that was definitely what it was. Aayla Secura was forming the beginnings of an Aura Sphere in her hand.

"You're doing it," Lucario said, with a breath of excitement – he had never had the opportunity to teach another how to do this before – none of the rest of the team were capable of learning Aura Sphere. "Keep your focus sharp."

Aayla barely heard him, for her focus was as sharp as it would go, but she felt some slight elation as she felt the energy growing larger above her palm.

Just then, the entire ground beneath them shook violently, accompanied by a deep rumbling sound. Aayla's focus, which had been sharp as a knife before, suddenly died and the Aura Sphere, which was still only half the size of what Lucario would usually throw, vanished with a slight _foof_. Aayla's head shot up in alarm and several others around her also looked round with wide eyes… but it didn't take them long to find out what was going on.

Garchomp.

He had succeeded in throwing Charizard to the ground, where the Fire Dragon had landed with a thud onto his back, and Garchomp had promptly tried to take advantage of his momentary advantage on the ground by crashing into it feet-first and blasting out a massive Earthquake attack as he did so. The ground tremored beneath him and was torn up in massive chunks that extended outwards from him in all directions, the shattering ground advancing outwards like a wave towards Charizard as he quickly rolled onto his feet and leapt into the air, the cracking ground sweeping underneath him and the attacking missing by a fraction of a second.

As the ground continued to splinter around them, Charizard opened his jaws and prepared a _huge_ Overheat attack that he launched straight for Garchomp, creating something like a huge wall of fire that swept across the fracturing earth, and making the whole scene look like a volcano was erupting on flat ground or that something was emerging from hell itself.

"GUYS!" Felkan cried as he got to his feet. "CALM DOWN!" but someone else beat him to it. A huge wall of water suddenly whooshed out of nowhere from behind the Overheat before it could reach its target, dousing it in a massive cloud of steam and simultaneously drenching Garchomp. Everything was momentarily obscured by the steam wall, but there was a wet slapping sound that came from within accompanied with a cry of "OW!" from Charizard, and then another slap and another "OW!" – this time from Garchomp.

"You imbecilic hot-headed, power-addled numpties," Milotic's voice came through as the steam cleared, revealing her standing between the two former combatants who were rubbing their faces ruefully. Evidently she had smacked them both with her tail. "If I've told you once then I've told you a _thousand_ times to reign yourselves in when you spar against each other? I know that there's nobody around for miles but we're still trying to keep a low profile and yet you two morons can only think about trying to outdo one another. AGAIN!"

"Sorry, Milotic," Charizard and Garchomp murmured at the same time.

Milotic sighed. "Ugh… there's no point in your apologising. You're just going to do the same thing the next time you two decide to fight each other. You do it _every_ time after all."

"We can't help it," Charizard mumbled. "We just get going and then… the fight takes over or something."

"Yeah, we just get too into it," Garchomp nodded. "We'll try and reign ourselves in next time."

"That would be in a miracle in and of itself, but if you do, you'll still fail," Milotic rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," they both muttered again. Impmon made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whip crack, and they both turned around to glare at him instantly, making him squeak and leap behind Houndoom.

Aayla chuckled. "I take it that's a frequent occurrence," she asked.

"Oh yes," Lucario nodded, turning back to her. "Milotic's right. They go overboard every time they fight. They can't help it. They just lose their wits and start acting on instinct alone. It makes them powerful warriors – _extremely_ powerful warriors – but it can be a little…damaging.

"You can say that again," Aayla regarded the charred and shattered battlefield.

"But regardless, you were doing it," Lucario beamed. "That was the makings of an Aura Sphere I saw there. If you can master that technique, you'll be able to form one in either palm in the time it would take to blink and hurl them at an opponent with explosive force. And if you can learn that, then perhaps other aura techniques will be open to you as well."

Aayla smiled. "Good news indeed," she said.

"I'll say," Kyubimon suddenly ran over to them. "It is wonderful news Aayla. You may soon have a plethora of new combat abilities open to you."

Aayla made a face. "You know that I don't like combat. But you're right of course. The number of times I do find myself without a choice it would be pretty useful. Certainly less effort than an Electric Judgement. And less painful to whoever I hit it with. Maybe."

"Shall we continue or pause for now?" asked Lucario.

Aayla laughed. "Looks to me like trainings over for the day," she remarked, turning to look back at most of the others who were heading back towards the humans who were all still seated at the fire Charizard had made earlier. "I shall continue tomorrow and I shall try to teach you some Force techniques I know as well."

"Sounds like a plan," Lucario nodded, as the group moved off to rejoin the others.

* * *

Felkan had been watching most of the training going on around him from practically the moment it had started, and he was not too sure how he felt about all of this. His Pokémon had always trained together – that was nothing new.

But now they were training with the Digimon.

And they were loving it.

His team of monsters had were bonding with the enemy's team of monsters so easily. Truth be told, he actually felt a little awkward to be sitting here with the other humans of this new group and to just… be doing nothing. But as usual, he couldn't really bring himself to. The social barrier that stood between him and others that had built itself up over the last half a decade was not exactly going to fall so easily.

How could his Pokémon have gone through the same sort of things as him in many places and still be so… open…and forgiving? Granted some of them were still quite awkward and wary of the Tamers as well, but they had already warmly accepted the Digimon as their friends.

He shook himself, wondering what the heck he was supposed to think now.

"You know," a voice muttered above him and caused him to flinch in surprise, looking up to see Suicune standing above him and looking down at him. "You're right in many ways, but it isn't as black and white as you seemed to have painted it in your mind."

"What are you talking about?" Felkan whispered back, getting the feeling that Suicune's words were meant to be just for his ears only.

"The humans," Suicune replied. "From what Latios and Latias have told me, you only think that humans are not to be trusted, yes?"

"Yeah," Felkan nodded, slowly.

"Well, I can say one thing to that," Suicune smiled, stepping to the side and settling down on her stomach, lowering her head until it was level with Felkan's body. "And that's that humans are a lot more varied than you give them credit for. Lady Ho-Oh – she knows this better than almost anyone else. After the tower that I was killed in burned down, she abandoned her perch at Ecruteak City to fly around the skies of the world and build herself a new nest high in the mountains. She told me that humankind was not a pure race, for when the tower burned down, the humans concentrated only on saving the other humans rather than trying to help humans and Pokémon equally. If they had, perhaps I and my brethren would not have been caught in the flames."

Felkan grimaced. "That is wrong," he growled.

"Yes, it is," Suicune nodded. "That's why Ho-Oh left. She said that humankind viewed themselves as the superior beings and that, as a race, they were far from worthy. And she's right. Raikou, Entei and I watch over the humans of the land, and we can judge how pure a person really is just as our Lady Ho-Oh can. Many of the people we've come across leave a lot to be desired. Some can be downright evil. But you cannot put a label on _all_ of them.

"Ho-Oh now searches the world for people with pure hearts. And believe it or not, she does find them, even among the humans. More frequently than you might expect actually. And I too have come across many thousands of humans that are good and decent and honourable. I can tell these things about them right off the bat. So you can't claim that _all_ humans can't be trusted. Some, you definitely can't. But _not_…_all._"

Felkan started into Suicune's bright eyes for several moments before they briefly flicked up towards the Tamers, who were deeply engrossed in conversation with some of the others, or sleeping in the case of the twins. "And what about them?"

"Them?" Suicune chuckled. "Well… I know for a fact that both Ho-Oh and Lugia would show themselves to them without a second thought. That should answer your question, shouldn't it?"

Suicune rose without saying any more and padded away, leaving Felkan deep in thought. He felt a hand settle on his shoulder and knew it to be Gardevoir without even having to look.

_That's what I've long been telling you, Felkan,_ she said. _Do you believe me now?_

Felkan sighed. _It's… still not easy for me, okay? I just… all my life…_

_I know… I know…_ Gardevoir smiled. _Just take your time. Form your own opinion, but be aware that both Suicune and I trust these Tamers. That's got to count for something, doesn't it?_

Felkan hesitated, but gave a small, nearly imperceptible nod. Gardevoir smiled and settled down against him, as most of the others finished gathering around after their training, the Digimon degenerating into their lower forms and Milotic still muttering about what numbskulls Garchomp and Charizard were.

"…some of your progress there, Aayla," Terriermon was saying with a grin on his face. "Looks like you'll soon have a brand new awesome power to add to your arsenal."

"It's certainly very interesting," Aayla nodded. "Though I am hardly an expert in every way that the Force can be utilised I don't know of any known power that can generate something like an Aura Sphere. Madam Jocasta Nu or some other learned Jedi would probably know that better than I… but still if aura and the Force are the same then I may become the first Jedi to master this technique. I cannot deny that does excite me a little bit."

"Youngest Jedi Knight, youngest Jedi Master, now this," Lopmon snickered. "It's bizarre that despite how stupidly modest you can be, you have so many records going for you. You'd think that it might start going to your head just a little bit."

"Well, I suppose that my Master had enough of that for the both of us," Aayla rolled her eyes, generating laughs from all those who had met the fun-loving, boisterous Quinlan Vos.

"Regardless," Renamon smiled. "That training was fun. It's been a while since we've had the opportunity to do something like that."

"Yeah, you've got a mean flyer in your ranks, Felkan," Terriermon punched Swellow's shoulder lightly with a small fist.

"And a lot of determination to spare in everyone as far as I could see," Lopmon laughed. But then the small brown rabbit looked up at the two Eon dragons floating nearby and said, "What about you two though? You ever think of joining in the training?"

"Did you ever join in the training with these guys before we came into the picture?" Impmon followed up.

"No, not really," Latios shook his head. "In fact not at all."

"He seemed to have this sort of vague notion that if I started learning this kind of thing I would start picking fights with people," Latias rolled her eyes.

"No! I did not!" Latios choked. "I said that I would prefer that if we got into trouble we escape from it _rather_ than fight it. I did not say you would go looking for fights."

"Sure, but that's what you were thinking," Latias replied.

"No, I wasn't."

"Oh, momentai, you two," Terriermon bounded over to them and leapt onto their heads, standing precariously so one foot was on each of their foreheads in a position that almost forced him into a split. "Who care about that? What matters right now is that you don't really have the option of running away any more, you know. If you're on this quest then I'm afraid odds are we are going to find ourselves in trouble again at some point. It always seems to find us if we don't find it."

"He's right," Lopmon nodded. "You guys are decent fighters if what I saw on the cruise ship is anything to go by, but you still haven't faced any Digimon higher than a Champion level. You may not be so fortunate in the future. You said that neither of you are really combatants… but perhaps its time that you learned how to be."

Latios looked a little anxious and even Latias slightly nervous, by this suggestion.

"You certainly have raw power," Aayla noted. "Nobody can deny that after you held up that entire cruise ship."

"That is because they are Legendary Pokémon," Suicune smiled as she stepped up beside them. "It is true that we, the children of Arceus, or in my case grandchild, do have far higher natural levels of power than your average Pokémon. But even we aren't warriors right off the bat you know. I did a lot of extensive training myself when I was brought into this world as Suicune. And they do have a point. If this world is under threat by something and you two are key to saving it from a terrible fate, then learning how to fight, and fight to a high standard, is going to be important now."

The Eon duo looked at each other, before Latios sighed. "I was hoping that we could spend our entire lives without fighting," he said. "In retrospect, that was probably naïve. Hopelessly so. We are supposed to be protectors of the world as much as any other Legendary."

"We haven't exactly done much protecting in our lives, have we?" Latias wrinkled her nose. "We know a few moves but… I suppose it couldn't hurt to train and… learn the best ways to use them."

"I'll help you with that," Garchomp smirked. "One Dragon type to another I can try and help you hone your skills in any way I can."

"I too," Gardevoir nodded. "I believe your Psychic abilities outreach my own in terms of raw power, but I can help you hone them, if you will let me."

"Alright then. Alright," nodded Latios as Terriermon hopped down. "Started with the next session, we will join in the training sessions. If it'll give us a better chance of saving the world, so be it."

"Yeah!" Terriermon grinned. "And we'll be by your side every step of the way!" And he and Lopmon raised their ears to high-three the pair of them once again.

For most of the group, things really did seem to be coming together.

* * *

Well, yep. Almost an entire chapter devoted to training. Hopefully it was still quite a fun romp amongst the various characters and I believe this chapter will, in the long run, serve its purpose too. Hehehehehe. Well, I don't really have much else to say except that, despite the various hiccups along the road, I have done it! I have managed to write and post ten chapters for this month, which is now my minimal goal. Hopefully next month I can post a little more than that, but I shall still be aiming for an absolute minimum of ten.

See you in March. XDXD

* * *

Next time…

While the group press on and make their way through Lavender Town, the mysterious shadow figure continues to watch them. Having finally seen enough, it decides that perhaps it is time to report back about these Tamers and their companions before they can interfere much further.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 29: Remnants of Darkness**


	29. Remnants of Darkness

Hello everybody. Here I am again, back on schedule once more despite the business of the past week. I can't tell you guys how good it feels to be writing at pace again – I wanted to be writing this fast all last term but I just had so little motivation. But now with your reviews spurring me on, I am here with another chapter a mere day after the last one from TBAK. Hehe. It is a good feeling as always. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the revelations it brings.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 29:- Remnants of Darkness**

* * *

The following morning saw swift progress for the party. After their training sessions and group bonding from the day before everyone had settled themselves down for some much deserved rest. Lucario had spent a lot of time up, keeping watch and using his powers to make sure that nothing came too close to see them without them knowing. He seemed to have the same ability as Renamon of not needing as much sleep as most of the others, and since Renamon was also up most of the night the two of them conversed in quiet voices, discussing the various aspects of one another's worlds that were still a mystery to both of them.

But when the sun rose, and the humans had been roused, most of the Pokémon were recalled back into their Balls, even Gardevoir, for they agreed that they should only have as many out and walking as they had to. As usual Charizard and Garchomp were still allowed out though, to provide the group with transportation.

"It's hardly fair," Charizard grumbled as he allowed Henry and Rika to clamber up onto his shoulders. "The Digimon have forms that can fly and we have to do all the heavy lifting."

"Quit bellyaching," Garchomp snorted at him. "A Charizard flying over the Kanto region is going to attract a hell of a lot less attention than a giant, green, cyborg rabbit thing. Besides, you can barely feel them up there."

"Yeah, I know," Charizard grinned. "I'm just messing around."

Suicune stepped over to Impmon and the twins, hunkering down and offering her back to them. "Would you allow me to be your bearer for the day, small ones?" she asked, with a smile. "After all, I did aid you in the fight against that fish creature yesterday. I would quite like to get to know those I helped a little better. Especially since there are three of you where there once one."

"Eh, why not?" Impmon asked. "I can just pretend your Behemoth."

"Cool, we get to ride on a Legendary Pokémon!" grinned Ai, as Mako cheered and eagerly began to help her up.

"Hey, you've ridden on us before," Latias pouted. "What are we? Chopped slivers?"

"I think the phrase is 'chopped liver.'" Latios corrected her.

Latias looked repulsed. "Why on earth would somebody chop up a liver? That's just revolting!"

"THANK YOU!" Terriermon cried. "Tell that to Henry's mother and maybe she'll stop trying to feed it to us."

"I'm surprised that you only turn your nose up at it, Terriermon," Rika smirked. "If she put a pineapple on the table you be at my house five seconds later and quivering in a ball in the corner."

"Shaddup!" Terriermon cried as he settled onto Latios with Lopmon and Renamon, while Latias allowed Aayla onto her back. As Felkan clambered into place on Garchomp, the group set off, spreading out as much as they could while still able to see everyone else as they headed northeast.

* * *

Suicune led the way – she had spent much more time exploring these lands than the others and knew her way around best. Even Latios and Latias, who had been around many hundreds of years longer, didn't know their way around like she did – they had usually just marked the positions of some key places, like Mount Silver, and spent most of the rest of their time just flying around at random without really paying attention to where they were going.

So now the four airborne Pokémon and their riders flew high up, following a short distance behind the large, blue Legendary cheetah-like Pokémon as she sprang in great leaps across the terrain at incredible speed.

"Whhheeeeeeee!" Ai and Mako kept crying the whole time as they went up and down and up and down. "It's like we're riding Aslan or something," Mako yelled – they had asked Lopmon to read the 'Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' to them last month and she had very kindly obliged.

"I wish Behemoth could go up and down like this," Ai agreed.

"Yeah, well… Behemoth makes a cool roaring noise," Impmon muttered a little defensively. His bike was one of his greatest prides. "Can Suicune do that? I don't think so."

Suicune laughed. "Oh, I've forgotten what it was like to bear riders and hear the amusing things they have to say. It's been so long before I met your group."

"Well, get used to it," Impmon grinned. "Because we just might be one of the silliest groups of people you've ever met."

"I am most glad to hear it," Suicune replied, without breaking her stride.

* * *

They made very swift progress. Of the five transporting Pokémon, Charizard was the slowest, but he was still incredibly fast – all the Pokémon under Felkan's team had gone through training to increase their speed as much as they had power, endurance and attack versatility. Nevertheless, while the others had to match his fastest speed to allow him to keep up, and Suicune had to double back a couple of times because she kept pulling ahead, the land swept on by at an impressive rate, covering ground that it would have taken them a week to cross on foot in about an hour.

It was still a big world though, so they still had a fair amount of distance to cover. And Suicune was able to use her own limited Psychic abilities to guide them on paths that kept them in areas with minimum numbers of humans – she was, after all very good at not being spotted herself, even if they did have to zig-zag around a little bit. And eventually they reached a place where the land gave way to ocean once again. Not that that stopped Suicune of course. She just bounded on as if the terrain had not changed at all.

And so they found that they had already gotten close to their destination before midday had even set it. They were approaching Lavender Town, a small town with an appropriate name because a lot of the buildings and even the streets were decorated with a light purple hue. Before they reached in, Suicune called them all down towards the water, with her standing on the water as if it was as solid as rock.

"The human settlement of lavender is now just ahead," she said to them with a flick of her nose. "It is a sure sign that we are getting close now. You see the large mountains to the north?"

"They are… quite hard to miss it," Aayla pointed out, as they all looked up at said group of mountains. There were three of them, or at least three peaks to them, clustered relatively close together. They were not as tall as most mountains, but they were still quite wide.

"Those mountains are normally crossed by humans through a tunnel that extends in numerous branches through them," Suicune replied. "But the place that we're looking for – the Power Plant – is nestled in the crook of those three mountains. They form almost a three-sided barrier against it, and it can only be approached on foot to most from the north. But it should be no barrier to me – I have crossed over it many a time."

"Then we are almost there," Renamon replied. "What is the betting that Zapdos is there now?"

"Small, I would say," Suicune replied. "Mostly he's a wanderer, like myself. But I know it _is_ a place that he returns to often so it is still the best place to start. He likes to bathe in the electrical power that he says he can feel it giving off. He told me once that it's like getting a massage to him. Although how he knows what an actual massage feels like is beyond me."

"So, what are we waiting for then?" Terriermon grinned. "Let's skirt the town, head over those mountains and boom, we're at our destination. We can work out what to do about finding Zapdos if he's not there when we get there."

"No," Felkan suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention. "I want to go into the town."

…

…

…

…

"Excuse me, did I just hear that right?" Rika asked. "You, Felkan, who has always been for avoiding human settlements like the plague, wants to go into that town?"

"That is what I said," Felkan said grimly.

"But what about all that stuff about you not wanting yourself recognised?" Lopmon asked.

"That still applies. I don't. But I want to see if I can get a look at any news broadcasts that we can find," he replied. "Surely the world will know about what happened at Vermilion City with the S.S. Anne by now, and I want to know… how much they attribute my presence to the events there."

The rest of the group looked at one another, seeing the grim expression on Felkan's face, indicating that he did not look hopeful that the news would be good.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Aayla voiced. "All of you Digimon and myself were also seen by the passengers on that cruise ship and by many people on the shore in Rapidmon's case. Finding out what the people are making of all that right now would probably be a wise decision. It would help us measure how cautiously we should proceed in the future."

"I would imagine – very," Felkan muttered. "But that's what I meant, yes."

"Well, alright then," Terriermon grinned. "Let's pop in and see what we can see. Renamon's perception filter should be able to keep all of us hidden – even you Felkan, if you think your face will be on Wanted Posters all over the place by this point."

"Not…funny…" Felkan shot him a look.

"…Yeah, that kinda was in bad taste, wasn't it?" Terriermon looked sheepish. "Sorry about that."

"Momentai," Suicune smiled.

Renamon instantly clamped a paw over Terriermon's entire face to stifle the scream of tiny rage that she knew was coming any second after that. "Then let's get a move on," she said. "We should still be trying for that Power Plant as soon as we can."

* * *

So, the group headed over towards the distant form of Lavender Town. There was a long wooden walkway heading between the hills into the town – a vast construction project by the people of the Kanto region to produce a walkway that spanned the giant bay and connected Lavender Town to land that would take them in as short a possible route to both Vermilion and Fuchsia. Carefully staying out of sight of the fishermen that were stationed at various points across the this walkway, the team moved in and hopped off their mounts, Charizard and Garchomp being recalled to their Balls while the three Legendaries headed away, claiming that they would stay within mental contact from the Eon duo, but otherwise staying out of sight.

Renamon then raised her perception filter to cover all the non-humans of the group, as well as Felkan himself, who stepped back amongst them. The five Tamers, on the other hand, remained uncovered, walking forwards with Henry and Rika holding the hands of Ai and Mako respectively to make it seem like they were just on a little family outing to anyone who saw them. The invisible members of the group stayed close behind, to minimise the chances of someone bumping into them.

However, moments before they stepped into the town, Felkan momentarily hesitated pulling to a stop and taking a slow breath. He'd been nervous before about entering towns and other settlements but considering how he had been spotted yesterday – he was _far_ more jumpy this time around.

But he felt a hand settle on his shoulder and for a moment thought that Gardevoir had somehow gotten out of her Ball without him noticing – she was the one that usually made that gesture after all. But as he looked across he saw that it was Aayla instead, and she was giving him a similar re-assuring smile to that which Gardevoir so often graced him with.

"It'll be alright," she murmured. "Nobody can see you. And besides, we won't _let_ anything bad happen to you or your team. Not while we still breath."

Felkan looked into her brown eyes with his greenish-blue ones for a moment before the corner of his mouth twitched upwards into an ever-so slight _barely noticeable_ smile. Then they pressed on into the town.

"Head for the Pokémon Centre," he hissed to Henry. "They're usually the best places to go to if you want to catch up on the news."

Henry nodded and they began to try and search it out. Lavender Town wasn't particularly large, even by town standards. Most of the houses were small and almost cute, but the thing that mainly stood out about it was the huge Radio Tower that stretched into the sky up in the north-east corner and a large and very eerie look graveyard that the group walked past as they entered.

Ai and Mako shuddered as she saw it – they had never particularly been a fan of graveyards. Ghost stories had always frightened both of them, though perhaps Mako a little bit more than Ai. But they had both obtained a slightly greater fear of ghosts when they had learned that the ghostly Digimon MetalPhantomon had been sneaking into their room and putting sleeping spells on them so he could torment Impmon with visions of his past as a Demon Lord.

"That looks like a pretty sad place," Henry murmured as he stopped to look at it.

"It's a graveyard for Pokémon," Rika said, pointing to a sign outside the place. "They don't reform like a Digimon can do when it's deleted."

"Um… didn't the guide book say that ghosts were frequently seen in this town?" Suzie asked.

Ai and Mako both drew closer to one another at the thought, shivering slightly, but Renamon just murmured quietly, "Perhaps it would be better to focus on the actual objective here than worry about ghosts."

"Right, right, of course," Henry nodded, pushing down his curiosity and heading onwards, leading the group behind him.

It did not take them long to track down the Pokémon Centre – it was a fairly distinctive building and looked much the same as the one from Fuchsia City had. As they drew closer, Aayla quickly directed Impmon and the bunnies up and onto a roof nearby to keep a lookout as she and Renamon followed the humans inside, keeping Felkan within the perception filter. Terriermon and Lopmon grabbed Impmon and whooshed into a dark alleyway before they flapped up onto the nearest roof and kept low but watchful.

Felkan didn't need to wait for the news broadcast to appear about the S.S. Anne – it was all over the screens when they got there, which he was totally unsurprised by. There was a very large crowd of Pokémon trainers and numerous Pokémon all staring up at the screen with wide eyes and the Tamers pushed their way through for a better look, the three invisible figures trying to edge around to see for themselves.

"…almost all witnesses at the docks at the time agree that some kind of strange Pokémon that none of them had ever seen before appeared to warn them of the approaching ship, shouting out in human speech to get everyone to clear away," the news reporter was saying. "When combined with the reports from the many traumatised passengers on the ship and their words about how many other strange Pokémon attacked and swarmed the ship, it is difficult to categorically guess what the motives behind these creatures were.

"Many of the passengers have claimed that there were a few of these strange Pokémon fighting against most of invading ones and helping them to escape. Some people have speculated that they could be Pokémon that are at war in a far distant and undiscovered region of this world and that have recently brought the fight to our shores. Others say that they could be genetic experiments. Others even say that the whole thing could have been a mass hallucination along with a severe malfunction to the ship that caused all the damage.

"However, what cannot be ignored is that many Pokémon that _were_ recognisable were reported to be at the scene, including reports of three of the Legendary Pokémon – Latios, Latias and Suicune, who were helping to fight the invaders as well. And one other, rather disturbing report came in recently, and that was that many passengers, as well as the ship's captain, reported seeing an Absol on board the ship."

There was a collective gasp from the onlookers and Felkan shut his eyes and clenched his fist. Both Aayla and Renamon placed comforting and steadying hand and paw on his shoulders this time and continued to listen in.

"The Captain of the boat says that he saw the Absol standing with a bunch of other Pokémon that were seen battling on the ship, including some of the strangers. And we have him here now to talk about what he saw. Are you certain that you saw an Absol on your boat?"

The image switched the captain from yesterday, who nodded and said, "Yes, it was most definitely an Absol. No question about it. And it was not just any Absol either. There was no mistaking it – I have seen that particular Absol before. The group of Pokémon that it was standing with… they were exactly the same eleven Pokémon used by former Sinnoh tournament winner Felkan Spencer. And I know that I saw Felkan himself there, standing with them. He looked older than he was five years ago obviously, but as soon as I mentioned his name, he bolted. It was definitely him."

The news reporter took over again. "Viewers may remember that Felkan Spencer was once a Pokémon trainer from the Hoenn region that won the Sinnoh League five years ago, only to have his Absol bring a major disaster to the area of Hearthome city that destroyed many a good portion of the place. He went on the run when a warrant was issued for his arrest and the apprehending of his Absol, taking all twelve Pokémon with him even though League rules stipulate a maximum of six.

"He has not been seen knowingly by anyone for the last five years, supposedly until yesterday. One can only guess what he was doing on that cruise ship or how he got there that day but if his Absol was involved then it seemed pretty clear to me that it may have played a significant part in the destruction of the ship. With the news of his re-appearance the police are issuing a region-wide search for him…"

Felkan was already moving towards the door, Aayla and Renamon hurrying behind him to keep him in the perception filter. Renamon called out to the Tamers and they quickly turned around and headed out after them, trying not to draw attention to the fact that they were in a slight hurry.

Though, just as they were doing that, something else happened on the television that caught the attention of the retreating Tamers – suddenly a young woman darted in front of the camera and seized the microphone of the reporter to cry into it, "Wait, you can't just blame the Absol like that! That Absol saved my life! I was about to be burned alive by the fire from the kitchens and it protected me! You can't…" the microphone was wrenched from her hands and she was dragged off camera, still yelling about the innocent Absol.

The Tamers couldn't help but smile at that and hurried out to rejoin the others, guided via the mind-link to where they were standing invisibly nearby.

Felkan was muttering to himself, "…they'd blame Absol and me! I knew it! Why did I even bother coming into this place? I already knew what the answer would be."

"You shouldn't be so quick, Felkan," Henry whispered. "We just saw a woman on the TV saying that Absol couldn't have been part of that because he saved her."

"That's a small comfort and you know it. Nobody's going to listen to one or two people. They'll just see an Absol and panic. They always do. And you heard them – they're ready to implicate me as well. From now on, we can't go _anywhere_ near another settlement, alright?"

"I'm beginning to agree," Aayla said. "The situation is more delicate now. Sad to say it, but our association with Felkan here could be a hindrance, and I mean no offence there, Felkan. That captain saw all of us in the company of Felkan and his team. He'll probably already have given descriptions of us. If we go to the authorities now with this Digimon story… we might be the ones that end up getting into trouble."

"And we're needed to save the world from destruction," Henry muttered.

"Exactly," Aayla nodded. "For now I say we focus on that. We'll deal with this Digimon problem if it becomes more prominent. And when we have proof. We'll need to have some solid proof now before we can go to the police."

"That attack on the cruise ship wasn't proof enough?" Rika asked.

"Not really," Aayla said. "They all thought that the attacking Digimon and our own, including me presumably, were other Pokémon, and all they saw was an attack, not an invasion. We'll need something more undeniable than that. But, like I said, we have one objective to focus on already. Let us, for now, stick with that."

Felkan grimaced, his hands tightening slightly as he looked up, a new fire alight in his eyes now. "I'll do all I can," he murmured. "I have to. For my team, but especially for Absol. Everyone believes that Absol causes disasters. But I'm going to make sure that _my_ Absol _prevents_ one."

"Attaboy," Renamon punched him lightly on the shoulder.

* * *

"Things seem to be getting quite hairy, don't they?" muttered Impmon from his place on the roof, watching the group down below and having the course of the conversation relayed to him by Lopmon.

"You can say that again," Lopmon nodded. "But Aayla's right. We do have to focus more on finding the Legendaries. That's the task that Uxie gave to us and it's the one that the Pokémon World as a whole cannot defend itself against through power alone."

"True enough," Impmon nodded. "Come on, let's head back down to the alleyway so we can meet back up under the filter."

He turned to walk across the roof…

…and was immediately struck in the face by a purplish, disembodied fist that seemed to lance out of nowhere. He cried out in pain as he was sent bowling backwards; Terriermon and Lopmon spinning around just in time to grab him with their ears and stop him from falling off the roof, steadying him as he nursed his nose with a wince of pain.

"…the heck…?" Impmon muttered through his gloved hand

The disembodied, three-clawed, purple fist retracted until it was hovering next to another one, and the both of them were hovering in front of a strange purple creature with a roundish body that tapered off into a point, except for the spike like projections on either side of its face, which had a large, wide mouth with several purple teeth and large pink tongue easily visible inside, set below two white triangular eyes that were currently glaring at them.

"Who are you?" Terriermon asked. "A Pokémon?"

"A ghost?" Lopmon gasped, because it certainly looked like one.

"Intruders," the creature replied with a glare. "I've had enough of you strangers in this town! This is our home, not yours! Get out!"

"What…?" Terriermon asked, but didn't get much further because the disembodied fist lashed out again. The three of them scattered, but the fist swung around to follow Lopmon and crashed into her stomach, eliciting a gasp as the breath was knocked from her and she was sent rolling across the roof, winded.

"Oi!" Impmon growled. "You do not… touch… her!"

"Agreed," Terriermon raised his ears and launched himself at the thing, but its long pink tongue suddenly spilled from its mouth and splurged towards Terriermon, who quickly rolled aside to avoid it and flapped away to gain some distance.

"Did you just try and _lick_ me?" he demanded.

"I told you to get out," the creature growled and made for them again but it pulled back suddenly as Aayla suddenly bounded up out of the alleyway beneath them and landed between the combatants before a real fight could start, one lightsaber drawn and levelling it at the ghost-thing.

"Cease this immediately," she said. "Now… who are you? Are you a Pokémon?"

"He looks like a ghost to me," Lopmon reiterated.

"Of course I'm a Pokémon," huffed the creature. "Which you would know if you weren't one of _them_. I'm a Haunter, of course."

"Haunter?" Impmon raised a brow. "An appropriate name."

"He just tried to _lick_ me, Aayla," Terriermon shuddered. "What kind of being in their right mind tries to defeat an opponent by licking them?"

"I dunno, it could certainly stun them for a few moments," Aayla shrugged. "Not that I intend on trying it."

Terriermon suddenly laughed. "Like how you stunned Ventress with those weird sentences of yours when you fought her?"

"Yes. And now you've gone and put an image in my head I did not need," Aayla said, sheathing her lightsaber. She shook herself and shuddered. "Master Haunter, we are not enemies of Pokémon. We are friends, and we have only just arrived in this town and we will shortly be leaving. Please come down into the alley and talk to us. We have some questions for you."

Haunter narrowed his eyes, glancing suspiciously at the group of them, before he muttered, "Fine… but _one_ sniff of trouble…"

"You will not get one," Aayla assured him, and hopped off the roof, the three Digimon following on after her. The six humans and Renamon were waiting for them there. They turned to look up, expecting Haunter to follow them down, and were rather alarmed when he phased through the wall next to them, sending Ai and Mako running behind Impmon.

Haunter snickered. "That never gets old, I do admit."

"G-g-ghost!" Ai stuttered.

"It's a real ghost," shivered Mako. "Make it go away. I don't like dead things."

"Dead things?" Haunter looked offended. "I'm not dead! What on earth makes you say that I'm dead?!"

"But… you're a ghost, aren't you?" Ai asked.

"Of course," Haunter cried, then blinked… "Wait, you humans can understand me?"

"But ghosts are dead spirits, aren't they?" Suzie asked, frowning in confusion, ignoring his second question.

"I don't know about in your world," Felkan coughed. "But in this world there is a difference between ghosts and Ghosts. One is indeed the disembodied spirit of a long dead Pokémon and which many people believe don't exist, but then there is the Ghost-type Pokémon, like a Haunter, which are living beings as much as any other Pokémon but are called Ghost-types because of their mysterious abilities like floating and invisibility and intangibility and all that."

"Ah," Renamon nodded. "That makes sense. It's like Bakemon. They're Ghost Digimon but they're not dead either, are they? They can still be deleted. This explains why Lavender Town is famous for its Ghosts. There must be a number of you guys living here."

"Yes, there are," Haunter nodded his body, his eyes narrowing. "But it's funny you should mention Bakemon actually. I've had enough of those guys to last me the rest of my life and all of my unlife if I do end up having one when I _do_ die."

All the Digimon blinked. "You know what Bakemon are?" Terriermon asked.

"Of course!" Haunter cried. "They've been swarming through all our homes for the last couple of months now. We Ghost type Pokémon had a nice peaceful life here in the graveyard and in the shadows until those white-sheet-like gits started shoving us around and calling us weaklings. And those Phantomon – ugh, I _hate_ those guys. Damn Digimon."

"Wait, wait, hold up," Impmon waved his arms to slow Haunter down. "You're saying that a bunch of Ghost Digimon showed up in this town a couple of months ago?"

"Yes," nodded Haunter vehemently. "They just showed up totally out of nowhere. None of us Ghost Pokémon had any clue where they came from, but while we were able to put up a decent fight against the Bakemon, those Phantomon proved to be too much for us. They said that they were taking over our graveyard and pushed us all out. They've been here for the last two months or so, doing the things we used to do – skulking about in the shadows and spying on the humans and stuff. I mean, it's fun when we do it, but those outsiders doing it too? They just usurped our place in the town. And we were reduced to hiding in alleyways like this and staying out of sight even more than ever. It was like the town wasn't even our home anymore."

The group let that sink in. So the Digimon problem was indeed more widespread than they thought, and they were beginning to notice certain patterns. Ninja Digimon in the ninja city. Water Digimon near the port city. And now Ghost Digimon in the ghost town. Could those really all be mere coincidences as a result of the worlds merging and sending Digimon to places that seemed appropriate for the?

Doubtful.

"Wasn't?" Aayla asked, with a raised brow. "You say that it's like it 'wasn't' your town anymore, instead of 'isn't.' Past tense?"

"Well, yes," nodded Haunter. "For some reason all the Ghost Digimon cleared out this morning. They just vanished off the face of the earth and we were happy to be able to get back to our old haunting areas again. But then I saw you and I assumed that you were just another group of Digimon seeking to invade."

"Far from it," Renamon said. "We are the ones that fight against Digimon that do what those Ghost Digimon did to you. We are the good guys here. But it definitely seems that the problem is much more widespread than we thought. It can no longer be denied."

"But why would they all just leave this morning?" Impmon asked. "What brought on a mass exit like that?"

"We did," Aayla replied. "I think my earlier suspicions might have been confirmed by this. Something is definitely watching us and tracking our progress. Perhaps they saw us heading towards Lavender Town and got ahead of us to order the Digimon to leave before we got there. Maybe they didn't want us to find out that there was a Digimon problem here too and possibly make us think we had reached a point where the invasion was not present. But they didn't count on the local wild Pokémon blabbing to us."

"So, you're the good guys then, huh?" Haunter asked, with a grin. "Well, it makes me glad to know that I've spited some of those home invaders in the face somehow."

"Indeed, you have," Aayla nodded. "Thank you for your time Haunter – this has been most illuminating. It practically confirms both of the theories that we set down about the mass Digimon presence here. It doesn't totally confirm it, but it certainly makes it seem all the more likely."

"Still," Felkan folded his arms. "I believe that for now we were to focus on our other objective of gathering up the Legendary Pokémon. Even if we know this stuff, we still can't do anything about it yet, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Rika nodded. "We should probably get on and find Zapdos."

"Agreed," Aayla nodded. "Still, this was helpful nevertheless. Thank you, Haunter, for being so reasonable even if you thought we were invaders."

"Sure," Haunter grinned. "Sorry for beaning you in the nose," he nodded to Impmon. "And for trying to lick you, bunny," he added to Terriermon. "But come on, I'm a Ghost! I'm supposed to do creepy things like that."

"Plus Lick is an actual Pokémon move that can cause paralysis in a battle situation," Felkan replied.

"Well, apology accepted," Terriermon nodded. "But we should get going now."

"Everyone under the filter," Renamon quickly raised it. "We can meet up with the others at the north end of the town. Bye Haunter."

"See ya," Haunter waved one disembodied hand cheerfully as the group left the alley and walked away, not even slightly phased by the fact that half of them had just gone invisible – he was capable of doing that himself after all.

But, as Haunter turned around and headed deeper into the alley, a deep voice suddenly echoed around him, startling him completely and it was hard to startle a Ghost type. "So," the voice said. "Evidently those meddling Tamers and their partners are capable of somehow understanding the speech of you locals. I must admit I did not foresee that. I may as well have not bothered telling the Ghost Digimon to evacuate this morning. Now they know more than I wanted them to. I am not best pleased with that, my ghostly friend."

"Who are you?" Haunter cried, looking around at the seemingly empty alley.

But he never received an answer.

Instead, he balked as suddenly in front of him something began to rise upwards from the floor. But not _through_ the floor, per se. It was as if the shadows of the dark alleyway were congealing together and peeling off the ground, rising upwards to take on a more solid shape – a shape the size of an adult human and with a similar figure… but _nothing_ like a human in most other aspects. It was the shadow that had been following the Tamers and their group around since Fuchsia.

Haunter started backwards in alarm, but before he could do so much as blink, the figure growled, **"DEADLY GAZE!"**

Multiple beams of red light suddenly lanced outwards from various points across the dark figure, all homing in towards Haunter faster than bullets and crashing into him from all sides. Haunter only had time for a brief screech of pain before the life was stripped from him and he fell to the floor with a soft flumping noise, his body vanishing into a puff of smoke and dispersing to the wind as most Ghost types did when they died. Perhaps Haunter would come back as an _actual_ ghost at some point in the future, but right now, he was dead.

"I do not like those who spoil my plans," the figure said as it stepped forwards whipped a limb through what remained of the purplish smoke, and finally it stepped out into the light and became more clearly visible.

From head to toe, the figure was clad in deep black armour, covered with numerous spikes and lined at regular intervals with dark red across each of its four limbs and its torso. The only part of its body that was visible was its upper face and eyes, which were pale and had red irises respectively. The rest of his face was covered by a black mask that covered his mouth and a three-horned helmet that had three more red eyes painted on it.

But those were not his only eyes – there were bigger and wider eyes, all with red irises, situated at various points across his body. There was on either foot, which looked like they were peering out from the maw of a black fanged skull that made up the foot armour itself. There were two at each knee, just underneath a large spike that jutted upwards from each. There was a very large one in the centre of its chest and two more on each of its wide shoulder-guards. But there were not on his hands, because he didn't have hands. Instead the ends of his arms was a large black skull-like decoration that looked like it came from something like a hyena or some prehistoric beast.

To complete the image, long blond hair spilled out from his helmet and down his back, with some shorter strands falling over either shoulder.

To an innocent bystander from this world he would have looked like some nightmare apparition, but to someone well versed in the many Digimon that there were, they could probably tell you what this was… and they would say that actually, it _was_ practically a nightmare.

It was a Duskmon.

"Perhaps I have dilly-dallied in trying to sort out the situation with these Tamers and their companions a little too long," Duskmon mused to himself as he disappeared back into the shadows where the only thing about him that could be discerned was his outline and the glints from his many eyes, each of which roved around seemingly of their own accord. "Perhaps it is time that I went and reported this back… to the master."

He practically spat the last word, all his eyes narrowing as he used it, indicating that he was certainly not pleased about having to do so. But nevertheless, he turned on his heel, his body losing its solidity and melting back down into the alleyway at his feet until he was totally gone, leaving the alleyway totally empty once again, the shadows therein now shadows only.

* * *

But many, many miles away a moment later, another group of shadows congealed together and rose up, forming themselves into Duskmon once again.

This was Duskmon's main way of getting around long-distance quickly. He was able to travel between areas of dark shadow as if he was making some kind of portal through the darkness, forming into shadows himself in one place and reformatting in another place of dark shadows at will. That was how he had been keeping up with the fast movements of the travellers from Fuchsia to Lavender and he was able to cross to the other side of the world in an instant in this manner.

There limitations though. He couldn't appear just in any shadow for instance. Something as simple as the shadow cast by a tree when the sun shone on it was not good enough for that. It had to be proper, dense, deep shadows – shadows that were truly black. To that end the places that he could travel to during the day were limited to places like dark alleyways, caves, basements without windows and things like that.

At night though, there was virtually nowhere that Duskmon could not appear in an instant.

He was also capable of dwelling within the shadows for a brief time. He couldn't turn into a shadow himself but he could merge with the darkest shadows in a form of limbo that allowed him to hear what was going on nearby but he could only move about by leaving the shadow afterwards.

That was how he had been spying on the others in the alleyway without them noticing – even Aayla had not sensed his presence. He had got there in time to hear the start of their conversation about the ghosts in the town and he had heard some of the things they had been guessing, which had all been quite accurate actually. That Aayla being was clearly used to thinking clearly and logically. But Duskmon wasn't sure what to make of her. She wasn't a Digimon so could she be a Pokémon that was capable of speaking the same language as them? It stumped him.

Anyway, now his eyes roved around and took in the whole area around him without Duskmon having to do so much as turn his head. It was next to impossible to sneak up on him in any direction because of this and right now he was seeing nothing out of the ordinary. He was standing in the shadows of a great maw-like cave that opened into the side of an enormous, jagged rock formation that jutted out of the ocean with a small shore surrounding it. It stretched up into the sky like a small mountain but to most people it would probably seem like just a hunk of stone sticking out of the ocean. Just the top of an old sea-mount piercing the surface of the water.

Not so really, for inside practically the entire thing was hollow. And it had been made more hollow in the last six months since Duskmon had first got here.

He stepped inside, melding into the darkness with ease once again as he made his way through the interior structure. The walls were lined with torches that were constantly flaming and several rocky corridors stretched off in every direction, leading to various parts of the fortress, for that was practically what this place could be called – it had been made into a fortress that looked just like a lump of rock.

Not to mention the place was swarming with various Digimon of all kinds. There were swathes of Bakemon and Phantomon – the same ones that he had sent back here from Lavender Town that very morning – who all parted to let him through with wide-eyed respect obvious on their faces, added in with a fair amount of fear. There were many ninja Digimon dodging about the place – ones that had not been part of the spying in Fuchsia City.

There were a few Devimon scattered throughout the place, along with a couple of IceDevimon – not related to the one that had been at the Seafoam Islands – and of course a few LadyDevimon too, all of whom bowed their heads in respect to him as he passed. There were a couple of Ogremon and Fugamon batting at each other with their cudgels to keep themselves in shape, as they put it. And there were two SkullSatamon that saluted him with their staffs, standing guard on either side of a corridor as Duskmon walked through between them and into the tunnel.

And Duskmon knew that that was a portion of the force that was here – there were many others scattered throughout the various places in the fortress. And some of the others… well… some of the others… were a _long_ way away, yet still within very easy reach of their master.

As Duskmon walked down the corridor, he suddenly found his path blocked by a towering figure coming the other way that could only just fit within, the top of his head mere inches from the roof of the pass. Duskmon knew who this was and immediately dropped to his knee, the eye set in it shutting to avoid being pressed into the ground open.

"Master," Duskmon said, managing to keep most of the venom out of his voice.

"Duskmon," the taller being replied, in a voice that was also deep, but much richer and almost well-mannered, as if the person doing the speaking was a courteous one. But Duskmon knew full well that courteous was definitely _not_ a word that could be used to describe this being. "I trust that you have some interesting news to report, otherwise you would not be here now."

"Yes, my lord," Duskmon nodded, looking up at him through narrowed eyes. "I bring news that might be not… be considered good."

"Oh?" the Digimon replied. "Do tell."

Duskmon looked at him for a second. The Digimon was not only tall but he was also quite broad. Like Duskmon he was covered in armour that was mostly black, covering his long legs, and rather small looking arms, as well as much of his torso, from his quite narrow hips to his much, much broader chest. However the armour across his front and face and around his neck was silver and the top of his head, which was adorned with two curved devil-like horns, was gold – as was the enormous spikes jutting up from the toe section of either of his feet, the smaller spikes on his knees and the long jagged adornment on his chest that stuck out to either side.

On his left shoulder, there was a shape that looked like another small helmet looking off to the side, with a metal visor that resembled a medieval sallet and two small red devil horns jutting out to either side. On his other shoulder however, was a truly _massive_ black axe blade, which curved down past the end of his arm and had two separate prongs one up by the shoulder that pointed down and had additional golden spikes jutting out of it while the other larger one was down at the bottom and curved upwards instead.

And gripped in his left hand was a huge double-ended spear, a narrow handle set in the middle that joined the two silver bases that held the giant red spear points that extended from them. The spear was even taller than the Digimon itself and had to be held diagonally to even fit through the tunnel.

He was the one at the top of the food chain here. He was the Digimon that was ultimately in charge of the invading armies.

"Lord DarkKnightmon," Duskmon bowed his head once again. "I am afraid to report that a group of Tamers have been seen in the Pokémon World recently. I have confirmed their existence as true and have followed them for over a day now to learn more about them and how much they know of us. It seems they are aware that there is something going on in this world related to a Digimon invasion, but they do not yet know its full extent."

"Is that so?" DarkKnightmon said, his voice as calm as it had been at the start of the conversation as he loomed over Duskmon's bowed form.

"Yes, my lord," Duskmon nodded. "And I have to report sir, that the Digimon partners they have brought with them are none other than the Prophecy Trio who took down Ogudomon and the former Demon Lord Beelzemon himself."

"Oh my," DarkKnightmon replied. "Whatever shall we do?"

"I don't know, sir, but they are strong. I did not recognise them for who they were at first, but when I got closer I was able to recognise them. And they appear to have joined up with a band of locals to carry out a mission of some kind. I am not sure of the details, but I believe it has something to do with finding all of the Pokémon who are known as… Legendaries."

"Interesting," DarkKnightmon mused, and Duskmon was beginning to catch the rather sinister tone in his voice now, which made him shift a little bit.

Before either of them could say anything else though, there was a shrieking noise from down the corridor behind DarkKnightmon, drawing Duskmon's eye past the master to see an bright orange glow emanating from around the corner briefly before fading away again, restoring the place to relative blackness, though there was a certain amount of flickering light that remained.

"Ignore my prize, Duskmon," DarkKnightmon ordered, stepping forwards and forcing Duskmon to move to one side to allow him to pass, which was not easy considering DarkKnightmon practically filled the corridor. "And may I ask you one thing, Duskmon?"

"Naturally, sir," Duskmon replied.

"Why did you order that attack on that giant human vessel?" DarkKnightmon asked, his voice dropping to a level so low that Duskmon knew it was starting to get dangerous. DarkKnightmon stopped walking as he asked the question, forcing Duskmon to stop too. The larger Digimon did not turn around and just stood there, waiting contemptuously for Duskmon's reply.

"The vessel?" Duskmon asked, hesitating and trying to think of the best way to phrase his answer.

"Yes, the vessel," nodded DarkKnightmon. "One of the lucky surviving Divermon that took part in that battle returned this morning and told me all about it."

"I… I just thought, my lord, that… well it was supposed to be a test, my lord. To see how powerful they really are. That was before I knew that the former Beelzemon was a part of their number of course, but… but I was trying to analyse the opponent and see what they were capable of, as you are always saying we should do."

"And you decided to implement that test by mounting a full scale assault on a place piled high with humans, did you?" DarkKnightmon asked, still not turning around.

"It was some way off the coast, my lord," Duskmon answered, his voice becoming a little strained now. "I thought that most of the people on it would succumb to the attack easily, but I was trying to draw the Tamers and their friends out to take action against it. I knew that they would sense the presence of nearby Digimon once we began the attack so I assumed that they would be the only ones on shore to realise that something was going on and that by then it would have been too late."

"I see," DarkKnightmon replied softly. "And you didn't think it best to consult me or ask for my permission before issuing the instructions yourself, did you?"

"Well, sir… I was merely trying to direct the forces in the region like you instructed me to yourself."

"Well it's a good thing to know that you can remember some of my instructions," DarkKnightmon then turned around to face him, peering down at him with his yellow pupil-less eyes. "But you clearly don't seem to remember all of them because I also recall saying that we were not to show ourselves to humans yet under any circumstances, did I not?"

"Yes…" Duskmon said slowly. "Yes, sir, you did say that. But I assumed that…"

DarkKnightmon suddenly swung the massive spear outwards and crashed the side of it into Duskmon's flank, eliciting a howl of pain as he was tossed hard against the rock wall and slumped to the ground, clutching his side and breathing heavily.

"Never assume anything in war, Duskmon," DarkKnightmon's voice said menacingly, but still didn't rise in volume – Duskmon could never recall a time when it had. "I would have thought the Demon Lords had impressed something like upon you themselves. But then again, they rushed into the trap of the Sovereigns so I suppose they can't have been as omniscient and omnipotent as you would believe they were, eh?"

"No… Master," Duskmon growled lowly as he pushed himself back up, the growl coming from a mixture of pain and rage at DarkKnightmon's words, but he managed to keep his anger in check.

DarkKnightmon thudded one tip of the double-spear into the ground and said, "I instructed you to keep a low profile, Duskmon and you have disappointed me. We are not meant to be bringing all out attacks on this world's humans just yet. We are still meant to be watching from the shadows only, monitoring them and learning all we can about them before we decide to make our move against them."

"I… I understand that, sir," Duskmon grunted. "But… but surely now…"

"You would disagree with me?" DarkKnightmon asked icily.

"No, it's just…" Duskmon hissed. "Surely by now we are ready. We have been in this Pokémon World now for half a year. We have been all over its four supposed regions during that time, watching the humans and gathering all the information we can about their society and the Pokémon scum that live with them. How much longer must we watch until we are ready to initiate the next phase?"

"Until I say that we are ready," DarkKnightmon stated ominously. "And I will be the judge of when that is. You are making the same mistake as countless others who wish for darkness to rule have in the past, Duskmon – underestimating the enemy. There is no count for just how many of our brethren have fallen due to that fatal flaw, believing themselves to be superior to all and assuming that nobody else can beat them through mind or body. Would you like some examples?"

Duskmon said nothing, knowing that he was going to get those examples anyway.

"Your precious Seven Great Demon Lords," DarkKnightmon stated. "They were starting to believe themselves invincible, but then one of them got too big for his data and took on an angel Digimon, which in turn led to the downfall of Lucemon, Lilithmon and even your beloved Master, Daemon, at the hands of the Sovereigns," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "Do you remember the shock you felt when Barbamon and Leviamon returned to the Dark Ocean and you heard that your Master had actually perished. I believe that you were stunned beyond belief, weren't you? You believed as much as he did that he would never be bested in combat. And look where that got you."

Duskmon growled lowly under his breath, clenching the teeth in his mouth and on the skulls that were where both of his hands were supposed to be in anger.

* * *

What DarkKnightmon said was true. Duskmon had once been a personal servant and assassin of the Great Demon Lords themselves. He had lived within the walls of their very own manor within the Dark Ocean, a privilege that almost nobody else could lay claim to, and as they began their reign of terror he would be assigned to do single missions that they felt were beneath their notice or they were unable to do being otherwise occupied as they were. Duskmon had not cared that they were merely sloughing off what they could not be bothered to do to him – he had taken great pride in what he did, callously murdering the innocent Digimon of the Digital World in the Demon Lords' names.

Most specifically Daemon's name. Daemon had been the second most powerful of the Demon Lords after Lucemon himself, and it had been him that had taken up the idea of getting themselves a personal assassin, which Lucemon had agreed to. Daemon had hand-picked several of the toughest members of the Nightmare Soldiers and pitted them against each other in a brutal tournament to decide who would gain the place. There had been no survivors except one – Duskmon himself – standing victorious with sword raised in the air and pride that could have rivalled Lucemon's blazing in his heart.

But his journey had not ended there. Though he had won the tournament, Daemon had taken him back with them and begun training sessions that were even more ruthless than the fighting in the tournament had been. Duskmon had reached the brink of death dozens of times during the intense course that Daemon put him through, never showing any mercy and sending him on missions to eliminate some of the more powerful members amongst the Nightmare Soldiers own ranks simply to increase his strength.

It had been utterly brutal and had left Duskmon broken and burnt and exhausted many, many times.

But he had endured and strove on, determined to earn this position amongst the ranks of his idols – he had joined the Nightmare Soldiers young and had practically worshipped them as gods, which pleased Lucemon no end. Though technically joined might not have been the right word – he had been taken to the Dark Ocean by them by force in their recruiting campaign and had been severely twisted and warped by everything that the Dark Ocean was during his time there until he had become nothing but a soulless monster, idolising the brutality, strength and violence of the mighty Demon Lords.

And eventually he had persevered and been named the official assassin of the Demon Lords. A savage pleasure had filled his blackened heart every time they gave him a mission and he took it on absolutely without question, regardless of what they put him up against. And he was given the task of rooting out any traitorous thoughts amongst the ranks of the other Nightmare Soldiers, slaying anyone who even said a word crosswise about any of the Seven.

Duskmon was a truly twisted, cruel and contaminated being now. There was no mercy anywhere in his body. He was intent on only one thing – continuing to kill in the name of the Demon Lords that had otherwise perished. And he alone had the honour of being allowed to live amongst the Seven themselves.

Except for that little pet of Lucemon's of course, but she hardly counted.

After the Demon Lords had been killed though, he had been utterly mortified, wondering what in the world he was supposed to do now. After Leviamon and Barbamon had gone out and forced themselves to merge into Ogudomon, but had then been imprisoned by the Sovereigns, he had been at even more of a loss. With all of the Seven gone or unable to return to the Dark Ocean, what were the Nightmare Soldiers supposed to do. They couldn't even _leave_. They had been trapped there.

GranDracmon, the true ruler of the Dark Ocean, had rounded most of the Nightmare Soldiers up for himself, making it into his own army. He'd never cared much for that sort of thing before, which was why Duskmon had not idolised him as he had with the Demon Lords, who were all individually less powerful.

But Duskmon had not been content with simply switching over to a new Master, so he had rounded up a group of the Nightmare Soldiers who had been most loyal, along with several others, and secluded themselves in a portion of the Dark Ocean a fair distance away around their manor, trying to stay true to the things that the Demon Lords had shown them and refusing to accept GranDracmon's rule. GranDracmon had let them be. They were no threat to him, and he really didn't care much about them anyway.

* * *

DarkKnightmon was still talking, giving Duskmon a fierce glare. "And even when Ogudomon broke out the second time he thought that he could surely prevail by getting Belphemon to destroy the portals to the Digital World as well as all of the Digi-Gnomes so he could take the Human World for himself, but he was wrong again – he underestimated his opponents and paid for it with his life."

"And of course there was GranDracmon, who eventually began to get dreams to rule of his own, malcontent with his life in the Dark Ocean and desiring more. And in his arrogance he assumed that he would be untouchable within his world, but he was still thwarted. You remember that time well, don't you Duskmon? We were all there, weren't we? We saw everything."

Duskmon said nothing, but DarkKnightmon was right. He had been there. He and several others of his renegade group had watched from a short distance away as GranDracmon made his plans. Duskmon had not known what infuriated him more – the fact that Beelzemon had turned good, or the fact that GranDracmon was trying to create a brand new Belphemon with the use of Beelzemon's data. This was practically blasphemous to Duskmon – there was only one true Belphemon and the was the original Demon Lord.

Yet he had done nothing against it. How could he? He and his band had not been powerful enough.

But they had watched from relative safety and in astonishment as the group of invaders appeared and fought tooth and nail against their former comrades and GranDracmon and beat them back as much as they could. They had seen Beelzemon taking to the field in his new heavenly form and switching in to Fatemon every now again and they had watched with astonishment as the Nightmare Soldier army, except for their group, was utterly annihilated and GranDracmon was forced out of the universe he had created by the very Belphemon he had created, though of course it was under the control of that Rosemon at the time.

GranDracmon had not returned.

"And now I am the Master," DarkKnightmon said. "Is that clear?" he suddenly slammed his spear in again and slammed Duskmon into the opposite wall and pinned him there, the point of the spear hovering right before the eye in Duskmon's chest, DarkKnightmon leaning down to glare into Duskmon's face. "You may have been in charge of us once, Duskmon – the last remnants of the Nightmare Soldiers, but no more. Now, it is I that makes the decisions. I would have thought after a year of being my subordinate this would have sunk in by now. Do you need reminding once again?"

Duskmon resisted the urge to snarl in irritation, remembering what had happened a year ago that had led to this moment. With GranDracmon destroyed in the Heavens, the Dark Ocean had rapidly become unstable, resulting in tremors that shook the place, churning the ink-like water, throwing up massive explosions of sand from the beach, bringing the massive fortress that GranDracmon once called home crashing to the ground. The Nightmare Soldiers that remained from the renegade group were in a panic – admittedly even Duskmon himself. Was this it for them? Were they about to die here?

No, they were not.

For a conniving SkullKnightmon that was one of Duskmon's top officers amongst the small group, had immediately turned the situation to his own advantage. He and his brother – a DeadlyAxemon – had started doing what none of the others had thought to do; they had started absorbing the Powers of Darkness that the entire Dark Ocean was totally steeped in. With GranDracmon no longer the lord of the place, he was no longer the only one that could control it, and the SkullKnightmon and DeadlyAxemon had taken what they could into themselves and forced a DNA Digivolution between them, turning them into DarkKnightmon – the single being that now stood before Duskmon.

DarkKnightmon had been their saving grace that day, for he had a special power that none had known about until then except perhaps the two of them themselves. Even GranDracmon had not known about what would happen if they became a DarkKnightmon – if he had then he might not have needed to go to such trouble to get a Demon Lord once again. For the axe on DarkKnightmon's shoulder was capable of slicing through the fabric of reality and creating a portal across the Digital barrier to the main Digital World. If you could call it a portal – it was, quite literally a tear in the fabric of space itself.

DarkKnightmon had hurtled through and the rest of the group had quickly followed, piling out into the Digital World moments before the Dark Ocean was obliterated and the tear slammed shut. They were safe. They were free at last.

But even as Duskmon had started rejoicing and coming up with ideas about how they could continue fighting in the name of the Demon Lords, DarkKnightmon had suddenly knocked him to the ground and pinned him there underneath one massive foot.

"I hope you're grateful, Duskmon," he had said. "I have just saved all of your lives, after all. But I also hope that you realise that it is now I who am in control. I am the leader now, and you are now the one that obeys me. Is that understood?"

Duskmon had been furious, but although he had challenged DarkKnightmon to a fight, he had lost quite soundly. The Powers of Darkness that DarkKnightmon had absorbed had congealed and filled every space within him, dramatically raising his power level to that far beyond that which it had been before. Duskmon hated to admit it, but in terms of power, DarkKnightmon was probably level with some of the Demon Lords themselves.

And while Duskmon had been one of their most skilled warriors, able to deal with Ultimates and even some Megas despite his Champion level, he had never been a match for the Demon Lords themselves.

He was forced to admit defeat, and now DarkKnightmon was in control. Duskmon had loathed every moment of it, and still did, hating the fact that he was serving against someone who was using what the Demon Lords had constructed, the darkness that they had helped to spread and that he was now forced to serve him instead.

"I…" he coughed as the spear pressed even closer towards his chest-eye. "I am sorry, my lord. I will not be so presumptuous again."

"See to it that that is not a lie," DarkKnightmon said, withdrawing the spear, but still slamming Duskmon in the side again for good measure and sending him sprawling. "Your actions have displeased me, Duskmon. You are an assassin, not a leader, and I would advise you to remember that.

"Your rash and idiotic decision to have that cruise ship attacked as a supposed test has now done two things. It has alerted the humans of this world that we are now among them, or at least that something strange is happening. They will be on guard now and that is something that we have managed to avoid so far because they cannot understand most of the Pokémon that _have_ managed to see us."

"But more importantly, your actions have alerted those Tamers and their partners of which you speak that we are here and that we are onto them. If you have followed my instructions they could have thought the Digimon they did find in this universe were only here by chance, or at least had very little to back up any theories of it. That's not the case now."

"Sorry, Master," Duskmon pushed himself up. "It was… foolish of me," he said, through gritted teeth.

"I still don't particularly like your tone, Duskmon," DarkKnightmon said warningly. "If it were not for the fact you are still a valuable member of this army then you would be dead already. But another stupid decision like _that_, and I will not spare you next time."

"I understand," Duskmon replied, bowing his head. "I shall endeavour to keep to my… better skills… in the future."

"Good," DarkKnightmon nodded. "Because I will not be like all of them, merely assuming that I am greater than the enemy and blundering about like a rampaging Rhinomon to try and crush everything underfoot. Even if you are arrogant enough to believe we Digimon are capable of crushing the inhabitants of this world, do not let your arrogance presume that you can undermine my authority."

Duskmon said nothing, but nodded his head.

DarkKnightmon turned and walked away, Duskmon following on behind him like an obedient dog and hating the thought of it even as he did it. There was another screech from the tunnel behind him, but this time Duskmon ignored it except for his shoulder-eyes to swivel backwards and see that orange glow flare up and then die again.

"Now," DarkKnightmon said. "I understand why you may be frustrated after our long wait, but I assure you that it will not be long now before we do begin to make our moves. But there are still some things that we must sort out – most prominently of those being finding a way to deal with the inhabitants of this world who are capable of opposing us."

"There are almost none who can claim such a thing, surely," growled Duskmon.

"Arrogance, arrogance," DarkKnightmon shook his head. "You mark my words it will be the end of you. However, you are not correct, Duskmon. From what our countless spies across this world have told us, there are those out there who might be capable of providing us with those hurdles we will need to cross. But I still believe that we can take this world, for those inhabitants are still not as strong as the mighty Sovereigns from back home."

Duskmon nodded. He remembered all of this too. DarkKnightmon and the last of the Nightmare Soldiers had immediately gone into hiding after they had exited the Dark Ocean, staying in the shadows and deliberately not drawing any attention to themselves. For they knew that now they were in the Digital World, they were in the territory of the Digimon Sovereigns. The Demon Lords themselves had been no match for the four of them, especially not together. Get their attention and they wouldn't stand a chance.

Even Duskmon wouldn't presume that they could defeat the Sovereigns. Conquering the Digital World was beyond their reach and they knew it.

However, DarkKnightmon was not content with hiding in the shadows forever. He did want a world to rule, so he had been casting about while in the shadows, his spies searching for potential candidates that would be interested in joining his army. There were a surprising number of them, but the Digital World was so jam-packed with thousands upon thousands of Digimon that in reality the number that they got was still a small minority. That had been how Digimon like Pukumon and the water and ninja Digimon had come to join their army, for they had not been original Nightmare Soldiers themselves.

DarkKnightmon had considered taking the Human World instead, but he knew that was a stupid idea. The Human World had the Tamers in it, and while DarkKnightmon knew most humans were pitifully weak, he would not underestimate them, for each of them had the ability to get to the Mega level and had been directly involved in Ogudomon's final death.

Plus, the Sovereigns were on good terms with the Tamers. If it looked like DarkKnightmon was going to win they'd call for help and the Sovereigns would come. So that was no good.

He had needed place that was totally unconnected from the Sovereigns. Somewhere where there was definitely a chance of gaining a victory.

And thanks to the power of his Super-Dimensional Axe, he had been able to get to one.

Admittedly he had very little idea about which dimension he would end up in or what it would be like when he got there, but he was still capable of deciding which universe he could make a portal to if he knew which one he wanted to get to. But the first time he had been totally in the dark. Still, six months or so after they had escaped the Dark Ocean – six months of hiding in the shadows and recruiting – and he made the first huge rip in the fabric of the universe as he tore a hole across the barrier between this Digital World and a random nearby universe.

And that universe had been unlucky enough to be the Pokémon World.

It had therefore been DarkKnightmon that had been the one that helped Rika's IceDevimon nemesis out of the Dark Ocean and into the Pokémon World. He was the 'he' that IceDevimon had been referring to when he spoke to the group that destroyed him.

But DarkKnightmon still wasn't about to assume he could walk all over this place. Hence the spying and the continued hiding. And he had learned much over that time.

"There are guardians of this world just as there are to the Digital World," he stated as he walked along, stepping outside onto a narrow ledge that overlooked the wide, blue ocean, sweeping out in all directions around their fortress that they had carved and built for themselves here during that time inside the rock.

"Not as powerful as the Sovereigns," he went on. "At least not in most cases as I am led to believe. But still very formidable. Those Legendary Pokémon – our spies have heard whispers of them everywhere. They are our biggest hurdle. They are supposedly the ones that guard this world from the biggest threats, such as us. It is they that we must eliminate if we want to be sure of conquering this world.

"Them and he more powerful of the human Pokémon trainers. And don't you dare scoff, Duskmon. I know for a fact that one of those trainers with the more powerful ordinary Pokémon took part in the defence of that ship that you so idiotically attacked, and those Pokémon – those weakling scumbags – were able to take out dozens of Pukumon's forces.

"And then there are those like the Gym Leaders and the Elite Fours that we have heard tell of, not to mention the Champions. We are still learning all we can about them too, for their Pokémon are considered to be far stronger than those belonging to most. They must be eliminated too, to ensure our success. And preferably before they know anything about us," he added pointedly.

"However," he turned around to face Duskmon. "These Tamers right now are my biggest concern. They are the ones that I must find out more about. I need to know more. How did they come to be in this world? What is their purpose here? And most importantly, is there a chance they can bring the Sovereigns here too? Because if there is then we must ensure to eliminate it or them first."

"I can eliminate them," Duskmon chuckled with a sinister growl, a long thin sword suddenly shooting out from between the gap in the teeth of his left hand-skull. "After all, as you say, I am an assassin."

"No," DarkKnightmon slammed his spear down a mere foot from Duskmon, causing him to flinch. "Did you not hear what I said? I said that we must _learn_ about them first. We must find out things. If we eliminate them now, how do we know that the rest of the Tamers are not capable of coming here themselves. Information is power, Duskmon. And I happen to quite like power. Plus, you also said that you overheard them say they are searching for the Legendary Pokémon."

"Yes, sir. I believe some of those Legendaries may already be a part of their group, though I cannot say for certain."

"All the better," DarkKnightmon said. "We still know frustratingly little about most of the Legendary Pokémon. Perhaps they are the ones who can teach us more. And if they are searching for them, they may lead us straight to some of them. To that end, you are to begin your personal mission, Duskmon. I shall put Phelesmon in charge of the other spies for now, but I want you to personally continue to spy on those Tamers and their companions.

"Learn more about who they are, what they can do _without_ attacking them to find out, and what they know about us and about what ourselves want to know. But you are not to kill or even show yourself to any of them. They must not know that you are there. Am I clear on this?"

"Yes, my lord," Duskmon said. "It shall be easy."

"I sincerely hope you are right," DarkKnightmon stated, with no attempt to disguise the threat laced beneath the words. "However, you shall not be alone in this venture. Your powers of staying hidden are limited during the day. I shall be allowing our newcomer to join you on this spy mission."

"Her?" Duskmon suddenly spat. "You're making me work with that…!"

DarkKnightmon's spear was in his face moments later. "Your insubordination is getting tiresome. You will work with her if I instruct you to, and I _do_ instruct you to. In fact, she is already here, aren't you, my dear?"

Duskmon's eyes swung around wildly, searching for any sign of his new comrade and he flinched and hissed as she faded out of nowhere a mere three feet from his left, brandishing his sword warningly. The shadowy figure standing beside him was another one that he _hated_, because not only could he understand why DarkKnightmon had allied with the likes of her, but because she was one of the only people he knew capable of sneaking up on him. A trait he _loathed_ above all else.

"Are you ready to take on this mission, my little friend?" DarkKnightmon asked the half-concealed shape.

_I am,_ a telepathic voice echoed in both their heads, the being's intense and piercing blue eyes locked on Duskmon warily. _As long as he keeps his swords to himself._

"Then why are you both still here?" DarkKnightmon asked. "Duskmon, take her back with you with your shadow-travelling. And I warn you, neither of you fail me."

Duskmon growled as he stepped towards her, raising an arm towards her, but she raised her own and placed it on his arm instead, her three red claws latching on, clearly not trusting his swords anywhere near her. Duskmon scowled, but bowed to DarkKnightmon reluctantly and shadow-travelled away warping his new, reluctant partner down with him and out of side into the darkness.

* * *

Well, wasn't that interesting. Hehehe. I hope that all of that made sense and everything but I believe that it is all fairly straightforwards. We've got some mysteries revealed now and one or two others added to the mix. Hehehe. Kudos to anyone that may have guessed that the dark figure trailing the group was a Duskmon, and kudos to anyone who might be able to guess who the new female figure is. But if you do want to guess then please PM me with it instead of putting it in the review. I'll tell you if you're right, but I hope you can keep it under your hats until I decide to reveal it myself.

Anyway, TTFN all. I'll be back soon.

* * *

Next time…

Back in the Digital World, the group follows the directions given to them by the Royal Knights to begin their own journey, starting off in the search for Dorumon – the lower form of Alphamon. But Takato and Guilmon are a little distracted from their efforts, both wondering still what the dynamic between them really is. Meanwhile, an entirely unrelated person is about to find that they got a bit more than they bargained for when they woke up this morning.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 30: Pair Bond**


	30. Pair Bond

Hello there everybody. Here with the latest instalment of this saga, I am. Hehehe. This chapter ended up being a little longer than usual because of some important explanations and stuff that happened close to the end that I couldn't really condense down, but still, who cares right? It's a little more reading for you guys and I certainly enjoyed writing this chapter, even though a lot of it involves conversation and personal reflection. Still, it is fairly important, so I hope that you enjoy it.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 30:- Pair Bond**

* * *

"So… let me get this straight," Kazu said, from the back of the Mammothmon that he was riding. "In order to save the Digital World and wake up Fanglongmon, we have to make sure that all of the Royal Knights are gathered together, including their leader Alphamon."

"And we also have to find their founder, Imperialdramon," Kenta went on with some excitement at the prospect of seeing such an iconic Digimon from the series he so came to love.

Kazu took over again with, "And we also need to make sure that all the Royal Knights are in their actual Royal Knight forms but the main problem with that is that Alphamon is currently only at the Rookie level, meaning that we have to figure out a way of getting him back to his über-powerful Mega stage in however much time we have left before the end of the world."

"And then once we have all the Royal Knights gathered together they can restore Imperialdramon to his super-cool Paladin Mode, so that he can head up to the Heavens and poke Fanglongmon with his sword until he wakes up," Kenta added.

"And then Fanglongmon will be able to save the world, assuming that the guys who went over to the other one accomplish their task of waking up the God of Pokémon over there as well," Kazu finished.

"That about sums it up as far as I can see," Takato nodded. "That's what Omnimon and the other Royal Knights told us anyway."

"Awesome!" Kenta cried.

"I am still _fuming_ that you got to meet and talk with an Omnimon and I didn't," Kazu grumbled. "Just so you know, I'm pretty mad at you right now."

"Why me?" Takato objected. "You're the one that failed that courage test that they gave us."

"Takato, you could phrase that a little nicer," Jeri chided him from where she was sitting with her arms wrapped around him to help her stay on the back of their Mammothmon.

"Sorry, that wasn't meant to sound rude, but the point that it's not my fault stands. Besides, they were a little bit… odd… They started talking about the Big Bang Theory when we were supposed to be talking about the end of the world."

"That just makes them even _more_ awesome to me!" Kenta cried. "Do you think we'll be able to meet all of them when we finish all of this, Takato? Like, actually meet and talk to Omnimon and Magnamon and Imperialdramon."

"Probably," Takato nodded.

"AWESOME!" Kazu and Kenta cheered at the same time.

"Would you please stop shouting in my ear?!" one of the Mammothmon trumpeted as he probed the snow in front of him with his trunk to search for hidden pitfalls.

"Sorry," the two of them mumbled.

Every one of the Tamers was currently back in the efficient winter-wear that had been given them by Yamaki when they learned they would be heading for the Tundra Level, and they were now all back on top of the herd of Mammothmon, who had sportingly agreed to help take them back to the edge of the Tundra Level. The SnowAgumon that had helped show them the way was still with the group, perched on the Mammothmon at the front to guide them back in the direction of his house to drop them off.

The combination of the winter gear and the Mammothmon's furry pelts was enough to keep most of the Tamers' bodies warm despite the biting wind around them. And it looked like there would be another blizzard rolling in soon, so they all hoped that they wouldn't be anywhere near here when it finally did.

The group knew it would probably take the better part of the day for even the Mammothmon to reach the edge of the Tundra Level so that they could begin their quest properly, so in the meantime they pre-occupied themselves with discussing the things they had learned and trying to formulate a plan of action of some kind.

Though admittedly, none of them were doing the best job at that latter point.

"Where did Omnimon say that Alphamon's Rookie form lives?" Jeri asked. "And what was his name at the moment again?"

"Dorumon," Guilmon supplied. "That's what Omnimon called him. He said he was on the Desert Level, a short walk's distance away from where Jijimon and Babamon live in their hut."

"Oh please tell me we're going to skirt around them," Jeri asked.

"Hey! Jijimon and Babamon were pretty cool when we met them," Kazu objected.

"Maybe they were friendly, but I seem to recall Rika telling me that when you first met them and you tried to ask them to be your Digimon, they somehow wound up being the Tamers and making the two of _you_ fight each other instead," Jeri chuckled.

"To be honest, that just makes them awesome," Elecmon chuckled. "Regardless, I heard that they fight all the time, though I've of course never met them."

"They were pretty good fighters against Ogudomon," Ryo said, speaking for the first time in a while. He had been pretty quiet for a while ever since the Royal Knight test that he had failed. "But regardless we won't be there to hang around and catch up with old friends like them. We need to focus on our objective, and our objective currently is to find and raise Alphamon back up to his Mega form."

"That's certainly right," Guardromon agreed with a raised fist. "I would much rather we stayed clear of my personal competition, thank you very much."

"Jijimon wasn't your competition, Guardromon!" Kazu protested. "I was just desperate for a partner at the time. But you're the one that I bonded with, not him."

"Oh it lifts my circuits to hear you say that Kazu," Guardromon said. "We are still the great team we've always been. Huzzah!"

"You and me, Kenta?" MarineAngemon poked his head out of Kenta's cosy pocket.

"Oh, of course, you're the only partner for me too little guy," Kenta smiled.

"Yay! Happy, happy, happy," MarineAngemon grinned before ducking back down out of sight.

Jeri, meanwhile, was looking across at Ryo. "Ryo… what exactly happened to you back there? When you saw those visions that the Royal Knights showed you? I… I saw the whole thing with the D-Reaper going on in my head again and I… I was pretty shook up. But you were even worse than I was."

"Yeah, and I saw the thing with Megidramon again," Takato nodded. "What was so bad that it made you like that, Ryo?"

"It's nothing important," he murmured back, barely audible over the wind.

"Not important?" Jeri blinked. "It looked pretty important to me."

Ryo said nothing for several moments and looked down at his partner, who was back in his Monodramon shape to help him ride on the Mammothmon and was currently curled up and snoozing slightly.

"I…" Ryo murmured. "I saw… I saw things that would happen… if ever I lost control of Cyberdramon. And I mean… _really_ lost control. As in, if he went on a complete rampage that I just could not stop. I saw… terrible images… burning villages, Digimon with their data torn to shreds… you guys dead or dying with vicious lacerations over your entire body… and I knew… I knew that it would be been negligence on my part that caused that to happen. My partner… he turned into a monster. A _real_ monster… _My_ monster."

"Oh Ryo," Jeri gasped, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Cyberdramon's always been… a loose cannon," Ryo sighed. "Like there's… some kind of darkness lurking underneath him always straining to get out, and like he's… only ever really able to hold it in check. He's… been getting better thanks to Aayla's help but… I just worry sometimes. If I ever actually lost control of my partner and wasn't able to recover him back to my side… the destruction would be… would be… terrible."

Takato could see Ryo's fist was clenched and shaking, and his eyes were screwed tight shut, as if he were trying to block out the terrible images in his mind. Obviously the things that he had seen in that test were very… very graphic.

"Don't worry, Ryo," Kazu said stoutly. "If Cyberdramon ever goes on a rampage, we'll stop him. We'll find a way of getting him back under control."

"Thanks Kazu," Ryo allowed himself a small smile, before turning back down to look at his sleeping partner and murmuring so quietly that none of them heard him. "But… I don't think you could."

Monodramon grumbled in his sleep and stirred slightly, but made no more moves. And Ryo fell silent, trying unsuccessfully to blot out the things he had been shown. Both from the potential future… and from the past.

Takato looked over at Ryo a little more in concern, but eventually resolved to leave him alone and let him deal with it. After all, he now knew what it was like to have issues with doubting the strength of your bond with your partner. Some of the things that Omnimon and the others had told him… about Guilmon…

"Okay, so I have a question," Guardromon said. "Has anyone actually given any thought to what we are going to do when we _do_ find Alphamon's smaller form? How do we raise him back to being a Royal Knight again, since that is what we must do?"

"That…" Takato said, snapping out of his thoughts before they could really take hold, which he was rather grateful for at the moment, "Is a very good question. And that might be our biggest problem in the course of doing this. I don't know how long we have left but somehow we have to get him back up to that stage."

"Oh come on, it should be easy," Kazu waved a hand. "We have Calumon on our side, don't we? Can't he just do some kind of Catalyst thing and poof, we've got ourselves an Alphamon? Piece of cake, done in two seconds flat."

"Yay! Does that mean that I can be useful?" Calumon bounced up and down on top of Jeri's head excitedly. "Does that mean that I can help to save the world? Yay! Yay! Yay! I love it when things like that happen!"

"Actually…" murmured Ryo. "…That could work, couldn't it?"

"Um, no not really," Takato shook his head. "Sorry to put a downer on things you guys but Omnimon told me about all this, because I thought something similar while I was in there. He said that while Calumon does have the capability to get Digimon to Digivolve to their higher forms purely on his own, and he could indeed raise Dorumon up to the Mega level if he put enough power into it, it wouldn't be the result we were looking for even if he could pull it off."

"What?" Kenta griped. "Why not?"

"Well, for one thing," Takato went on. "He said that Calumon has the powers of the Catalyst still, but he is no longer the physical embodiment of the Catalyst as he once was, since that was returned to the Digital World back at the Shining Digivolution. That means that it would take a massive amount of effort on his part to get a Digimon all the way from Rookie to Mega in one go. He also said that its easier for Calumon to digivolve a Digimon that is personally closer to him than it would be for him to change a complete stranger, because he would put more heart and emotion into the power he wields and therefore make it stronger and purer. There's no guarantee that it would work at all."

"But if it did?" Kazu asked.

"Well, then we wouldn't get Alphamon," replied Takato. "Dorumon apparently have two different Mega forms that their digivolution line can take them into. One of them is Alphamon, and the other is… is… something… I forget the name but I pulled it up on my D-Arc earlier so…" he fished it out of his pocket and pulled up the image. "Ah, here it is. It's called Dorugoramon."

Jeri looked over his shoulder at the image being displayed from Takato's Digivice, her eyes widening as she stared at the big, silver-armoured humanoid dragon-like Digimon with the bladed tail and the huge metallic wings extending from his back. "He looks quite cool," she said. "Reminds me of Slayerdramon."

"Yeah, he is quite cool," nodded Takato. "But this is a Dorumon's natural Mega Form. There are more than one Dorumon out there in the Digital World after all and most of them, if they were to reach the Mega level, would turn into this. And according to Omnimon, if we were to instigate a forced Digivolution through Calumon, this is what our Dorumon would become as well, as the Digivolution would automatically take its own natural path. And as cool as Dorugoramon is, he's useless to us in this situation, because it is an Alphamon that is needed to gather the Knights and re-raise Imperialdramon."

"Does that mean that I won't be able to help?" Calumon asked, his ears drooping down the side of his head.

"Unfortunately so, Calumon," Takato smiled sadly.

"Aaawww," Calumon moaned and flumped down on Jeri's head. "Now I feel useless again."

"You're not useless Calumon," Jeri chided him, fishing him off her head and holding him gently in her arms. "You just can't help this time. I'm sure there are other ways that you can end up being useful."

"I hope so," Calumon murmured.

"Well, if that is true about Dorugoramon being the more natural path," Ryo said, "Then that means even if we find some other way of getting Dorumon to the Mega level he could still end up becoming that guy instead. How are we supposed to ensure that the Digimon he becomes is Alphamon and not the other one?"

Guilmon broke in suddenly with, "Omnimon said that the best way is to raise him up while teaching him the values and beliefs of a Royal Knight and trying to instruct him in the ways of honour and dignity and mercy and all that other stuff. If he takes on the values of a Royal Knight and believes in them with all his core before he becomes Alphamon, then he's more likely to become Alphamon than his other form."

"Well its heartening to know that there _is_ a way at least," Ryo breathed.

"Yeah, but it means we have to take the slow route to raising him," Kazu griped. "If we can't use Calumon then how are we supposed to do this?"

"Maybe we could get him a Tamer," suggested Elecmon. "Would that work? You Tamers are an incredible source of strength to we Digimon after all. Maybe if we could get Dorumon to bond with a human…"

"I don't know," Jeri murmured, placing a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "It might help but do we really know anyone who could make a good Tamer."

"Kazu and Kenta became good Tamers and look at how they are," Takato snickered.

"HEY!" both the two protested at the same time.

"Hey, Rika's words. Not mine," Takato replied.

Ryo snickered. "The Princess never changes does she?"

"No, but a Rika that prances around in the fields picking daisies and forming them into chains would just be downright weird," Takato muttered.

"That's true enough," Ryo said. "But I agree with Jeri. I think it would be best if we didn't get another human involved. You can't force a bond like the one that exists between Digimon and Tamer and plus we'd need a Digi-Gnome to kickstart the whole thing. Do we really have time to focus on trying to make Dorumon bond with a human as well as take up the values of a Royal Knight?"

"I suppose not," Jeri replied. "Besides… maybe a Tamer would even get in the way. If Dorumon was to become Alphamon through a biomerge then he wouldn't be entirely the original Alphamon, would he? He'd be part human and who knows if that would have an effect on the powers he has as a Royal Knight."

Takato visibly flinched and Jeri, clinging to him as she was, noticed. In fact, Takato flinched so hard that his back butted against her nose lightly and she leaned back startled, before a frown creased her face and she tried to lean around and get a good look at Takato's expression. She couldn't see much of his face, but what she could see was mostly unreadable… except for a small amount of distress and… what looked like doubt.

What was going on with him?

Truth be told, Takato had not been able to tell the others about _everything_ that they had learned with they were in the Royal Knight temple. All that stuff about Guilmon having lived as Gallantmon before Takato had even drawn him, about how he had once been a Royal Knight on his own and with no knowledge of him at all, about how Takato has _not_ been the one to entirely create him as he had previously thought… he hadn't been able to bring himself to do it.

He wanted to figure things out on his own first before he dropped that bombshell on everyone else. He wanted to refind his place in his partnership with Guilmon – to determine what their bond actually was. Because as far as he could tell, it was not exactly what they thought it had once been. Guilmon was not his sole Digimon. He had not been created by Takato Matsuki. He had been created by Imperialdramon Paladin Mode long ago.

Did that even make him Takato's partner? Truly? Was he the sole Digimon of a Tamer or was he a Royal Knight that had just bonded with a human more than the other's had. Takato really didn't know anymore.

Guilmon had not said much since they had returned from the palace of the Royal Knights either and what he had said had been focused mostly on the mission ahead. Both Takato and Jeri had noticed the steadfast expression on his face. It looked completely at odds with the usual goofy half-grin that was _supposed_ to be on his face. He barely looked like Guilmon right now – neither happy nor angry. Just… determined… looking ahead.

And to be honest, that just made Takato even more upset. It was like now that Guilmon knew about his true heritage, he had fallen right into the character of a committed Royal Knight Digimon. He was nothing like the giggling, cute, fun-loving Rookie that had gambolled around in the park with his friends for months and scarfed Guilmon bread all the time.

In fact, he hadn't even mentioned he was hungry since then. And that had been _hours_ ago.

Guilmon was supposed to be _always_ hungry. It was a complete personality switch.

And Takato found himself feeling… a little put out by it. And that was putting it quite mildly.

So who was Guilmon now? Partner or Knight?

Takato honestly couldn't say.

And he wanted time to figure it out before he started bothering the others about it. Guilmon hadn't said anything about it either and Takato wasn't sure if that was a relief or not. He was used to being able to read his partner like a book but now…

Takato once recalled the time where he had had a similar conundrum going on in his head – the time when Guilmon had digivolved into Growlmon for the first time. It had seemed at the time that Guilmon had turned into a near completely different person during that fight against the Devidramon that had appeared within the city. The way that Growlmon's eyes had been so different from that of Guilmon's had scared him, and it was like that now – there wasn't any brightness and playfulness in Guilmon's expression. He was just… focused.

And Takato's mind just screamed… WRONG!

He recalled the words that Guilmon had said back then when he had expressed his concerns about the changes Guilmon underwent when he reached a higher form. Takato had said to him:-

"…_you barely even knew who I was. What if one day you, like, quantum-digivolved and, like, totally forgot me or who you used to be?"_

And Guilmon had replied:-

"_I wouldn't forget you, you're my friend. Hm, Takato no matter how much you change you're still you and no matter how much I change, I hope you know I'm still me too, 'kay?"_

Takato had been incredibly reassured by Guilmon's words at the time, but now they all seemed to have been turned on their heads with this latest revelation. Even Takato's question about forgetting who he used to be was laughable now, because Guilmon did _not_ remember who he used to be when he has asked the question in the first place. And Guilmon's reply about him still being him? Was that still valid now? Because Takato was looking at Guilmon and… not seeing Guilmon. Not the Guilmon he knew anyway.

What would become of them after this? Their pair bond? Would it remain? Had it already gone now that Guilmon knew his birthright? Was it lying in tatters at Takato's feet with him desperately hoping that it was still intact and refusing to look down and see it?

It filled his mind with anguish. So much so that he barely heard what Kazu said next.

"Well, one thing that we've got going for us is that we already have a Knight amongst us right?" he said. "I mean, Takato, you should be able to teach him all that values stuff, right? I mean you guys do become a Knight when you biomerge so if any of our group can do it, it's you."

Takato flinched again, really wishing that Kazu had not phrased it like that, but Kazu wasn't to know. He was not privy to the information that Takato now had.

"Uh… yeah, right," he said quickly. "Yeah, Guilmon and I have totally got that… haven't we, bud?"

"Mm-hm," Guilmon nodded his head once, without taking his eyes on the horizon. Takato wondered if he had even listened to the question.

Jeri noticed the flinch the second time as well and her frown deepened. She could quite easily tell that something had happened within that castle that they were not telling her or any of the others about. Takato looked like he'd seen someone kick a puppy and Guilmon… yeah, she noticed his personality shift as well. But she resolved to hold her tongue for now and see what happened.

"So," she said. "All we have to figure out is getting him to the Mega level whilst we teach him about all those values. I really wish Aayla had not gone into the Pokémon World. She had to go through all this training stuff in order to become a Jedi, _and_ she had to learn about the Knight's Code, or the Jedi Code or whatever, while she did it. She's not even a Knight any more since she got promoted to a Master before she came to live with us. This would be a perfect job for her."

"Maybe, but she's not a Digimon," Elecmon pointed out. "The training she had to go through is probably quite different, even if she is the best candidate amongst us. But perhaps her skills will be even more put to use over there in the other world than here with ours."

"Looks like we have several bridges to cross," Ryo agreed. "But I think that we should cross them when we come to them. We'll get a better idea about what to do when we actually meet with Dorumon, I think."

There was a silent round of agreement from Digimon and Tamer alike, and the group fell silent after that, allowing the Mammothmon to take them back over the ice-sheets once again, pressing themselves down against the woolly Digimon's backs to shelter from the cold as much as they could.

* * *

The hours passed and once again the wind pelted at them as much as it had on the way there, the Tamers wrapping the smaller Digimon up in their coats to keep them warm while Guardromon had to keep breaking icicles off his arms.

Still, thanks to the Mammothmon they got back to the caves that they had been led to by SnowAgumon in a much faster time than it had taken them to go the other way, even if it still took hours.

SnowAgumon himself had yet to say a word on the entire trip back, preferring to just sit there up at the front and be lost in his own thoughts. He'd been a little despondent ever since they had first come across the caves and here they were yet again.

"Well," SnowAgumon sighed. "This is my stop. I'll be getting off here and leaving you Tamers to get on your way." As he said it he swung himself over and slid down the Mammothmon's side, landing in the snow with a soft crunch as it was flattened underneath his clawed foot.

"Are you sure, SnowAgumon?" Jeri asked, from the back of her own mount. "You really want to be left here at the place where… well… you know…"

"Yeah… I do know," SnowAgumon said quietly, staring at the large cave entrance that he now knew held no living beings inside. "And I really wish I didn't, but I do. I am a fortunate survivor of this place. I don't know exactly what happened here, but I do know that I lost my friends… most everyone I know… right at this place."

"Well, there's no reason to worry, right?" Kenta asked. "I mean your friends were all Digimon. I'm sure they'll get re-formatted and sent back to the Digital World eventually. Even if they don't remember you, you can still befriend them again and help to build up this place again, right?"

"That would be ideal, but it's not necessarily true, Kenta," Ryo turned back to face him. "Remember the law of the Digital World. The Digimon in it might have become much more friendly towards each other in general since the Digital World was reformatted after the defeat of the D-Reaper – helping one another out instead of attacking one another to get stronger after all – but that doesn't mean the old rules still don't apply. Whoever attacked this village clearly wanted to do some damage and… I'm afraid to say it's likely that the attacker loaded most, if not all, of the data of the Digimon that lived here. If that's the case, then the dead will not have reached Anubimon's realm."

"Ryo," Jeri hissed, seeing the pained look on SnowAgumon's face as Ryo said it.

Ryo grimaced. "Sorry, but I'm just telling it like it is. Sugar-coating something like this isn't going to do any good. Perhaps none of the data was loaded at all but… I find that to be quite unlikely."

"As do I," SnowAgumon agreed quietly. "The community here strove for peace and unity, but a single Digimon, or so we assume, came in and destroyed all of that in one go. I don't know who this Digimon was, but if he's been attacking numerous villages across the Digital World like you say he has, then he's probably after data. That's what they're usually after. Why else would a Digimon attack others in this manner?"

"To try and take over the world?" Kazu suggested. "Isn't that what the Demon Lords did?"

"Yes, but they were loading data to become stronger as they were doing it," said Jeri, shuddering at the mere thought of it. "Except in self-defence, that's the main reason I can think of for a Digimon killing another. And I do _not_ think whatever attacked this village was acting in self-defence."

"It was an aggressor," Ryo nodded. "Especially since it's attacked more than once. Assuming all the villages _were_ attacked by the same one, which they probably were."

"To put it simply, I have lost my friends," SnowAgumon said, turning around to face the group with fierce eyes. "But that doesn't mean that I will give up hope."

"What will you do now?" asked Elecmon.

"I will clean the place up as best I can. And wait for the day that my comrades and friends _do_ return to this place." SnowAgumon turned and fixed Takato with a stare. "You are certain the Royal Knights did not tell you who did this to them?"

"No, they didn't know," Takato replied. "Omnimon said that while they can see things that happen in the Digital World they still have to be actually looking, and they've mostly been too busy sealing up the tears that appear in the barrier to look into the Digital World at all, let alone find out the identity of a killer by watching him destroy a village while they could only look on and do nothing."

"Well, regardless," SnowAgumon sighed. "I want you guys to all remember that promise that you gave me. When this whole saving the world business is over, make sure that you find and destroy the bastard that did this. I don't care how long it takes or who it ends up being – make sure you finish them off for good. If someone does that then all the data that attacker connected can finally head to Anubimon's realm and my friends _will_ be born anew. And I will be waiting for that day to come."

"And come it will," Ryo assured him. "Don't worry, SnowAgumon. We won't let you down. We may not have to do anything if the Sovereigns somehow learn the identity of the killer and destroy him themselves, but if they haven't by the time that we do sort all this out then we will join the search. We will see it done."

"Good," SnowAgumon said vehemently. "I hope that justice will be done soon."

"As do we," Jeri nodded. "In the meantime, stay strong SnowAgumon. Look towards the future where one day your friends are returned. Never stop moving forward to be mired in the past. Trust me… it does so much more harm than good." She bit her lip, remembering her own refusal to acknowledge her stepmother as family – something that she barely believed that she could be capable of now. And her young stepbrother was even at this moment probably wondering where she was.

SnowAgumon nodded. "I am pleased that I was of help to you Tamers in some fashion," he finished before he turned around and heading into the desolate and ruined remains of the cave.

"Man, I feel sorry for him," Kenta murmured as the Mammothmon began to lumber away, taking the Tamers and their partners along with them closer towards the edge of the level.

"Me too," Kazu nodded. "He was a pretty cool guy. Can't be easy to have everything you know just ripped from you like that, huh?"

_You have no idea,_ Takato muttered in his head, glad that he was not part of mind-link so nobody could hear that.

* * *

It was here that it became obvious just how beneficial the Mammothmon had been to their long journey to the palace and back, and how it would have been a much harder struggle if the digital pachyderms had not come along. The walk that had taken the group several hours to achieve from the edge of the Tundra Level to the point where they had fallen into SnowAgumon's home was achieved now in pretty much less than ten minutes. The Mammothmon drew to a halt in a line as they reached the edge of the level, spreading out to let their passengers clamber off.

"Well, this is as far as we go for obvious reasons," the lead Mammothmon pointed out, jabbing his trunk in the direction of the edge.

"Thank you, Mammothmon," Takato said. "We could have been in some real trouble without your help."

"No problem," the Mammothmon leader trumpeted. "It was a pleasure to know that we helped out people like you in your quest for knowledge. I hope that the rest of your quest goes well now that you _have_ that knowledge. Sounds to me like things are getting pretty serious."

"That's an understatement," Kazu muttered.

"Regardless, I guess the fate of the world is now held in your trunks," Mammothmon finished up without thinking, as he and his herd turned away. "Goodbye then."

The Tamers and their Digimon waved a little before they turned back towards the edge of the level and stepped up as close as they could, though Kenta misjudged it a little and got too close to the layer of snow and ice that was hanging over the side snapped beneath his foot and he had to be caught by Kazu and Ryo before he could fall off the edge.

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly.

"Guardromon, make sure you hold him steady," Kazu rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Kazu," Guardromon suddenly cried, grabbing Lector and lifting him into the air to wrap his metallic fingers around him and hold him aloft as still as possible.

"Hey! Put me down!" Kenta cried.

"Please stop struggling," Guardromon replied. "My partner asked me to hold you steady and that is what I am attempting to do here and now."

Kazu clapped a palm to his face. "Well I ever manage to get you to stop taking things too seriously and literally? Just last week I said that I felt like fish for dinner and you decided I would be more comfortable being surrounded by chips so you took them out the freezer and dumped them all over me."

"And I still don't understand why exactly that was a problem," Guardromon muttered. "So contradictory, you humans."

"Can we focus please?" Ryo asked, and the lot of them stood there, surveying the large layout of the Digital World stretched out before them. Some distance below they could make out the Forest Level, and a little higher than that the Prairie Level hovering off to one side. The Ocean Level was stretched out near the bottom, the massive stretch of water still managing to stretch away from horizon to horizon.

"They truly is an amazing world, isn't it?" Jeri asked, feeling her hand almost unconsciously slipping into Takato's.

"Yeah, it is," Takato nodded. "But come on, let's head to the Desert Level and… begin the search."

"We should probably head for the Forest level first and try and gather as much firewood as we can. It won't be long until night sets in and there is next to no wood on the Desert Level. We could at least have a proper fire tonight if we did that."

* * *

And so the group quickly set out, digivolving their Digimon that were capable of flight up towards the higher levels, so that WarGrowlmon and Cyberdramon took to the air shortly afterwards. Takato noticed that Ryo actually looked slightly nervous about approaching Cyberdramon for a moment, which was hardly surprising considering what Ryo had said he had seen in that vision, but he seemed to shake himself and get on.

The Digimon swept down towards the Forest Level down below and allowed their Tamers to gather up the firewood before they all headed off towards the Desert Level itself, which was the largest plain – even bigger than the Ocean Level, but set off to one side compared to the other levels so that it was out of the way and most of the levels could still see the rotating sphere in the sky that was apparently the Human World as seen through the barrier from this one.

As Ryo had predicted, night suddenly washed in before they even got to the Desert Level, so when they got there, they simply set up their campsite, sorting out the firewood they had gathered by torchlight and shedding their winter gear, which was no longer needed on the warm night. Soon, there was a fire crackling and since it had been a very long day and involved a lot of cold, most of the group agreed that it was long since time to decide to call it a day.

Ryo sent a message to Yamaki and the others through the communicator that they had been given as per the head of HYPNOS' instructions, before most of them settled down and tried to catch their sleep, curled up as close to the fire as he dared.

But Takato couldn't even begin to hope to sleep – his mind still felt like it was a complete blur of new fact and information about his partner that he didn't even know how to deal with them properly. He asked himself the same questions regarding him and Guilmon and what exactly it was that they shared over and over again.

He looked over at Guilmon, who was curled up a short distance away and facing away from him, and the sight of that caused another dull thud in Takato's chest. Normally Guilmon would sleep as close as he was allowed to in order to be ready for anything that might try and attack them during the night. But now… nope… he wasn't doing that. And Takato was far more likely to be attacked in the Digital World than… say… his bedroom back home. There were less hungry monsters back there.

"Takato," a soft voice from nearby he recognised as being Jeri's hailed him, though just because he recognised the voice didn't mean that the fact it came out of nowhere didn't make him jump. He turned and saw her crouched nearby, eyeing him with concern in her brown eyes.

"Oh, hey Jeri," he murmured with a slight smile. "Can't sleep huh?"

"It's you that can't sleep from the looks of things," Jeri said as she moved quietly over to him and sat beside him, the both of them leaning their backs against the same rock. "And therefore I can't because I'm worried about you. Now come on, spill."

"Spill?" Takato blinked. "What?"

"I know that you're keeping something from me, Takato Matsuki," Jeri replied sternly, in a tone which was meant to emulate Takato's mother and which Jeri had learned helped to get him to do what she wanted far more easily. She didn't use it much of course but when she was worried about him – yep this qualified as a good time to try it out. "Something happened in that Palace that you're not telling the rest of us about. Both you and Guilmon have been acting weird ever since you got out of there. Now, tell me. Please. I don't want to have to worry about you unless I know that there _is_ something to worry about."

Takato hesitated a moment, but he knew by this point that attempting to keep something from Jeri when she _knew_ that you were keeping something from her was an exercise in futility. It made planning surprise presents for her absolutely maddening.

So after a moment's deliberation and quick glance at Guilmon, he sighed and spilled, telling everything that the Royal Knights had told about Guilmon's past as a Royal Knight and how he had been sent by Anubimon himself specifically to be Takato's partner. And Jeri's eyes slowly grew larger and rounder as the story unfolded until Takato finished with… "And now I… I just don't know what to think anymore."

"Oh, Takato," Jeri murmured, knowing why he had kept this to himself. Takato had _always_ been worried about his partnership with Guilmon and that someday it would change, that someday something would go wrong. The incident with Megidramon had not helped, but then they had fused into Gallantmon for the first time and it had been like all of the doubts about their bond and about Guilmon changing had vanished.

Now, it had come crashing back down on him in an almost violent manner. Which had not been the intention of the Royal Knights and yet it had practically been inescapable.

"What am I supposed to do now, Jeri?" Takato asked, desperate for an answer now that he had confided in her. "Are we supposed to just carry on as if this piece of news is… nothing?"

"Well," Jeri murmured. "Rika and the others didn't react that badly when they found out that their partners came from the Celestial Heavens," Jeri pointed out. "None of the four of them remembered that as I recall."

"Yeah, but unlike them I thought that I _knew _where Guilmon had come from. From my own imagination."

"Well, he did," Jeri said. "Gallantmon may not be your creation but everything else about Guilmon, like his appearance and his personality and his attacks and his lower forms – that was all your design, wasn't it?"

"No, not all. Even Anubimon had something to do with that too – making me put the Hazard symbol on him an all that."

"Yeah, but… that's just one small detail – a pattern on his body. The rest of it all came from you, didn't it?"

"How do I know that for sure? How do I know that Anubimon wasn't pushing my pencil the entire time that I was thinking him up, coming up with his stats and his attacks for me instead of letting me do it all myself."

"Anubimon wouldn't do that! He believes in free will, and he probably considers even making you put a Hazard symbol on your drawing as almost being and offence to that."

"Can we really assume to know the kind of things that Anubimon would do? Who knows just how much influence he really has. After all he came to our world so that he could extract the data of…" he paused and shut up immediately, well aware that he was going down the road to mentioning how Anubimon had pulled the data of Leomon out of Impmon so that Jeri's own partner could be reborn.

"Forget about Anubimon," Jeri said. "Just focus on Guilmon alone. So what if it turns out that he used to be a Royal Knight? He's still your partner _now_ isn't he? Just because he once defended the borders of the Digital World doesn't change everything that the two of you have done together ever since he _was_ created. Battling the Devas, stopping Beelzemon, saving me from the D-Reaper. All of that was you two, Takato, working together. And no matter what Guilmon's past was before that, that will never, ever change."

Takato looked down at his shoes. "I… I suppose that's true," he said. "But… that's not what I'm worried about. What I'm worried about is… what will happen to us now? When this is all over…? What if Guilmon wants to return to his original heritage, as a Royal Knight that was created by Imperialdramon and not me. Will all that stuff that we did in the past just… mean nothing? Will he leave me to go and be with his… true family. I saw the way that he was acting as we drew closer to the palace – he said… that it was like going home."

Jeri resisted the urge to gasp. No wonder Takato was struggling with this. For someone to think their partner's entire existence had been only by their side, only to call another place with a bunch of completely different people 'home…' No wonder Takato was afraid. He was petrified.

"I just want to know… where we stand," Takato said miserably.

"The four other Digimon from the Heavens didn't try and go back there when they found out that's where they came from," Jeri said. "And even Impmon described the Heavens like being at home as well."

"That's still different, Jeri. They were sent of their own will down to the Digital World in order to help protect it and that's what they've been doing with their partners. Guilmon… Gallantmon… was killed in battle and then sent to me specifically to be my partner. Remember what you guys said earlier about how you can't force a partnership between a Tamer and a Digimon? Well, isn't that what happened with me and Guilmon? I was just a tool to bring Gallantmon back to life. And now that he knows who he was…there's nothing stopping him from going back. What if… what if our bond isn't… isn't a real bond at all."

Jeri's eyes were practically shimmering – she had no idea that Takato was being affected by it _this_ badly. She suddenly frowned and, because she couldn't slap him without potentially waking up the others, she settled for jostling him a little and bringing his head round forcefully to look into her eyes.

"Look, Takato," she said, with her voice gentle, but also warning at the same time, like she was explaining some concept of appropriate behaviour to an infant. "I know that you've been constantly worried about you and Guilmon and the fact that you created him instead of meeting him and bonding with him the normal way probably had something to do with that, but you listen to me and you listen good. You and Guilmon are _partners_. True partners. Just because it turns out that Guilmon was not your sole creation changes nothing. You are still partners, and when it comes to the bond between the two of you, it is no less superficial than the bonds between any of the rest of us."

"But…"

"No buts!" Jeri placed a pair of fingers over his mouth to keep him from continuing. "So what if a few things about Guilmon aren't yours like you thought they were, like his Mega form and a couple of black patches on his body. Heck, even if he was created solely by Anubimon pulling your strings, which I find highly unlikely, so what to that too? It doesn't change the fact that you met each other and you bonded with one another until the two of you became absolutely best friends. I think you'll find that actually that was the case for most of us. Leomon and I barely knew each other back when we became partners. In fact I am pretty sure that Leomon thought I was a bit of a nutjob considering how the two of us first interacted."

Takato couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that. Jeri had… made quite a spectacle of herself that day to say the least. Chasing Leomon around and yelling about destiny and giving him cute little looks that she hoped would win him over… yeah that had been a bit strange.

"But what kickstarted our partnership wasn't the fact that we had some deep bond with one another already," Jeri said. "That's not how a bond between Digimon and Tamer begins. It was because of a mutual caring for one another. I wanted Leomon to be my partner, and Leomon wanted me to be safe, even if at the time he didn't even want to stay with me. And after we became partners, he _did_ stay, even though I'm pretty sure he felt awkward around me for a couple of days even then."

"Well… I suppose that's true," Takato murmured.

"If you want further examples then think about Henry and Rika. From what Henry told me he and Terriermon first became partners when Henry went through an ethical conundrum whilst playing the new Digimon game and feeling guilty and upset that Terriermon apparently lost control when he digivolved into Gargomon and his emotions brought Terriermon out of the computer and they became partners after that. And Rika, well you know how she was. She and Renamon only had one thing in common when they first met – the desire to become stronger.

"But for the both of them, they bonded and became closer as Digimon and Tamer _after_ the bond had been made. The Digi-Gnome granted the deep wishes in their hearts to form the bond, but it was the friendship that made the bond grow.

"You're no different in that respect. It was your incredible, in fact your _over-active_ imagination and your deep, burning desire and belief in the existence of Digimon that allowed you to create Guilmon. Maybe the data that came to form him was from a Digimon that already existed, but you still created him and formed the partnership through the power of your heart like any of the rest of us. And you continued to grow and flourish together and build up on that bond _long_ after you had become partners.

"What I'm trying to say is – who cares if the circumstances in which you came together are different than you thought. It doesn't make your bond as a Digimon and Tamer any less powerful, does it? The two of you have something special, so worrying about where your bond currently lies is just… stupid."

"Stupid?" Takato asked.

"Yes, stupid," Jeri nodded vehemently. "Very stupid. It's everything that you did together since you met that has formed the incredible partnership that you have, not because you created him out of nothing. And that's not changed. I don't think it ever will."

Takato stared at Jeri for a while, before he sighed and said, "Maybe you're right. I shouldn't worry about our bond not being special."

"Damn straight," Jeri said, and Takato looked up at her slightly incredulously because Jeri _never_ even said the mildest swearwords.

But then he looked back down and he said, "But that doesn't change one thing and that's what could happen in the future? There are now two aspects of Guilmon's past that he knows about – his past as a partner and his past as a Royal Knight. When it comes to deciding a future for himself later on… which one will he choose?"

"He'll choose you of course," Jeri protested.

"Will he?" Takato asked, and Jeri was rather surprised to see just how haunted his eyes were. "I've never seen him like this Jeri. It's like the Digimon that I've come to form a bond with has completely gone. He's just so… different. He's so focused on the mission. He's had more of a purpose to him than I've ever seen before. I haven't seen him eat a single piece of bread since then, and you know that he can't resist a chance to eat bread usually, even when he doesn't _need_ to like now in the Digital World."

"He's still the same Guilmon," Jeri said. "This has got to be a big deal for him too – learning that he's something more than he once thought he was. It's got to be even weirder for him than for you, Takato. He probably has a lot of things going on in his own head right now and maybe he thinks if he focuses on the mission he'll figure something out. You'll see. He'll return to bread-snarfing dope that we all know and love eventually."

"I hope so," Takato murmured. "But… I can't help it. I'm just so… worried. I don't want to lose him and yet… I get the horrible feeling that I will when this is all over. That he'll just go back off with the Royal Knights and forget all about me."

"He wouldn't…" Jeri started.

"You don't know that," Takato said with a pained look. "You don't know what he'll do with all this information. And we're on a mission to find a bunch of other Royal Knights and train one of them up to _become_ the Royal Knight he once was as well. What if we manage to do that and spend time in these Knights' company trying to teach them to be a Knight and… he just… goes with the lessons and takes on the path of a Knight himself?"

Jeri opened her mouth and closed it again, but found that she had no real answer to that other than what she'd already said about their bond. And if that had not convinced Takato alone… then there was only so much help her words could be.

"I'm sure you'll see, Takato," she said softly, steering his face towards her own and pressing her lips softly against his for a moment, in what was meant to be one of the most comforting gestures that she could currently offer. "You'll see I'm right."

"I can only hope," Takato murmured, as Jeri leaned against him and rested a head on his shoulder, the tiredness beginning to overcome the both of them as they began to sink into their slumber.

Both of them were unaware of the fact that Guilmon's eyes were currently wide open, and though he had his back to the pair of them he had been listening to every word that Jeri said. He realised that she was right about their bond and how it had come to grow so strong even as she said it. If it had been a powerful force just from being creator and creation alone then they should have been able to biomerge the moment they got to the Digital World, which was the only place biomerging was possible until Dobermon gifted the Tamers with the ability to do it outside a data environment.

But they hadn't – they had had to work at it just like all the others and they had conquered all through it. There was no need to worry about where they stood because of that.

But Guilmon was of the same opinion as Takato when it came to the latter point – what would their future together hold now that he had made contact with the other Royal Knights for the first time. He was on a mission to bring them all together and Gallantmon was going to have to join with them in order to carry out the task of raising Imperialdramon and therefore Fanglongmon.

They were trying to rebuild _all_ of the Royal Knights.

But what if the Royal Knights wanted him back when they were done. What if they wanted all thirteen of them to be together as a single unit once again? What if they weren't content with Guilmon staying as Takato's Digimon?

That had been Guilmon's primary concern – whether the _Knights_ would want him back.

But he had just overheard Takato doubting about whether _he – Guilmon – _would want to come back.

And that had been extremely painful for Guilmon to hear. His very own Tamer, who had drawn out his body in a little notepad, was having doubts about his allegiances and which way group he would want to be in? Guilmon hadn't had any doubts about himself – he'd wanted to stay with Takato from the very start. That was the life he knew and that was the life he wanted, regardless of what had happened before.

But if Takato couldn't see that… couldn't believe with all his heart like Guilmon did that they would stay together… then maybe their bond really _wasn't_ as powerful as they thought.

The victory over what had happened with Megidramon in the tunnels and how they had put many things behind them in that instance seemed rather hollow now in light of this. They had _only just_ strengthened their bond to a height greater than ever and then suddenly _this_ was making Takato doubt him?

Guilmon wanted to get up and yell at him for it, but something made him stop and he felt quite guilty about it but he was suddenly wondering what _would_ it be like to go and live with the Royal Knights and be part of their number again? Obviously they mostly seemed to get on really well. In fact, judging by they had started talking about that American TV show they weren't actually that different from the group of friends that he had amongst the Tamers.

Would the bonds between the Royal Knights be more powerful than the bond between a Digimon and a Tamer?

There _was_ a real sense of brotherhood between them after all.

And Guilmon was suddenly feeling quite conflicted about it all. He didn't want to go and be a Royal Knight _now_ but what if Takato was right and prolonged company with the Royal Knights they were going to find changed his mind? Takato seemed to be doubting the bond between them at the moment – did that mean that Guilmon should too? He had always known that he had been rather naïve for most of his life. Was blindly putting faith in their partnership really a good idea, when the other half of that partnership couldn't help but doubt it himself?

Guilmon curled into a ball miserably, now not knowing at all what to do.

He'd been so focused after the Royal Knight palace because he had been hoping that by focusing hard on the mission he could keep that focus off the thoughts preying on his mind. And also because even if he didn't want to go back to the Royal Knights he wanted to prove himself worthy of someone who did used to be a member since they were, apparently, his first family.

But now? Well… now he was just as confused as his partner about what the future could hold for the both of them.

Guilmon eventually passed into a rather restless sleep, filled with thoughts of the Royal Knights and wondering whether learning about his true origins was a good thing… or whether he would have preferred to remain ignorant.

* * *

The sudden change in light back into the daytime roused each of the Tamers from their slumber, some having slept much better than others during the course of the night. There was the usual moaning as the new light permeated through their eyelids, causing them to stir and roll over, mumbling incoherently in many cases, but eventually they managed to get themselves back up, brushing off the sand that had collected on their clothing through the course of the night as the Digimon also began to get to their feet.

The fire had died during the night, leaving a pile of vaguely smoking ashes and bits of tinder left. They quickly buried the stick in the sand, even though Kazu pointed out that the rules of breaking a camp didn't even properly apply in this universe.

"Well," Kenta stretched in an attempt to get himself ready for the day. "Where do we go now? We're on the Desert level, but which way are we supposed to take?"

"Well, I think that we should be heading east," Takato suggested. "That's what the Royal Knights said – that he lived closer to the eastern borders of the level. That's got to be a good starting point at least, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Guilmon said as he stepped forwards to the fore of the group, looking out towards the horizon and tail swishing out behind him as he did so. He still didn't know what the future would hold for him and Takato but he didn't really want to take about it right now. He wanted to see if Takato came to the realisation that Guilmon would not want to simply up and leave him on his own this time, rather than have Guilmon reassure him himself. He wanted to see how much Takato himself believed in their bond, because he certainly still did. So while he wanted to talk to Takato about it, he didn't.

He stayed focused on the mission. And right now, as it had been with heading the palace of the Knights, it was like there was some deep, deep voice within his subconscious murmuring '_This way. This way.' _Guilmon still couldn't tell if it was just instinct pushing him on, or whether there was an actual voice in his head telling him this stuff… but he was kinda hoping for the former because the latter would be… a little weird. And yet the more he dwelt on it, the stronger the voice seemed to become.

_Takato once told me that voices in my head was a bad thing,_ Guilmon thought into his mind. _Is there someone in here that shouldn't be?_

There was no answer, but Guilmon wasn't reassured. Still, he shook himself out of his thoughts for a moment and repeated the voice-that-might-not-be-a-voice's words. "It's this way." And he started forwards.

"How… how can you tell?" Takato asked, resisting the urge to bite his lip worriedly.

"I dunno. But it's this way," Guilmon stated, stepping across the sand and not looking back.

"Well… we haven't got much else to go on," Kazu murmured and the group began to follow with Guilmon leading the way. Takato looked at his shoes, wondering if Guilmon being so sure of the direction to take to find Alphamon, or Dorumon, was just another sign that the Royal Knights was his true calling. Maybe he just… didn't belong with him anymore after all.

Jeri took his hand in her own and squeezed it comfortingly, and Takato was glad of her presence. But the nagging doubts, in both his and Guilmon's heads, were refusing to go away. It truly seemed that only time would tell what would become of them later on.

* * *

But as the Tamers were setting out across the next day of their journey and the group in the Pokémon World already on their way towards Lavender Town to begin the next day of their own journey… a third group of travellers, also in the Pokémon World, were having breakfast, and getting ready to head out themselves. In most cases anyway – for a couple of the members of the group were in the middle of a training session.

"Come on, Eevee," the only human of the group – a young female – cried. "Let's see how quickly you can use your Dig this time."

The Pokémon she was talking to – a small, brown furred dog-like creature with a bushy tail, large pointed ears and a large, cream-coloured, mane-like collar of fur around its neck, yipped and bounded into the air, crashing into the ground and vanishing into a hole that it burrowed with its scrabbling paws as fast as any mole could tunnel, if not faster. It was like the moment it hit the ground it just plunged down into it as if the hole had been there all along, but just covered up.

The human girl watched with bated breath, counting the seconds from the moment the Eevee disappeared underground and cheering when it burst upwards fifty yards away a mere three seconds later, to toss a small rock, which had been the target, into the air as it burst up from the ground underneath it.

"Yes!" the human girl cried, punching the air excitedly. "A new record, Eevee. Well done!" Eevee yipped excitedly and ran back towards its trainer, leaping into her outstretched arms and nuzzling against her neck with its nose, just like a little house-pet. "You're getting better all the time, Eevee. We'll soon get you evolved in no time – you just wait and see."

"Thanks," Eevee said, though the only thing that the human girl heard was; "Vee." She had not been gifted by Uxie to understand Pokémon speech like Felkan had after all so she was, like most humans, only able to hear certain sounds from each individual kind.

The girl herself was eleven years old, still a very young age even for a trainer, as she had only started out on her Pokémon journey last year. She was of average height for her age, making her around four-foot-three. She wore a red shirt with sleeves that extended down to about halfway down her lower arms, underneath a set a blue girl's overalls. She also had red shoes and long, white socks that came up above her knees and ended in black rims.

A tan bag was slung over her shoulder and on her head she wore a large white hat a large red bow on the left side. Her brown hair was mostly under that hat, except for where it fell down the side of her face and extended out to either side in curled twin ponytails at the back.

Her name was Lyra Hewitt.

"Now," Lyra said as she headed back towards where most of her other Pokémon were finishing their breakfast. "Are you a hundred percent sure that you want to become an Espeon when you evolve… because you know that once you do there's no turning back and there's lots of other things that you could become. Just wanna make sure you make the right decision, girl."

Eevee nodded her head vigorously, a bright smile on her face. Unlike Felkan's Glaceon, this Eevee actually _was_ a girl, and she was greatly looking forward to evolving so that she could be a better contribution to Lyra's team. She didn't have that many attacks under her figurative belt at the moment, with Dig being the strongest one in her arsenal, and she wanted to become an Espeon so that she could be much more useful. She and Lyra had spent a long time combing through the different kinds of Pokémon that Eevee could become before they settled on Espeon.

Another part of the reason for their choice was that Lyra already had a Fire type, and Electric type and a Water type, making Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon not optional if they wanted a more balanced team. But Eevee had liked the look of Espeon best anyway – thinking that it was the prettiest one of the group so… that was what she had placed her paw on when making her selection.

"Alright then, well as long as you're sure," Lyra grinned, tossing Eevee up into the air and catching her like a parent does with their infant sometimes, and pulling Eevee close to her chest to spin her around excitedly. "I think that it's time until we get there. Hey, look. I've got some of your favourite Pokémon food here," she grinned, scurrying over to the fireside and placing some of it in a bowl at her feet as she placed Eevee down next to it. "Enjoy."

"Vee! Vee Eevee!" was all she heard in response as Eevee wagged her tail and pounced on the food, chomping it down with relish.

"Whoa, easy there, champ," Lyra giggled, ruffling her beloved little Pokémon between the ears. "Don't want to give yourself a stomach ache." Then she turned to the other three Pokémon that were currently outside of their Balls and smiled at them. "What about the rest of you guys? Ready to hit the road soon? We've got a fair way to go before our next Gym."

The three Pokémon smiled and nodded, all eager in their own way to be travelling once again. Lyra stepped over to her starter Pokémon and started stroking her head and tickling her behind the ear. "And may I say once again," she grinned. "You were absolutely _awesome_ in that last Gym battle against that Steelix, Quilava. I seriously cannot say it enough times. You were amazing! I knew I made the right choice in picking you from Professor Elm."

The weasel-like Pokémon which was just under a metre from nose to rear, purred in response. It's upper body was blue and its lower body a cream-colour and it had three large, red spots in its rump and another two on its head between its ears, which were capable of producing fire at will. Currently of course, they weren't, as it was allowing Lyra to rub it between said ears, but if it wanted to it could easily flare up and burn Lyra's hand. Not that it would of course – it loved its trainer and Lyra fully trusted it not to harm her.

The Quilava was, like the Eevee, also a female, and had been with Lyra the longest out of the group, getting her through the various challenges that Lyra had faced throughout her career as a trainer so far, and never swaying in her faith of her bubbly and enthusiastic trainer. She had been used in every Gym Battle so far and had always gone all out against them.

In fact, she had been Lyra's only Pokémon when she had battled against the Gym Leader Falkner at the very first Gym. And most recently, they had battled against Steel type Gym Leader Jasmine, where Quilava had really shined, taking out both of her Magnemite relatively easily and putting up a furious fight against the massive Steelix that was Jasmine's trump card before, eventually, emerging victorious. She'd been battered, bruised and on the verge of collapse, but had still had the energy to run into her trainer's arms. She could not be a happier Pokémon.

"I wonder if you're close to evolving yourself," Lyra grinned. "That would be pretty cool, though of course you evolve whenever you feel like it." She looked across at another member of her team and said, "You too, Flaaffy. Though I think that you must be quite eager to evolve yourself since we helped that Ampharos at the light-house, huh?" she give Flaaffy a rather impish grin.

The pink-skinned, bipedal, sheep-like Pokémon with a white woollen mane and around its neck and over the top of its head and the long tail with the blue orb at the tip, sprang to its feet and clenched its little hands by its side, showing its eagerness at the prospect of evolving.

Lyra tittered. Until recently Flaaffy had been a rather shy Pokémon, and in many respects still was. After she had won her first badge Flaaffy had been the second Pokémon that she had acquired and the first one that she had captured in the wild. She had been a Mareep at the time, and had always clearly demonstrated her rather shy tendencies, hiding behind her trainer's legs when they met new people and not looking people in the eye as she tried to sort her wool out into what she deemed presentable, but never seeming to quite manage it because she was _always_ fussing.

Nevertheless, she had been most helpful in getting through some of the cave systems that Lyra had had to traverse, her bright, luminous tail lighting the way, and there had even been an instant where some criminal gang called Team Rocket was stealing Slowpokes that little Flaaffy, still a Mareep at the time, had proven herself in, helping to deal with the thugs and rescuing the Slowpokes before their tails could be cut off. And recently, she had met the Ampharos that worked at the lighthouse at Olivine City, providing the powerful light of the tower itself. Lyra had crossed the ocean to get a cure for the Ampharos' current sickness and returned with it as quickly as she could (albeit after taking out the Gym Leader over at Cianwood too), and ever since then, Flaaffy was showing an eagerness like never before to get training.

But for the most part she was still the same shy old sheep as ever.

Lyra chuckled fondly at the memories. Eevee had then been the fourth Pokémon that she had acquired, having it given to her as a gift by the inventor of the system that allowed Pokémon to be sent across distance so that people could leave some of their team with their local Professors and make switch-ins between their teams. That had been in Goldenrod City, and Eevee had not been the only Pokémon she had obtained there.

The fifth Pokémon she had gotten was lying with its coils wrapped around the base of a tree. It was long and legless, serpentine in appearance, with a blue body and white underside, a small head and a little dark-blue orb on is neck, and two more on its tail. It also had a pair of small, feathery wings projecting from either side of its head like ears.

"What about you, Dragonair?" Lyra asked. "Any thoughts on you evolving?"

Dragonair looked as though it tried to shrug, which was difficult for a creature without shoulders, but it somehow arched its body upwards so that some of it lifted above its head in a shrug-like gesture. Dragonair was a calm, composed Pokémon a lot of the time, and the most recent Pokémon that Lyra had obtained in a display of talent she didn't know she had at the Game Corner in Goldenrod City. The people who worked there had been a little reluctant to give their Dratini away, as nobody had won it for a long time, but Lyra had not cheated and so she received her first Dragon type Pokémon, to her immense excitement.

"Well, whenever you feel like it," Lyra grinned. "I won't push you, but I gotta admit," she clapped her hands together excitedly. "A Dragonite on my team? Oh that would be _super awesome!_ I can't wait! Yay! Oh, wait… yes, I can… sorry! Not pushing you, Dragonair. Not pushing you. But it's so exciting. Aaaaggghh."

Dragonair chuckled and leaned over, careful not to nick Lyra with her little white horn as she did so. For yes, Dragonair was also a female. All four of the Pokémon that were out of their Balls were girls, which had been pure coincidence really. Lyra rubbed Dragonair's face with a rather embarrassed grin, mumbling. "Yeah… right… you take all the time you like. I hope that I can train you right. I heard that raising a Dragon type Pokémon properly is really hard. I don't know if I'm doing it right with you. I wish you could tell me."

Dragonair cooed softly, trying to reassure Lyra that she was doing well, and Lyra seemed to get the message. "Well, that's a relief at least," she said, slowly. "Alright girls, come on. Time to break camp and head on."

The Pokémon nodded as Eevee finished off her breakfast and one by one, Lyra recalled them to their Pokéballs, and returned them to her belt. But as she did so, her finger brushed against the other Pokeball that she had there – the one that belonged to the third Pokémon she had got in her current group of five. The one that belonged to the only male in her team. And the only one that she had not called out for breakfast that morning.

She pulled the Ball off her belt and stared at it sadly for a moment, wondering where things had gone wrong in her relationship with this Pokémon, and hoping that it didn't happen with any of the others. She had caught this Pokémon shortly after she had exited the Ilex forest towards Goldenrod City, when she had come across several kids kicking and flipping the poor, stranded Pokémon into the air and laughing as it flopped to the ground helplessly, only for them to flip it into the air again.

Lyra had been horrified and run over to stop the so-called game, Quilava angrily scaring the children away as she had run up to the poor guy. As the kids left they had screamed over their shoulders that that Pokémon was pathetic and that they didn't deserve anyone's pity. But Lyra had indeed taken pity on it, although she had never envisioned capturing one of these guys before. But she did, and she took it to be healed at the Pokémon Centre, and the little guy had become a part of her team.

Things had seemed fine at first, and she had done her best to raise his spirits, as well as his level, and train him up as best as she could. It had not been easy for her to train such a Pokémon, but she had persevered and he seemed to have taken the training well. And then, when she had gone up against Ghost type Gym Leader Morty she had desperately called him out to help, even though she knew that he would not really be very useful in this fight at all. But Morty had agreed to a five-on-five match and his tricky Ghost types had already taken down all four of her other Pokémon.

But she had been wrong, because it had been in that hopeless, losing battle, that he had evolved.

And that's when everything had gone wrong. Now, whenever she called him out, all he would do is attack blindly and not listen to any single word that she said. There was no denying that he was powerful, but it was like he had totally blotted her out. He had won the Gym Battle against Morty for her, but she had not been able to get a word in edgeways to him at all since then. He would not let her touch him anymore, and though she had called him out against Jasmine's Steelix on the decision that Quilava needed a rest, he had just destroyed half the battlefield in his attempts to get at Steelix when the giant, metallic snake Pokémon burrowed under the ground.

She'd had to recall him to stop him from totally wrecking the Gym.

"What happened to you?" she murmured to the unresponsive Pokéball. "You used to be so determined and loyal, even when others laughed at you. Why did everything fall apart as soon as we had achieved what we set out to do and evolved you? I… I wish you would listen to me. I wish you were still my friend."

The Pokéball said nothing and Lyra sighed, placing it back on her belt and hefting her back as she packed away the last of her stuff and set off across the road. She knew they were heading towards a place where there were quite a few of his kind living in the wild. Maybe… if things didn't work out… maybe it would be better to release him. He obviously didn't want anything to do with her anymore and… painful as it was to admit it… perhaps it would be better for everyone that way.

It was still a miserable thought though.

But, even before she'd gotten five-hundred yards from the campsite, Lyra suddenly got the fright of her life. The air itself suddenly seemed to rip apart right in front of her, causing her to scream and stumble backwards as a gaping slash in what looked like space itself suddenly opened up out of nowhere.

"What…?" Lyra yelled, staring at the vortex that was filled with swirling colours of all kinds in front of her, but she didn't get much else out because that was when the suction started. Before Lyra could even register it she had been yanked off her feet and sent spinning towards the rip in space, screaming as she was pulled straight through the hole and spiralled away into the maelstrom of colour, her screams fading away into silence.

The portal remained open for several seconds before it suddenly shut again, as if it had never been there, except that the Pokémon World was now totally devoid of a Lyra Hewitt.

* * *

And on the other side of the barrier, another vortex opened and spat Lyra out like a cork from a bottle, the young girl crashing into the ground and being knocked unconscious with the impact, sliding across the floor and coming to a stop as the portal closed behind her.

She lay unconscious on top of the sand, her body the only feature for what looked like miles in the desert landscape, except for the giant orb with the long, pink Data Streams protruding off it that was rotating lazily in the sky.

* * *

Aaaaaaaand there you have it. An introduction of a whole new set of characters who will not be having a small part within this story. For those few of you who may not know, though I imagine most of you do, Lyra is the official name of the girl character that can be played in the HeartGold and SoulSilver games. And, since I'm pretty sure you can guess where she ended up at the end of the chapter, I'll tell you that my decision at using her as a characters stemmed from the fact that since Jeri is the only female character in the entire ensemble over in the Digital World, I thought that the Digital World could do with some more. So while I obviously play as Ethan the guy when I play those games since I am a guy myself, I have written it as if Lyra is the one that takes on the adventure instead, while Ethan would be the one with the Marill that shows up on occasion. As to her surname, Hewitt, that's just the one I decided to give to her.

Hehehehe. Still, I hope you all enjoyed that and that you're looking forward to seeing where this leads in the future. Ciao!

* * *

Next time…

This time we have a chapter set entirely within the Star Wars world – things are beginning to pick up over there. The group of four Jedi wake up from unconsciousness to find themselves safely landed on perhaps the strangest planet they've ever seen. And there appear to be only three residents on it. Three very different and very powerful beings.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 31 : The Ones**


	31. The Ones

Well, wasn't this chapter a complex one to right. Hehehe. Enjoyable yes, but some of the characters that were introduced in this chapter are practically surrounded by complicated concepts and each are very individual. I have done my very best to make them as close to canon as possible, but if, in the end, I did not get it totally right then I apologise but this is what you're going to get, I'm afraid. I'm not an expert in all of this stuff, but I certainly tried and I hope I did well.

Anyway, onto the chapter people. I hope you like it, though fans of the Clone Wars would probably know a lot of this stuff already. Hehe.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 31:- The Ones**

* * *

Anakin Skywalker's eyes slowly began to creep open, only for them to shut again quite quickly. The memory of the searing light that had been blazing through the window in front of him seemed to be still burning at his retinas even though the light itself had long since faded. When he opened his eyes now it was bright, but no longer blindingly so at least, which was quite the relief.

He grunted to himself as he pushed his head up from the dashboard of the ship where it had been lying, his hand reaching up to massage his head as he tried to remember what had just happened. He remember the light but his mind was a little foggy and disorientated. He massaged his temple and tapped the side of his head lightly, as if hoping to clear it so he could think coherently.

Then he remembered the massive, black, diamond-shaped monolith that had been hanging in space when he had last been conscious. Having just discovered that his ship and the _Resolute_ that Captain Rex was in was apparently at the same co-ordinates and yet nowhere near one another he and his party of four had found their ship drawn inexorably towards the monolith, which had opened up slightly in middle with that powerful light seeping through it and pulled them inside as smoothly as any tractor beam, but with no tractor beam even in evidence.

And Anakin remembered the light practically trying to fry his eyeballs, before suddenly everything had gone black. He'd passed out!

The revelation made him sit up sharply, looking around in alarm – he was the pilot of the ship. What had happened after he had passed out? Had they crashed?

No, they hadn't. There was no damage to the ship whatsoever, visible at least. Everything appeared to be just as sound as it had been when they had pulled out of hyperspace. Looking out the window he could rocks and strange, lush-looking plants and a large cliff face – they had landed on the surface of what certainly looked like a planet while he was unconscious.

Had Obi-Wan landed the ship?

Anakin's eye cast around to the others and saw that all three of them were also unconscious, but they were all beginning to stir. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were sitting slumped in their chairs, heads lolling as they twitched and groaned a little, beginning to sit up. Barriss had somehow wound up on the floor, flat on her back, but even as Anakin looked down at her she began to open her eyes herself, groaning slightly as she did so.

"Barriss, are you alright?" Anakin asked, hefting himself out of his chair and leaning down beside her.

"Um…" Barriss moaned. "I… I think so. What happened? Last thing I remember was that light and then… what am I doing on the floor?"

"I don't know but I think you somehow fell out of your chair," Anakin said, reaching out to take the groggy Barriss' hand and pull her up, settling her back into her seat until she recovered. "But wait, did everyone fall unconscious during the light show?"

"I… I think I did," Ahsoka muttered, rubbing her montrals. "I can't remember anything after that."

"Nor I," Obi-Wan murmured, shaking his head a little to wake himself up. "You too, Anakin?"

"Yeah," Anakin nodded.

"Then… who exactly landed the ship?" Obi-Wan asked in bemusement, looking out of the window at the shrubs and rocks around them. "We're on the ground and… we look undamaged."

"I noticed," Anakin muttered.

"How can a ship go from plunging through space with all four passengers unconscious and yet land safely on the surface of a planet?" Barriss asked, her head a little clearer now as she looked around.

"I don't know," Anakin said. "Probably the same way that it got drawn through a gap in a gigantic monolith hanging in space without the use of a tractor beam. Or how two different ships can be at the same co-ordinates and yet not see each other. There's definitely something strange going on here."

"Don't have to be Sherlock to figure that out," Ahsoka agreed.

"That's the detective guy from the Earth stories that Terriermon would always call people when they said something totally obvious, right?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Um, I think that we might have a little more to focus on than who Sherlock is," Barriss said as she leaned over the monitoring stations.

"Yeah, like, where exactly are we?" Anakin agreed. "I am assuming inside the monolith but if we're inside a giant structure like that… why is there sunlight?"

"Assuming that _is_ sunlight and not some artificial light that just looks like the Sun," Obi-Wan pointed out. "But who could have built such a large structure as that monolith anyway?"

"I'd like to know that too," Anakin grimaced.

"Well," Barriss said. "It certainly looks like some kind of small planet according to these readings," she said. "Though the readings seem to be indicating it like some kind of… biological mass rather than a planet."

"What, like the whole thing is alive?" Anakin asked.

"Looks like it," Ahsoka nodded with a frown as he examined what Barriss was looking at. "Though… it difficult to say. But they do say that we should be able to breathe outside and that this place is bigger than an asteroid so it's still fairly large. Yet still small enough to fit inside that monolith at least."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd like a little nose around," Obi-Wan got to his feet. "This isn't exactly the way I pictured this mission going. In fact I think I couldn't have expected anything like this to happen. But if we can go outside safely then I say we do. Because it's my guess that whatever this planet – I shall call it a planet for the sake of argument – is, then my guess is that that distress signal that we were sent to investigate came from here."

"That's a point," Barriss nodded. "There may be a Jedi out there that needs our help. Perhaps they got trapped here."

"It looks like _we're _the ones that are trapped here now," Anakin grimaced as he pushed a few of the controls in front of him. "I can't get anything to respond, and yet all the ship's functions seem to be in perfect working order in every way except they don't work. The engines are online for example, but they're not responding."

"Stranger and stranger," Obi-Wan agreed as he made for the door, opening the back of the cockpit and lowering the ramp that extended down the back of the ship. The other three followed him out, the bright light of the outside falling across their faces as they moved out from under the shadow of the ship. Obi-Wan pulled a pair of macrobinoculars that he carried on his belt off and held it up to his face, peering through at the surrounding landscape.

"Is anyone else weirded out by this?" Barriss asked, looking around them in astonishment.

"No," Ahsoka assured her. "Definitely not just you. Are we sure that we're inside that monolith? Because it certainly doesn't look like we're surrounded by metal walls _at all_."

And she was right. The rich vegetable matter around them bloomed green and bright, like some kind of tropical shrubbery, some of it with thick green stems that seemed to sag under their own weight and with an enormous, white bulb at the end. And while the ship seemed to have landed in front of a large alcove in a cliff wall, out the back they could see for miles – with huge, rolling mountains and hills stretching away into the distance at various heights, dotted green and grey with the rock and the foliage that was covering them.

The sky was as blue as most of the other planet's they'd been too. Bluer in fact – it was like it was pristine and clear, and there were bright, fluffy clouds filling the sky just as if this was the atmosphere of a regular planet. And the strangest part of the sky was the stars, which were out in force even during the brightness of the day, dotting the sky like a ceiling of glittering diamonds. There was absolutely no sign of the large monolith walls that were supposedly all around them.

And the strangest part of all… the giant, floating rocks. They dotted the sky at various intervals, hovering in the air with absolutely no visible means of support, topped with plants just as the ground was and coming in various sizes, from something only a little bigger than the Jedi's ship to one in the distance that looked like half an entire mountain just hanging in the air.

"Rocks do _not_ normally do that, do they?" Ahsoka asked.

"I think this is another moment to bring up that Sherlock thing," Anakin murmured.

"I remember something that my Master told me when I was still a Padawan," Barriss said. "It was after her mission to Alzoc-III… with Aayla actually. She told me that when they came across the crash site of the Separatist frigate that they were supposed to be looking for they saw that a large portion of the crashed ship, many chunks of ice and rocks were all floating in mid-air as well."

"Yeah, I remember Aayla mentioning that," nodded Ahsoka. "But that was as a result of that Gravitic Core built by that Separatist Skakoan scientist that Cad Bane set off. I don't think that that has happened here. Or anything like that. And I don't think anything as large as those mountains was hovering in the air at Alzoc-III either."

"Regardless, this is certainly one strange place," Obi-Wan nodded. "Not to mention the Force. Can you feel the Force's p…"

Anakin did not hear the rest of Obi-Wan's sentence because a voice had rather abruptly said, _Are you the One?_ And he knew instantly that it had radiated from within his mind – he was no stranger to telepathic talking after all since he was mentally linked with both Ahsoka and Barriss. But that had been neither of their voices. It had been another – more forceful and clear, with an echoing edge to it that telepathic voices did not normally have in his experience. Yet it was still definitely the voice of a female.

"Um…" Anakin looked round at the group, his hand going up to his head. "You guys… heard that, right?"

"Hm? Heard what?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, Master, I heard it," Ahsoka nodded. "But whoever it was that said that was speaking directly to you, not to us."

"Yes, we heard it over the mind-link and…" Barriss paused and stared past Anakin in complete bewilderment, Ahsoka following her example.

Anakin knew that the owner of the voice would be standing right behind him even before the same voice, but this time going through his ears rather than past them, repeated, "Are you the One?" It still had that same echo to it though, and Anakin turned around to face the owner.

What he saw surprised him. The woman appeared human in shape and stature, with an elegant form clad in a long, flowing white robe that clung to her upper body and cascaded down the sides of her legs, which themselves were garbed with white leggings and boots. The sleeves of her arms and her back had a single large, wide cloth hanging down from them like some kind of strange cloak or perhaps something like a set of wings, though they didn't look capable of flying. Her face was exquisite, as if carved from marble, and her head was adorned by a large decorative headdress that swept out to either side and covered her ears. And her hair, which was long and, for some reason, green flowed down behind her to approximately waist height, or lower like gently rippling water.

And let's not forget the fact that she was glowing. Literally. Her face and her white robe seemed to shine with light that radiated outwards from her and bathed the area around them in it. Anakin almost had to resist the urge to cover his eyes just to look at her. And the fact that she was slightly taller than all of them was just a minor detail after that.

Obi-Wan turned to regard her along with the rest of them. "Hello," he said, curiously. "Are you a local here?"

"I would think so," Anakin said. "But… who are you exactly?"

"I am Daughter," said the person, matter-of-factly and straight to the point.

"Daughter?" Barriss blinked. "That's a… peculiar name, isn't it?"

"Probably not the best idea to say something like that, Barriss," Ahsoka murmured. Then added, _But for the record, yes. It is._

The woman, now dubbed Daughter, turned and regarded the two young Jedi with sharp eyes that looked like they were capable of cutting through rock, before she otherwise totally blanked them and addressed Anakin again with the same question, "Are you the One?"

Anakin frowned. "Um… you might have to be more specific."

"Should there be a Chosen before that One?" Ahsoka enquired. "Or is it just 'The One?'"

The Daughter's eyes flicked back to Ahsoka again, an ever so slight smile gracing her lips now, though it was difficult to tell if she was amused or whether it was just because Ahsoka had answered her question. She then immediately just said, "I will take you to Him."

"Him?" Obi-Wan asked. "That sounds rather ominous. Can you tell us where we are and how we got here? Did you have something to do with it?"

"Yeah, we're here searching for the perpetrator of a two-thousand year old Jedi distress Code," Anakin said. "We just want to find the source and go, if it's all the same to you."

Daughter's face remained mostly impassive, but she just said, "Only He can help you. There is little time. Follow me. We must have shelter by nightfall."

And with that she just turned around and walked away, her hair continuing to ripple behind her as she did so.

"Well, that was a little rude," Ahsoka remarked, folding her arms.

"Sounded to me like she was only interested in you, Anakin," Barriss said. "The rest of us are just spare parts."

"Well," Anakin remarked. "I do have a way with the ladies. Even the weird ones."

Ahsoka snorted. "Oh please."

Obi-Wan stepped forwards and said, "I don't know what's going on here, but it would appear that sticking with this woman is our best bet and finding that out. Come on, Anakin. Don't keep your girlfriend waiting."

"My g…!" Anakin started in alarm as Obi-Wan pushed him forwards and they started walking after the retreating Daughter. "Master!"

"Only calling it like I see it, Anakin," Obi-Wan smirked.

"Yeah," Ahsoka grinned as they all followed on. "She kept calling you 'the One.' Isn't that what people call the person that they claim is the only boyfriend or girlfriend for them in those sappy romance movies that Suzie told us about?"

"Sounds like it to me," Barriss grinned.

_If you two don't shut up I swear I'll…,_ Anakin muttered warningly in his head, letting the unvoiced threat hang since he could think how to end it. Obi-Wan was the only member of the four that didn't know about his relationship with Padmé, and the two girls were teasing him even though they knew full well he was a married man.

Ahsoka and Barriss were not gigglers by nature, but right now they were struggling to do just that as they walked along. And Obi-Wan had a very wide smirk on his face too.

"What about you anyway, Master?" Anakin retorted. "I seem to recall some tension in the air when we were last around Duchess Satine."

"Satine and I are old colleagues that hold very different views, that's why," Obi-Wan said, rather quickly and a with a slight colouration to his face. This time all three of the other Jedi tried not to laugh.

"Come quickly. This is not a time for joking amongst yourselves," the Daughter called from the front without turning to look around and yet acknowledging all the others but Anakin properly for the first time. "We must reach the monastery post haste."

"Monastery?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, why do I have to have a bad feeling about this now?" Obi-Wan muttered.

"You never know, Obi-Wan. I'm sure there'll be no problem. Things might turn out fine," Ahsoka said.

"Like they always do?" Barriss raised a brow.

"Good point."

* * *

The Daughter led the group onwards through the thick jungle trees, stepping slowly and serenely along at her own steady pace, with the four Jedi drawing closer towards her as they walked, staring around at the planet around them as they went. She led them out across a large ridge that wound its way around several rounded cliff walls, without turning back to look at them even once as they trailed along behind her obediently.

Everywhere they went the planet seemed determined to fascinate them even more. As the light began to fade a little from the sky, indicating that the day was drawing on, the leaves were rapidly beginning to turn red, first just changing hue it and then slowly wilting at an increasing speed as the day drew more on.

"Well, that's something that you don't see on every planet that you go to," Obi-Wan murmured, touching a leaf that had been green and healthy about five seconds ago but which now almost crimson and cracked underneath his hand. Even the moss was turning red. "It's like the autumn comes the moment the light starts to fade. Does that mean it will be winter when night falls here I wonder?"

"I really can't say," Anakin muttered. "I couldn't even begin to guess. But… the Force. Do you feel how strong it is here?"

"I believe I said something like that earlier," Obi-Wan remarked dryly.

"Well, that was the probably the point I got interrupted by Miss Nightlight up ahead," Anakin said. "But still, you definitely feel it then?"

"How could I not?" Obi-Wan breathed, breathing through his nose as if trying to inhale the Force itself. "It's strong. _So_ strong. Stronger than anything I've ever experienced before… even Tython. And that was the birthplace of the Jedi themselves."

"We sense it too," Ahsoka agreed. "It's like… everything is alive with it. More than usual anyway. Maybe that's what the scanners were picking up when they were saying that the entire planet is one large living mass. The sheer presence of the Force itself."

"Possibly," Obi-Wan agreed. "What _is_ this place?"

"And has anyone else noticed that there is no fauna here?" Barriss asked. "I haven't seen any sign of birds or even bugs since we got here."

"You're right," Anakin observed. "There's plants. But no animals… I'm not sure if I really like this place. There's something… really weird about it."

"I think there are many things weird about it," muttered Ahsoka.

Anakin increased his pace until he was almost beside the Daughter and coughed politely. "Excuse me, milady," he said. "But who are you taking us to?"

"The Father, of course," the Daughter replied.

"Huh… the Father… and the Daughter…" Barriss noted. "Is there a Mother and a Son too?"

The Daughter flinched at her words, which Barriss had meant to be something of a joke to lighten the mood, momentarily stopping as if to collect herself, before she straightened and turned to look at Barriss, speaking to her directly for the first time. "My brother is known as the Son," she nodded. "But we have not had a Mother in a long time now… not a true one anyway."

And then she turned and continued walking a slightly faster clip.

"Yikes," Ahsoka muttered as they went on. "Barriss I think you may have upset her."

"I didn't mean to," Barriss murmured back. "Um… sorry," she called out. "If what I said just then offended you in some way."

"No offence was taken," Daughter replied curtly, and continued walking on as if nothing had happened.

"So…" Obi-Wan brought in his own polite cough. "What exactly are you? You look human, but you radiate with the Force… stronger than practically anything I've ever sensed before. And what of your Father and brother?"

"We are the Ones who guard the power," the Daughter replied immediately. "We are the beginning… the middle… and the end."

"Uh…huh…" Anakin muttered. "Did that make sense to anyone else?"

"Sounds a little bit rehearsed to me," Ahsoka whispered so the Daughter wouldn't hear her and take offence.

"Or at least something that she takes great pride in, whatever that may be," Obi-Wan agreed.

The group fell into silence after that and continued walking along the narrow ledge towards wherever it was that they were being taken by this strange woman, who looked almost more like some kind of apparition than a solid person. As they walked, the Jedi noticed the Daughter looking around her from time to time, as if expecting something to happen but they couldn't begin to guess what it was she was waiting for because there were plenty of things that were strange to them going on around them.

But it appeared that whatever it was, it didn't happen, and the Daughter looked relieved as she pressed on.

"Something on your mind?" Anakin asked.

"It is nothing important," Daughter replied. "Oh I half-expected my brother to waylay our progress somehow."

"Waylay?" Anakin frowned. "In what manner?"

"Potentially by trying to kill you," the Daughter offered.

Anakin looked alarmed, as did the other Jedi, their hands going towards their lightsabers. "Kill us? What reason would your brother have to kill us, lady?" Anakin asked warningly.

"He has his reasons," the Daughter replied as if that explained everything. "You will understand when you meet him. It appears my Father is still able to keep him in line for the moment."

"Sounds like a pleasant guy," Ahsoka observed.

"He has his reasons," the Daughter repeated. "And it's not his fault. Not totally, anyway."

"And we're making our way towards this person who might try and kill us?" Anakin asked. "You're leading us there? Remind me again why this is a good idea?"

"You must meet with the Father. He has been expecting you and it is important," the Daughter replied. "Now, come."

* * *

The light continued to fade and the Daughter picked up her pace a little as it did. The Jedi, remembering how she said they would need cover by nightfall, increased their own pace without hesitation. And eventually they came within sight of their destination. It appeared to be a tall, peaked mountain in the distance, with a huge, stone building built into the top of it, resembling a monastery just as the Daughter had stated, but with a bright shining light in the shape of a diamond hovering above the tallest spire, like a beacon.

"Is that it?" Anakin asked.

"Yes," the Daughter nodded. "Come quickly. The Father is waiting."

And her pace shifted into a run, her hair streaming out backwards behind her as she did so. The four Jedi hesitated but they quickly sprinted off after her. And as the Sun began to dip further down the sky, it became obvious why. Darkness was brining bright lightning flashes and crackles of thunder and rather alarmingly bolts of electricity were arcing down towards the ground and striking it on infrequent occasions all around. And then the rain came with it just as they began to get close to the monastery and ascended up a large flight of stone steps towards it.

Eventually though they managed to reach the top before they got too soaked, sheltered from most of the rain by the side of the mountain itself. The Daughter led them out onto a large, flat courtyard that was built jutting out of the side of the mountain itself on a single massive platform, with a single, flight of stone steps leading up from top-centre and to an open doorway from which pale ethereal light shone.

"My Father is waiting inside," the Daughter gestured to them, allowing them to take the lead. "But it is the Chosen One with whom he has business. The rest of you should wait out here."

"Uh… no thanks, your Ladyship," Anakin said, firmly and brooking no argument. "These guys are my team… my family. Either they go in with me or they don't go in at all."

_You are aware that Barriss and I could hear everything that's happening in there anyway, right?_ Ahsoka asked.

_Not the point, _Anakin replied.

The Daughter looked momentarily conflicted before she nodded and said, "Very well, but it is likely that the Chosen One is the only one my Father will acknowledge regardless. Now, please… he awaits."

"Come on then," Anakin nodded. "Let's see what this is all about."

And the group of four stepped towards the stone stairs, looking around them warily at what was all around them warily as they did so. All of them could remember quite clearly what the Daughter had said about her brother potentially having murderous intent towards them and none of them were prepared to allow a sneak attack.

Though still all of them jumped when the sound of two hands clapping together came from seemingly nowhere. All four of them tensed when they saw a shape moving in the shadows beside the stairs, hands gripping their lightsabers as a figure as tall as the Daughter emerged, but who looked extremely different.

There was no bright glow coming from this guy. It was almost the opposite, as if the shadows seemed to be trying to wrap themselves around him as best they could, the area around him growing darker just as he stepped out of them. He wore a relatively simple black garb with a high collar around the back of his neck and his hands covered by gloves that appeared to be part of the robe itself. His face grey-skinned and his head bald, but there were red markings as scarlet as blood on both. Two long lines of red ran over the top of his head right to the back, one over each eye. And he also had patches of red under each eye with a line coming off them that down either cheek, making it look like he'd been crying blood which had now dried.

And perhaps the most noticeable feature about him were his eyes, which were totally black apart from the red, glowing pupils that stared out like little laser points.

"Well… well…well," the man smirked as he beheld the little group. "If it isn't him indeed. The Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, who brought _balance_ to the Force with the destruction of the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, isn't it? May I be the first from our humble family of three to offer my… congratulations."

"Let me guess," Anakin said with a tight growl. "You must be the Son."

"How flattering to hear that you know me already," the Son chuckled, for that was indeed who it was. "But you've already it really surprising."

"I'm not sensing anything but darkness from him, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured quietly. "Be careful. That can only be a Sith."

"Yeah, I got that," Anakin remarked. "I'd hoped that we'd go rid of all these guys with Sidious. Apparently not."

The Son seemed to find this amusing and chuckled. "How very black and white of you Jedi," he said. "You just assume that a Sith is the only explanation for what I am? Well, I suppose you are right in a sense. But you are also wrong, in another."

"Brother, let them pass," the Daughter stepped forwards alongside them. "Do not try to deny Father his will. He will force you to step down."

"Maybe so," the Son leered at her. "But for how much longer, eh, Sister? How much longer."

"Okay, I don't like you," Anakin growled. "Now back off before we make you back off, whoever and whatever you are."

"You and your precious family, you mean?" the Son asked. "Oh, but I forget. A good deal of that family isn't even here, are they? That other Jedi, Secura, and those Digimon and Tamer friends of yours. Where are they now, hm?"

Anakin gritted his teeth at the obvious attempt to get to him. The Son leered, as if expecting him to do something and Anakin felt his hand itching to grab hold of his lightsaber, to at least defend himself if nothing else.

"You seem to be remarkably well informed," Obi-Wan stated. "For beings so far secluded from the rest of the Galaxy. How do you know about all this stuff?"

"We have our ways," the Son replied. "Every great change in the universe we can sense. We knew about the existence of the Digimon from the first moment they entered this Galaxy. And we sensed what happened in that final battle, when the darkness of the universe was brought back in line by the actions of the Chosen One. And now the Chosen One has come here, to the home in which we have dwelt alone for thousands of years. What to do about it, I wonder?"

"Brother, you must not interfere," the Daughter stepped further forwards. "You must not disobey Father's will. Step aside. Let them pass. You know it is of grave importance."

"Oh, I do, Sister. I do," the Son chuckled. "But have you ever considered the possibility that our Father's will and mine… might differ slightly. And I have found over my many years of existence, that Father is always the one that gets his way. Maybe I would rather that were not the case this time."

"Brother…" Daughter raised her hands like a dancer preparing to go into a whirl. "I cannot let you get in the way."

"Are you capable of stopping, me, Sister?" he asked, with a scowl, raising his own hands.

Four lightsabers and a shoto sprang into life from the assorted Jedi, readying themselves for the fight that seemed to be becoming increasingly inevitable.

But then…

"STOP THIS! The pair of you!" a third voice echoed from the top of the stairs. Both the Son and the Daughter whirled around to look, and the Jedi followed their gazes with their own as another tall figure appeared, stepping slowly into view over the lip of the steps. A hand raised itself into the air and both the Son and the Daughter were jerked forwards, stumbling to stand on either side of the foot of the staircase and bent over on their knees, as if they had been manipulated into a bowing position.

"Enough of your quarrelling, the pair of you," the deep and yet slightly throaty voice of the third person said. "I have seen more than enough of it in my lifetime."

"Yes, Father," both of them said at the same time, the Daughter with respect and the Son with something akin to disgust.

"Well, it was pretty obvious but I guess we now know who he is," Ahsoka murmured as the Jedi stepped up on either side of each other, facing the stairs. He was an elderly man with a wrinkled face that looked like it had been chipped out of rock with a rusty chisel – all his features symmetrical, but every wrinkle prominent and jagged. He wore a long grey robe, with two separate layers, one that fell down his legs and the over which covered his shoulders down to his waist, his arms and gnarled hands protruding from underneath and clasped in front of him like a teacher lecturing a student.

He also had a long grey beard and moustache, the former of which extended down to somewhere at the base of his ribcage and had two separate braids on either side of the main bulk of the hair. And on his head was a tall, pointed, grey hat that encased the back as well as the top of his head and climbed up to a point, making him look like some kind of ancient wizard more than anything else.

"You are the Father then," Anakin said to him.

"I am," the Father nodded. "And you are the Chosen One. And it is you to whom I must speak. Please, come in. There is much to discuss."

And he turned on his heel without another word and strode back into the door he had walked from. The Son and Daughter both began to climb to their feet and then they both stepped aside, allowing them up the stairs, though the Son's face displayed his reluctance.

"Well… if we want the answers…" Barriss pointed out.

"Into the breach," Anakin agreed and hurried up the stairs with the others behind him, the Son and Daughter both staying outside where they were. Once the Jedi reached the top of the stairs they found themselves in a massive hall, the moment they stepped through the door. The Father could be seen walking across what appeared to be a massive stone bridge, beneath which there was nothing but mist and fog, as if the entire mountain the monastery was set in was hollow.

In fact, the only floor of the entire room seemed to be bridge overhanging the abyss, for at the other end of the walkway there was nothing but a tall throne several times the height of a man on a pedestal with a pair of statues on either side – one that looked like a griffin with green eyes on the right and a gargoyle with red eyes on the left, and also a pair of walkways that branched off to either side of the throne in a T junction and led to doors that presumably led further into the monastery.

"Well, this certainly looks safe," Obi-Wan muttered, looking over the edge of the bridge, which in itself looked to be about six feet high.

"I'm sure it's fine," Anakin said as he stepped across. "The old man certainly thinks it is."

They followed said old man to the other end of the bridge, where he turned around and said, "Please excuse the interference of my Son. It is in his nature to be selfish, and I'm afraid that the matter that I have brought you here for, Chosen One, is delicate in the extreme. Especially to him. He would not wish for the outcome of the meeting that I desire to come to pass."

"So, it was definitely you that brought us here?" Anakin asked.

"Yes," the Father nodded. "It was. I knew that it would be you that came to answer the signal. And I know exactly who you are."

"Then you were behind that Jedi distress call that was over two-thousand years old?" asked Obi-Wan. "How did you come by such technology?"

The Father turned to regard the other bearded man rather balefully, before he turned back to Anakin said, "I would prefer it if we were to talk in private about this, but I sense that you have already made your decision on that matter."

"I am not going to send them away," Anakin replied, flatly. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it in front of them."

"Very well," the Father sighed. "But I re-iterate that this is of vital importance. If they choose to stay, then they must all swear an oath to me now. A solemn oath that unless I deem otherwise, none of what they hear of what I have to say will be heard by any other than those who stand within the walls of this room now."

"And you won't ask me to swear that same oath because…?" Anakin asked.

"You will learn that in time. But now… swear…" he said, looking hard at the other three Jedi. His eyes were black like the Son's, but his irises were bright green, like the Daughter's. It was almost as if he was an exact mix of the two.

The Jedi hesitated, but then they nodded. "Alright, I swear," Obi-Wan said. "But I am not comfortable with this."

"I swear too," Ahsoka nodded.

"And I," Barriss finished.

"Good," the Father nodded. "And to answer your question, we have not received any visitors to this planet for over twenty-four-thousand-years now, but yes, that signal that was sent out was indeed of our doing. We acquired it from an old, dead Jedi vessel that floated by our planet once many years ago. I drew it into the monolith and destroyed it, but kept the distress beacon. I theorised that there may come a time, in the future, where I would have need of it. And indeed, that time came, which is why you are now standing here before me."

"Over twenty-four-thousand?" Anakin asked, startled. "You're really that old?"

"Oh, we are all far older even than that," the Father supplied, with a casual smirk. "Far, _far_ older. I have seen the universe go by me for so long as I have sat here in this monastery. I have led a very long and very slow life."

"Who was your last visitor?" Obi-Wan asked curiously.

"A Jedi Knight by the name of Xendor," replied the Father.

"Xendor… Xendor…" Obi-wan murmured. "That name does sound familiar. And if he came in the time that you're referring to, it would have to have been during the First Great Schism, shortly after the Jedi began to branch out from the planet Tython."

"I believe I know of him," Barriss said. Ever the studious Padawan, she had done a lot more reading in the archives than most. "He was one of a few Jedi that helped establish and led a new group of Jedi that specialised in the Dark Side of the Force, but was killed in the war that followed."

"Ah yes, I read about him too," Obi-Wan mused. "Though I don't believe that there was ever any mention of him coming to a place like this in the archives."

"Well then, look like we still have little to go on," Anakin murmured, turning to the Father. "So… let's just cut to the chase shall we? Who are you people? And what do you want with me? And I would prefer it if your answer could not be in the form of a riddle like your Daughter's was."

"Very well," the Father pressed the tips of his long-nailed fingers together. "There are few that exist who still know of the presence of myself and the rest of my family here on the planet Mortis. But over the millennia that we have existed, we have been given many names. Some people call us Force Wielders. Others refer to us as simply the Ones. But in the entire universe, there is nobody outside of my family who can use and manipulate the Force as we do."

"You certainly do radiate the Force in magnitude greater than anything I have ever encountered before," Obi-Wan murmured. "Even you, Anakin. No offence meant of course."

"Of course," Anakin replied. "I… sense it too. So, what is this planet Mortis then? Why are you hiding away inside that giant monolith like this? With your powers and talents, you could be a great force for the Galaxy."

"Yes," the Father agreed. "But what force would that take? You may have noticed this already, but my children embody both sides of the Force. In fact, you could call them physical manifestations of both. My Daughter, pure of heart and intensely noble, she is the Light Side of the Force made flesh. And my Son, incredibly selfish and black of thought, he is the Dark Side of the Force personified."

"How is such a thing possible?" Ahsoka asked. "I've never heard of something like that before."

"Nor would I have expected you to," the Father responded. "We were once beings known as the Celestials, before we became the Ones. We lived in peace and harmony out in the Galaxy when civilisations were still rising, a mere fraction of what they are today. That was more than one million years ago now."

"One _million_!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Yes," the Father nodded, a wry smile appearing for a moment. "I am indeed, that old, as are both of my children. But the planet we lived on was strong in the Force, and there were a few focal points to it, specifically to the Dark Side, on that planet. Among those included the two strongest, one being known as the Font of Power, and the other called the Pool of Knowledge. I expressly ordered my children never to drink from the former or to bathe in the latter, for if they did then the Force flowing into them and permanently saturate them with itself, which could lead to very dangerous results."

"That does make sense," Obi-Wan nodded. "There are some known nexuses for the Force across the Galaxy, though I don't believe I know of any that would permanently grant such power."

"And let me guess," Anakin said. "Your children did it anyway?"

"Indeed," the Father sighed. "My Son drank from the Font of Power and was immediately enthused in the Dark Side, all Light driven from him in the process. And my Daughter, she bathed in the Pool, and was instantly purged of all Darkness. As Celestials, we were already incredibly strong in the Force, but now my two children were firmly embodying opposing sides of the Force. And as I am sure you can guess, this led to conflict. They began to make war on each other, practically compelled to do so by the power inside them."

"Such a struggle between two beings," breathed Obi-Wan. "Two beings who are the two sides of the Force personified… that could have catastrophic effects on the entire Galaxy."

"Indeed," the Father nodded. "I love both my children dearly, but if their conflict had been allowed to escalate, they could have torn the very fabric of the universe apart, the very Force effectively at war with itself. I struggled long to try and keep the peace between them, and I have been struggling ever since. Balance between them is necessary. If either one was to gain too much strength over the other, then the Force could be thrown into chaos. It could be the undoing of everything."

"Is that why to secluding yourself here?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Indeed," the Father nodded. "The conflict between by Son and Daughter began to grow too fierce. And eventually it became necessary to escape from our old world and come here, the only place in the Galaxy where I can control them and cut off from the temporal world. You may have noticed that the laws of universe do not apply here. During the day when light is in the air, everything is lush and full of life. During the night when darkness falls, everything withers and dies. And then in the morning, everything is replenished once again. Day and night are always equal in length here – equally balanced, for this planet is like a conduit. The entire Force of the Galaxy, light and dark, flows through here in a manner it does nowhere else in the Galaxy.

"And therefore here, I have been able to physically control both my children and _keep_ them at balance. Prevent the fighting between them, and prevent catastrophe as the Force is thrown into chaos. Light and Dark, living together, their personal traits embodied by the planet itself. And I the monolith that surrounds us does not only allow us to live in such a unique environment, but it cuts off both of my children from leaving and entering the outside world, where I cannot keep them under control."

"It's a jail," breathed Ahsoka.

"Precisely," nodded the Father. "As well as a sanctuary from those who would exploit us. You may have noticed that your friends, who are outside the monolith as we speak, waiting for you, could not see you when you arrived. That is because this monolith exists on a different plane of existence to the rest of the universe. Its own little niche in the Galaxy. I was able to extend that field to encompass you when you arrived, meaning that when you pulled out of hyperspace, you were already entering our own plane, rather than the one of the rest of the universe exists on."

"So we _were_ in the same place as Rex after all," Barriss said.

"Well at least some of it is beginning to make sense," Anakin said. "But there's still one major question that needs to be answered. Why did you bring me here?"

"You are the Chosen One," repeated the Father. "And I am in need of the Chosen One's services. Just over a year ago now, you brought balance to the Force by destroying the Sith Lord Darth Sidious who was seeking to upset it."

"With the help of my friends," Anakin pointed out.

"Be that as it may, you were the only one that could have ended it," the Father replied. "There are many possible futures at any given time, but in each one, you were always the one that struck the final blow, with or without your friends' assistance, to bring the Light and Dark Sides of the Force back into balance with one another. In many of those futures that I foresaw a few years ago, the Clone Wars were still on, and Sidious was still at large. You had not yet proven that you were the Chosen One. Were that the case, I would have given you a test, designed to see if it really was the case. However, you have already proven that, in my eyes. I have no further doubts about who you are, and neither do you."

"Maybe not," Anakin replied. "But my duty as the Chosen One has already ended. It did so when I… when we… destroyed Palpatine."

"Did it?" the Father raised a crooked eyebrow. "Balance is a fragile thing. As someone who has struggle to keep my Light and Dark Side children in balance for tens of thousands of years, I know this better than anyone. Whenever either starts to try and fight, I still have to step in. Admittedly my Son is most often the one that does start those fights, but my Daughter never stands down on her own either."

"What are you saying?" Anakin asked. "That my work is not finished?"

"On the contrary," the Father sighed. "I would hope that it is just beginning. I have lead a long life now… far longer than I care to think about. But even we long lived Celestials cannot live forever. And I fear that my time here in this world, or on any world, is coming to an end."

"You're dying?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes," the Father nodded. "I am dying. I do not know how much longer I have left but I know that it is not long. Perhaps a few more years at the most. But after that, I shall fade away. And when I do, there will be nobody left to control my children. There will be nobody left to stop the warring between them. To stop the warring between the Force itself."

The frown on Anakin's face deepened considerably. "Hold on," he said, raising a hand. "I believe I can guess what direction this is heading in. Are you saying, that you want me – a regular mortal human being – to stay here and replace you after you die?"

"That is precisely what I am saying," the Father nodded.

"But I can't stay here on this place, cut off from the rest of the universe," Anakin protested. "I have… friends back home, I have a duty as a Jedi… I'm part of a team. Where they go I go. And I can tell you already that none of us can stay in this place."

"But you must," the Father raised his hand. "The Chosen One is the only one besides myself who is capable of keeping both my children under control. Only they have the power to channel the Force through power that this planet wields to keep the Force in balance. As you restored that balance after the defeat of Darth Sidious, now you must maintain it by keeping by children in check. I cannot do it for much longer… and without someone to control them… the universe would be devastated even without them leaving this planet."

Anakin gritted his teeth. "Look, I'm sorry, okay, but I just can't. It was my destiny to bring balance to the Force – I get that. But there was nothing that said I would have to spend the rest of my days with two squabbling siblings and making them both bend to my will. There was nothing that said I would have to become some kind of tyrannical… babysitter."

"He's right," Ahsoka nodded, a little vehemently. "He's my Master, and he's a figurehead for the entire Galaxy. Don't you think they're going to notice if he went missing?"

"Not to mention he's a mortal human," Barriss said. "If your Son and Daughter are that long-lived then even if he did consent to stay then there would only be so long before he died as well."

"Granting a much longer life in a place such as this is but a trivial matter," the Father replied. "As previously stated, we can manipulate the Force in ways that few could ever hope to understand, especially in a place such as this. Besides that, is it not your obligation to stay here and keep the universe safe? There is no alternative but for it to be the Chosen One that replaces me. It must be you."

Anakin clenched his fist and growled a little. "You come up and dump this massive task that supposedly only I can do in my lap and just expect me to take it up. I have a personal life and I made a commitment to the Jedi Order. You just… expect me to drop all of that and… come and be a glorified nanny while my friends age and die themselves out in the ordinary universe."

"I am aware that it is a big decision," the Father sighed. "But it is urgent. Even though I estimate my natural life would take me a few more years, I do not believe I would last long enough to see the end of it. It is this decision that you must make that has my Son so on edge. He has spent as long as I on Mortis and is growing tired of my constantly keeping him in check. As with most darkness he wants to expand and grow stronger. And as I get closer to dying, my power is waning. I fear that it will not be much longer before I can no longer control him. And when that time comes, I believe he will strike me down with no hesitation and seek to escape from here and spread the terror across the universe."

"This might sound a little harsh," Anakin muttered. "And I guess I'm sorry to even suggest it because he's your Son and all, but what if I were to just kill him?"

"That is something that you cannot do of your own power," the Father replied. "He is the Dark Side of the Force incarnate and if you were to somehow defeat him in combat, you could not kill him. And even if you were to find some way of doing that, you would also have to kill my Daughter in order to keep the Force balanced. I could not allow something like that to happen."

Anakin rubbed a hand down his face and sighed through his fingers. "Well that severely limits my options then, doesn't it?" he muttered.

"Master, are you actually considering it?" Ahsoka asked, surprised.

"Not really," Anakin shook his head. "But I suppose I can't take such a thing lightly… look," he turned back to the Father. "I'm not going to say no straight away. There does sound like there's a lot at stake here. But I can't make this decision instantaneously no matter how urgent it is. Let us leave and I'll think it over, alright. And I'll come back to you with a decision within a month."

"You could stay here, as my guest," the Father offered. "Time passes differently here as much as space does. Your friends that are waiting for you on the other side, for instance, will have only just lost your signal half a second ago, even now."

"This isn't just about time – I would need to be with some of the other people I know," Anakin replied.

The Father locked eyes with him for a moment. But then he sighed and said, "Very well. But I pray that you make the right choice. The Galaxy will suffer the consequences of a selfish refusal."

"I guessed that," Anakin stated. "But still… I need time."

"I understand," the Father nodded. "You too have those you care about. It is only natural. But you must not allow knowledge of our existence to spread. Not even to others close to you. If information on my Son or Daughter were to get out, it is possible that the balance could be broken as they attempt to utilise anyone who come here."

"Yeah, I've got it," Anakin nodded. "Just let us leave now and I swear I'll consider it."

"Your ship awaits you out back," the Father gestured. "Follow me."

"Our ship? But we left our ship…" Ahsoka started.

"I had your ship transported here after my Daughter went to collect you," the Father replied. "I wanted it under my supervision, for my Son would likely attempt to use it to leave if I was not watching."

The Father began to stride away towards one of the side doors, with the others of the group following on after him once more.

"This cannot be happening, can it?" Ahsoka asked with gritted teeth. "Are you seriously being asked to stay here and play nanny to the epitomes of the Light and Dark Side of the Force?"

"That's what it sounded like to me," Anakin said.

"This… puts us at an agony of concern," Obi-Wan sighed. "Assuming we believe what he said is all true… this looks like a lose-lose situation."

"On the one hand, if you do nothing then the Force could be thrown into chaos," Barriss said.

"And on the other, if you do… then nobody could ever see you again," Ahsoka bit her lip. "I don't think frequent visitors to this place would be all that plausible. And certainly not a good idea if that Son guy can potentially escape every time it happens."

"What are you going to do, Anakin?" Barriss asked.

"I don't know…" Anakin sighed. "I don't know."

* * *

True to form, the Father led them out towards something that looked like a round stadium at the back and there was there ship, exactly how they had left it, except for the fact it was in a completely different location. The Father gestured to it and said, "I shall allow you to leave as requested. I hope that you will make the right decision. For all our sakes."

Anakin said nothing and just stepped up the ramp, the other three following on behind him. None of them spoke any further as Anakin slumped on a bed in the back of the shuttle that was set into the wall and designed for people to take turns getting rest on long journeys, and buried his head in his hands. Obi-Wan moved into the pilot seat, knowing that Anakin was in no state of mind to fly. Neither was he, frankly, but he was still in better shape than Anakin.

Ahsoka and Barriss just stood in front of Anakin helplessly as the ramp pulled up and Obi-Wan lifted the ship into the air, swinging it around and piloting it upwards towards the night sky, lightning bursts still crackling in the distance.

The ship soon left the monastery behind, but it didn't give any of them peace of mind. Ahsoka and Barriss were sending him reassuring feelings through their mental links but neither of them could think of something appropriate to say at a time like this. Everything would just seem hollow or worse, derogatory. Because there seemed to be very little avenue for something good to come out of a situation like this.

But, as the ship continued on its way out towards the edge of the atmosphere, seeking a point where they could exit the monolith that Obi-Wan couldn't even see, Anakin felt a slow wave of tiredness come over him and he fought the urge to slump against the wall.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka stepped forward, Barriss close behind. The former knelt down by Anakin's side and the latter tried to place her hand over Anakin's forehead to make sure he was healthy. "Anakin, are you okay? Master? Skyguy?"

But Anakin didn't respond…

* * *

…because his subconscious was otherwise occupied. Anakin looked around, having suddenly found himself in a bright green field at the side of a lake, as if he was back on the planet's surface below in the middle of the day. It took him a couple of moments to figure out what was going on before he realised that he wasn't actually here. He was having a vision of some kind, as if he had suddenly been pulled inside his own mind by another force.

He could vaguely hear Ahsoka's voice, calling to him, which he knew to be coming through his actual ears back in real consciousness, but he could hear another voice, also calling him and much more prominent, echoing within his mind.

"Anakin…" the voice called. "Anakin."

It was a male voice and one that Anakin recognised instantly. After all, he had heard it in the real world, not long ago. He turned around to face the lake and saw a figure rise up from it… a figure that looked exactly like himself. But Anakin could already tell that it was not really him in anything but shape, watching as the apparition walked across the surface of the lake, to stop in front of him.

"Some of what my Father said was true," the Son, for that was who it really was, stated. "It is the duty of the Chosen One to restore balance to the universe, and not just on one occasion either."

"And I suppose your view of balance is very different from your Father's," Anakin stated, folding his arms.

"Naturally," the Son said, the fake Anakin slowly morphing back into the Son's natural and taller shape, a rather disturbing process, as least in Anakin's mind. "Can you tell me that you have not felt it too? You did not bring balance to the Force when you defeated Sidious. Naturally he was a bad influence on the universe, but without him the universe is now severely lacking in darkness.

"The Dark Side can do what the endless politics of your precious Republic can never hope to fully do. People resent being contained and there will always be darkness, no matter how hard some light tries to stamp it out. There will always be the shade of a tree in the middle of a sunny field. And like the night, the darkness always returns. Why not embrace that darkness instead?

"Darkness is the natural state of things. In most of the Galaxy the only light is the mere pinpricks of the distant stars, fighting to make themselves seen, and yet the Galaxy runs itself with ease. It is the same with life itself. Darkness is the remedy to all anarchy… to all chaos… It is only because of light that those things even feel the need to exist. If all was dark, there would be neither. There would be order and tranquillity and freedom for all. That is the true balance, extinguishing the light utterly, not trying to even things out. Darkness is the shade that provides shelter from the light which seeks to burn them."

"Nice speech," Anakin said dryly, with a raised eyebrow. "But that's not how the universe really works. I don't know how much you really know about it, cooped up in the monolith like this, but you forget that light is the whole reason why life even exists. It is impossible for life to start on a planet that does not have any light from a Sun. Without light, there is nothing. There is just emptiness everywhere. And _that_ holds true for reality as a whole. Complete darkness, physically or metaphorically, will never be an answer. Get rid of the light and the anarchy will just grow."

The Son scowled. "You claim my view is blinkered and yet you cannot see for yourself. Surrounding ourselves with darkness is…"

_You really should just give up, you know,_ Ahsoka's voice suddenly echoed around the clearing, startling the Son and causing Anakin to smirk. _Skyguy's never going to listen to you. He got enough manipulation in his life from Palpatine. He doesn't need to listen to your stupid logic as well._

_And besides,_ Barriss' voice appeared next. _He's seen the good that the Republic has been doing on its own since the Clone Wars ended. There hasn't been such a peaceful time since before any of us joined the Jedi Order. And we know that._

The Son glared at the smirking Anakin. "Ah, yes… the mind-link," he said. "I should probably have anticipated that. Your little friends have been listening to every word, haven't they?"

"Yeah," Anakin nodded. "And even if for some obscure reason I thought about joining you, they would slap some sense back into me."

_Literally, if necessary,_ Ahsoka's voice said primly. _Like Aayla did._

The Son smirked. "Ah yes, Secura. That dear Twi'lek friend of yours that you lost along with those Digimon. I can sense how much you miss her. Perhaps… there could be a way of bringing her back. And your other friends. In a universe consumed in the Dark Side, many new powers could be opened and unlocked. Including, potentially, travel to other dimensions. The possibilities are limitless. Would you like to see them again? Your team-mates? Would you like to make the Tenacious Ten complete again?"

"By becoming a Sith?" Anakin asked. "Are you kidding me? Aayla would probably punch me the moment she found out if I did that."

The Son frowned. "Yes… your friends certainly are your guiding light… aren't they? It really is a shame. You had so much potential. If those Digimon had not entered our universe… so much could have changed."

Anakin blinked. "What do you…?" he jumped back as the Son suddenly lashed his arms out and his shape contorted and twisted rapidly, and a mere split second later he had taken the form of a huge, ugly looking bat-like gargoyle creature, which the same glowing eyes and face markings but with a wide, toothed jaw, flat nose, massive skin-covered wings that stretched out to either side and a body that stood on two legs and towered three times as tall as Anakin. Anakin stepped back as the gargoyle lunged at him…

* * *

…and his eyes snapped open back in the real world, his body jerking violently only to be grabbed and steadied by both Barriss and Ahsoka simultaneously.

"Are you okay?" Barriss pressed her hand against his forehead again to check his temperature.

"Yeah…" Anakin nodded. "I'm alright."

"Boy did that guy have a rather twisted view of the universe," Ahsoka muttered.

"Well, what can you expect from someone like him," Anakin growled, before he shook his head and said, "Still, he's right about one thing. Just like you guys once told me, you're definitely still my guiding lights on matters like these." He suddenly grabbed the both of them and pulled them into his chest in a Skywalker version of a bearhug. "And I'll always be grateful for that."

"Oh, come on, Master," Ahsoka grinned as she and Barriss were pinned by Anakin's arms. "You have a handle on it now without us."

"Though of course we'll always be here if you _do_ slip up," Barriss said, a slight flush on her cheeks as she was held tightly by her good friend.

"Yeah. And I would do the same for you," he said. "Since Aayla and the others aren't here, we three have to look out for ourselves, yeah?"

"Of course," Ahsoka said. "But what's brought this on, Master? You're not usually _this_ mushy."

Anakin sighed. "I suppose I'm just… trying to decide what to do about all this new Chosen One stuff. I don't want to leave you guys behind but… if I stay here then I don't think you could be here with me. I'm… at a loss…"

"We all are," Barriss reached up and put a gentle hand on Anakin's cheek. "But I'm sure we'll figure something out. We always do. Don't we?"

"Yeah," Anakin said with a smile. "We do. Thanks Barriss. And you, Snips. You two are like daughters to me, you know that?"

"I'm only a year younger than you," Barriss protested with another flush – she had always been rather shy.

"Oh by the Force, you really are going all out on the mushy front," Ahsoka grinned. "You're not going to try and kiss my nose next are you?"

Anakin's face suddenly took on an evil grin. "Well, since you ask…"

The three of them immediately dissolved into Ahsoka screaming and batting at him and squirming in his grip as he tried to bring his face closer to hers with his mouth overly puckered while Barriss fell back and let out bursts of intense laughter and cries of "Get her, Anakin! Get her!" and suchlike.

"Sometimes I still wonder how these three helped save the Galaxy," Obi-Wan sighed. "When you're quite finished playing 'Happy Families' in there, I could use some help. I'm trying to find the right point to exit the monolith here."

"Alright, alright," Anakin got up, chuckling, leaving Ahsoka's nose unkissed – much to her relief – and his mood significantly improved from before.

Which almost inevitably made this the point where everything went wrong.

Right before Anakin entered the cockpit the doors slammed shut in front of him, narrowly missing his nose as they slid together rapidly. And he heard both Ahsoka and Barriss suddenly yelp as his mind immediately registered a massively dark presence and he whirled around, hand going for his lightsaber.

How the Son had managed to get on the ship when he had _definitely_ not been there before was anyone's guess, but there he was, standing at the back of the ship with Barriss and Ahsoka in his grasp, both of them squirming as he gripped them by the neck and forced them to their knees, their airways cut off. Ahsoka tried to go for one of her lightsabers but the Son suddenly wrenched them both to him and pinned them to his chest, smirking at Anakin as he did so.

"Aaw," the Son cooed. "That was so adorable. You consider these girls like daughters? They are your guiding lights? Well then… I suppose you won't want any harm to come to them, would you?"

"LET THEM…!" Anakin roared, right before the hatch in the floor seemed to open of its own accord and the Son flung the two young Jedi forwards and down through it, both screaming as they plunged out into the air. The Son immediately dived out after them and Anakin almost followed but caught himself and watched in horror as the Son suddenly morphed into his gargoyle shape and plunged down after the freefalling Jedi.

Barriss felt herself suddenly being gripped by the Force and it spun her upright, pulling her arms up above her head and pushing her hands together, and moments later both her hands were seized in the claws of one of the gargoyle's feet, which wrapped around her wrists and held them fast, thankfully managing not to pierce them as they did so. She looked across the side and saw Ahsoka being snagged in the other foot in the same manner as the gargoyle swung forwards and flared its wings to shoot out and plunge away from the ship.

"Ahsoka! Are you alright!" Barriss yelled over the roar of the wind.

"Not really!" Ahsoka struggled wildly, trying to pull one hand free of the claws so she could get to her lightsabers and slash upwards, but they were held fast. Lightning flashed around them as they whooshed into the clouds, both pulling valiantly, but neither able to free themselves.

* * *

The moment the Son had grabbed them, Anakin charged into the cockpit and dived into the co-pilot's seat. Obi-Wan looked across at him. "I sensed a darkness back there! What happened?" he demanded.

"The Son!" Anakin cried. "He's got Ahsoka and Barriss!"

"What?" Obi-Wan cried. "How did he…?"

"No time for that now! Come on!" Anakin suddenly seized control of the ship and swung it around, almost throwing Obi-Wan out of his seat as the ship lurched violently and veered at an almost dangerous angle as it plunged through the clouds after the Son.

"I suppose it was too much to ask that he wouldn't try and pull something!" Obi-Wan grimaced, as Anakin practically made the ship free-fall through the clouds, bursting out beneath them and zeroing in on the black shape of the gargoyle down below, slamming on the accelerator to zoom in closer and try and narrow the distance.

"That's the Son?" Obi-Wan asked. "Well… he certainly does have some interesting tricks."

"I'm not impressed!" Anakin growled. _Ahsoka! Barriss! Are you okay?_

_Apart from the fact we can't get free and are dangling in mid-air… fine,_ Ahsoka replied.

_Though it would be greatly appreciated if you could do something to make us more fine,_ Barriss agreed.

_I'm coming! _Anakin promised, closing the distance further. He couldn't shoot the gargoyle out of the air at this height for fear of hurting either of the other two in the fall, so he resolved to try and pursue it closer to the ground, where shooting it would be less dangerous and from where he would be able to shoot downwards from above and eliminate the risk of him hitting either of the captives.

The gargoyle turned back and hissed at them, evidently incapable of speech in such a form and dropped further down with the ship coming in on top of him, swooping into a large canyon as lightning lanced through the air behind them. It was rather misty in the canyon and Anakin could tell it was trying to obscure his view, but he plunged in after it anyway, using the Force to guide him through. He noticed Barriss trying to pull herself upwards and kick at the gargoyle's knees, but if she hit then it seemed impervious to her attempts.

"Anakin, be careful!" Obi-Wan cried, as the gargoyle swooped around a massive rock pillar that was sticking up through the canyon, but Anakin easily steered the ship around it and kept coming, only to see that the gargoyle had led him into a veritable thicket of this stone pillars to try and throw him off.

But Anakin was one of the best pilots in the Galaxy for a reason and, though his teeth gritted and his eyes practically narrowed into slits, he followed the gargoyle's every move, slaloming between the pillars and sticking within mere metres of the back of the gargoyle as it skimmed close to the canyon walls and ducked under a large rocky ledge and arced around yet another pillar. Its pursuer remained behind it at all times, Anakin flipping the ship right over to avoid hitting the wall in the process and, at one point, even practically making his ship suddenly leap sideways several feet so he could slip between two narrow pillars that the gargoyle dived between.

_Master, I think there's a river below us_, Ahsoka called. _If you're going to try and shoot this thing down then now might be a good time._

_Are you sure? _Anakin cried.

_We'll be alright if we land on water,_ Barriss yelled. _Just…_

But before she could say anything else, the gargoyle suddenly folded its wings and put on an incredible spurt of speed, vanishing from Anakin's sight into the fog and ripping the air out of Barriss and Ahsoka's lungs momentarily before they were practically spirited away. Anakin started and growled, shooting the ship in pursuit and into the fog, unable to see anything for several seconds but intent on finding the fleeing Son.

And then, suddenly, out of nowhere in front of them loomed another pillar, but this one clearly not natural, with a giant, glowing green sphere at the top that looked like it was being clutched by the tower itself. Anakin started when he saw it but his eyes narrowed as he spurred the ship onwards.

"Anakin, look out!" Obi-Wan cried and suddenly jerked the controls to the side. The pilot controls of his seat overrode Anakin's and jerked the ship to the side, sweeping it out of the way of the tower. Anakin tried to wrench it back but the ship was now in free-fall and with a mighty thud it suddenly crashed into the ground that seemed to have crept up on it, skidding forwards and digging up huge chunks of rock and dirt and flipping it over its wings as it ploughed a funnel through the ground, throwing Anakin and Obi-Wan against the dashboard as the circuitry sparked inside the ship before eventually slowing to a stop.

Anakin and Obi-Wan lay for a few moments, slumped in their seats and recuperating their senses after yet another crash the two of them had shared, before Obi-Wan spotted Anakin looking at him incredulously.

"What? I didn't think you saw it," he said.

"It was a _giant tower,_" Anakin protested. "Of course I saw it."

"Then why were you heading straight towards it?"

"I was going to try shooting through that green orb thingie so we could keep going on past it," Anakin muttered, realising now that that was probably a stupid idea, but in the rush of the moment it had seemed a rather good one.

"I know that you're anxious to rescue them," Obi-Wan said as he stood up and heading out towards the back, lowering the ramp to the ground, or what was left of it. "But keeping _yourself_ alive long enough to do it is a pretty important factor too."

"I know," Anakin nodded, following him down the ramp into the funnel they had dug in the ground. "I know. Sorry. Do you see him?"

"No, but I don't think we have to look very far," Obi-Wan nodded forwards to the very tower that they had almost crashed into, sticking high out of the ground like a giant needle with the glowing, green tip. "And… let me guess. You're going to go rushing in there to save them straight away, no matter what I say, aren't you?"

"I can't leave them," Anakin said. "They're all I have left of our old group."

"I wasn't about to ask you to leave them, Anakin," Obi-Wan shook his head. "But we must act with caution. You heard the Father – we cannot defeat him in battle and this holds the potential to dramatically upset the Force."

"I hope you're not expecting me to wait."

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan shook his head, with a wry smile. "I don't. Those two are dear to you beyond measuring and I know that you won't listen to me even if I did. Can you pick up their signals? Are they alright?"

"No, I can't…" Anakin muttered, trying to focus his mind. "I can't see them. The Tower must be blocking it somehow. I can still sense they're alive but… that's about it."

"Then go and make sure they stay that way," Obi-Wan said. "But remember Anakin, if you can help it you must _not_ engage the Son in battle. We cannot start any fighting here. If you can free them, try and do it by stealth. I'll go and find the Father and try to get him to come and help just in case things get ugly."

Anakin smirked and held up a hand, which Obi-Wan clasped in a brotherly gesture from a moment and they both nodded to each other. Anakin was actually touched by Obi-Wan's words. In the past he would have told him not to let his personal feelings influence his rash decisions, but Obi-Wan had long since accepted the incredible bond that Anakin shared with the two girls, made all the stronger by the absence of their other team-mates. He also understood that that bond made them stronger together. His days of trying to get Anakin to follow Jedi attachment protocols were long since over.

And the two parted ways, Obi-Wan running off into the distance while Anakin sprinted towards the Tower.

* * *

And there we have it – the introduction of three more characters that will be quite prominent in the upcoming story, mostly following the storyline set down in canon but with several key differences as a result of the past events that took place differing from the events in canon. But the Father, the Daughter and the Son and the story arc that they had in the Clone Wars series was not directly linked to the Clone Wars itself. Therefore unlike many other storylines, which were, I believe it is safe to say that this one would have taken place similarly no matter what the outcome of the war had been.

Hope you enjoyed it, but you'll have to wait a bit to find out what happens next. Geehee. And yes, some of the lines in here were pretty much the same as in the show, specifically the "It was a _giant tower,"_ line, but hey... it was a funny line. Hehe. Bye.

* * *

Next time…

Back in the Pokemon World, the heroes press onwards, unaware of how closely they are now being followed by the forces of darkness, and they finally reach their destination of the Kanto Power Plant, albeit one that's been shut down due to a strange theft of a machine part. But regardless that is not why they are here – they are there to search for their second Legendary Pokemon. Will they find him?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 32 : A Real Thunderbird**


	32. A Real Thunderbird

Heya everyone. Sorry it's a little late but real life caught up with me quite a bit when I was trying to get this chapter out, including preparing for a camping trip that I'll be going on for a single night tomorrow, some uni work and a leaking washing machine, amongst other things. So yeah, this chapter is later than I anticipated it to be, but there are only two more left after this before I reach my monthly goal of ten chapters a month. So I'm still on track.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 32:- A Real Thunderbird**

* * *

The brief time that the travellers in the Pokémon World had spent in Lavender Town had soured the mood a little. The morning had looked bright with new hope springing into their hearts at the fact that a mere few days after they had set out, they had found their first Legendary – a feat that practically nobody else in the history of the Pokémon World could lay claim to and be telling the truth about it.

Yes, they were pretty sure that the law enforcement was now out to get them thanks to their brief appearance on that cruise ship, but still, they had had hope building up inside them that maybe their quest was not so impossible after all.

But now they had had confirmation that the officials were indeed now looking for them and that the Digimon problem was not only much more widespread than they'd been hoping, but that it was also taking notice of them. If all the ghost Digimon had evacuated from the town they had just left before they reached it then it stood to reason that they had known they were heading in that direction.

But how?

And what were they going to do when they found out the answer to the how?

Or were they just being completely and utterly paranoid and this was a complete coincidence. Aayla was not much of a believer in coincidence but even she couldn't deny that it was a possibility, even in a case such as this.

The talk with the Haunter had left them all with questions that burned in the pits of their stomachs like cindering ashes.

And, as usual, no actual answers seemed to be forthcoming.

Regardless the group had met up with the Legendaries on the outside of town, Latios and Latias telepathically guiding them in their direction until they found the two dragons and Suicune on the other side of a large rocky outcropping that screened them from view from most all angles and wouldn't be a problem for them to escape from if they were seen.

Latios had noticed their rather tight expressions and, not believing in reading their minds unless necessary like he usually did, he asked them what was wrong. The three of them listened carefully to the account of what the Haunter had said, and their eyes all narrowed in bemusement and anxiety.

"This is troubling," Suicune had said. "I have been out in the wild for some months now searching for any sign of the Lady Ho-Oh and I have never encountered any Digimon at all before yesterday. But you claim that in the last several days you have come across them several times. And if we rule out the first two sightings, which seem to be unconnected, I notice that all of the other Digimon forces were either in or near to a human settlement."

"It certainly _is_ troubling," Aayla nodded. "If there are far more of them in the cities and towns than there are in the wilderness then you know what that means… it's likely that most of them are connected after all. They're not just randomly spaced at all. They are definitely monitoring the locals."

"Spying on them?" Mako asked.

"Exactly," nodded Aayla. "It's definitely a reconnaissance of some description. It's what the Separatists would do before they chose to invade an area back in my universe. More often than not they would send out small droids and probes that were capable of slipping through places undetected and filming what was going on to transmit the data back to their superiors. Remember what happened in Nabat, Suzie?"

Suzie shuddered. "Yeah… there were those hovering ball droid things in the tunnels beneath the city that Numa led me into."

"Checking the place out before the main droid force moved in," Aayla nodded. "Learning what they could, observing the enemy's behaviour. Knowledge certainly is power and though these are not Separatists or droids that we are dealing with, the principle is more or less the same. I believe it safe to say that whoever it is that's in command of all these Digimon, as there clearly is a leader, his plans for this world are… less than peaceable."

Suicune growled. "I have grown lax in my duties," she muttered, her hackles raised and her short fur bristling. "For such a large, invading force to escape my notice for so long… I have been negligent to the humans during my search for Ho-Oh. I should have noticed this sooner."

"You can't be blamed, Suicune," Latios said. "We didn't notice it either."

_Big comfort that,_ Latias muttered dryly. _Considering we were avoiding all human settlements like the plague until very recently as I recall._

_Shut up_, Latios muttered.

"This was not part of the deal," Impmon griped, folding his arms. "Why did Uxie never mention this invading force of Digimon when he sent us here? We could have been more prepared – come up with a plan of action. He could have _told_ us."

"Maybe he didn't know," Terriermon shrugged.

"Preposterous," Suicune exclaimed. "Uxie is the Being of Knowledge. There is nothing that he does not know."

"Actually he said that he didn't know what it was that had initially caused the two world's to start colliding in the first place," said Henry.

Suicune blinked, then shook her head. "I don't believe it," she said immediately.

"Really?" Lopmon frowned. "You're really that sure that he knows absolutely everything."

"There is always a purpose to everything that Uxie does," Suicune said firmly. "I believe that he knows exactly what is going on and he had a very solid reason for not telling you what it was in advance. Sometime too much knowledge can be a bad thing."

"Actually that is true," Aayla mused. "Knowing the future in too much detail can lead someone to trying to alter it and who knows what could happen then? They might end up causing a bad future to happen through trying to avoid it in the first place, or they might actually end up making it even worse. And since Uxie knows all possible futures apparently, then he could have kept it from us knowing that that would be the best course of action to take."

"That may be," Felkan folded his arms. "But if he did know, then why would he lie? Why would he say that he didn't?"

"Maybe because we would just badger him to tell us?" Terriermon suggested. "I know Rika certainly would."

"Watch it, bunny," Rika sent him a half-mock-glare.

"Momentai," Terriermon offered.

"No matter what Uxie had in mind when he told you what he told you, I believe in him," Suicune said proudly, tossing her head. "And if I were you, I would believe in him too."

Latios and Latias both looked slightly ashamed of themselves – they had both thought that Uxie really didn't know what was happening themselves when he said so, and they had both thought that he had gone slightly loony when he told them that it had to be them that went on this quest. And Suicune, a much younger Legendary, was firmly believing in him.

"Well, regardless of all this," Felkan coughed. "I thought that we were going to focus on the actual mission of finding the Legendaries than worrying about these invading Digimon. The Pokémon World is not defenceless you know – I am sure that even if the Digimon do attack properly they will find ways to defend themselves. What they _can't_ defend against is the collapsing universe."

"He's right," Renamon nodded. "We have wasted enough time here. Come on – we should get moving. We need to reach that Power Plant and search for Legendary two of twenty-five."

"I suppose it's appropriate," Terriermon snickered as everyone geared up around them, with Felkan releasing Garchomp and Charizard for another flight. "If Zapdos is the second Legendary we find. Of course it would have been more appropriate if Articuno had been first as well and Moltres the next one but I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Why?" Suzie asked. "Why would that order have been appropriate?"

"Come on, Suzie," Terriermon grinned. "Haven't you been taking Spanish at school?"

"Um… no," Suzie shook her head.

Terriermon sighed. "Uno… dos… tres… am I the only one who noticed that?"

"Momentai," Latias grinned, as she winged overhead.

Terriermon fumed slightly as he boarded the Eon Dragon and the group was set in motion again. Suicune led the way once again, her form springing with the agility of a mountain goat – no, with far greater agility than that – as she took gravity defying leaps that allowed her to soar up entire clifftops with the ease and moving up a single rung on a ladder or a step on a staircase, cross chasms that were ten times wider than she was long in a single bound and dodge her way through rocks with startling ease, the wind in the high passes whipping her ribbons and mane into a frenzy.

* * *

It was actually rather less easy for the others to make progress – even Latios and Latias were struggling a little due to the fact they were heading into the wind, blowing from the north as it always did when Suicune was around. Suicune barely noticed as they proceeded up the point of the compass, but the wind whipped at the wings of the others, particularly Charizard, and tried to push them back.

"Hey! Isn't there something you can do about your wind?" Charizard called down to Suicune. "I know it's one of the signature things about you, but these aren't the best conditions for flying north."

Suicune bounded onto a rock and looked up at him as he flew past. "It is an involuntary environmental condition that surrounds me. I can do nothing about it I'm afraid. Fortunately it is not much further until we arrive. You won't have to deal with it for very much longer."

"That's a relief at least," Charizard murmured as he powered his wings against the wind and forced his way onwards, riders on the backs of the flying Pokémon all shielding their eyes from the gusts themselves.

"Although," Suicune suddenly smiled. "Perhaps this will make it easier for a while!" Her cloak-like mane suddenly flared up around her and she called into the wind and all of the rest of the group noticed an immediate change as the wind around them seemed to re-mould itself, splitting so that it passed on either side of the group, before it practically did a complete one-eighty and began to surge over them from behind instead. All of them suddenly felt the wind pushing them forwards and adding speed to their flight, pulsing over the mountain with Suicune bounding along beneath them.

"What just happened?" Rika asked. "I thought you said you couldn't change the direction of your wind!"

"Not as a whole," Suicune smirked. "Most of the wind around us is still blowing south. But I just used the move Tailwind, which is a move that causes a wind to blow behind the Pokémon that used it so the wind is reshaping itself into a funnel around us to do that. As long as you are going in the same direction as I am, then the wind will aid you too until the effect wears off. Now, let's get to that Power Plant."

* * *

While the journey had become almost literally a breeze for the travellers after that – Suicune's tailwind allowing them to travel faster than they normally would have – there were others nearby that were having a more difficult time of it at the moment.

Namely, Duskmon.

The shadowy Digimon was capable of travelling long distances in the blink of an eye, but only from one very dark place to another. Right now, on the other hand, he was finding it much more difficult to keep pace with those that he was meant to be spying on. He had no idea where it was that they were actually going, as he had not had the chance to eavesdrop on them where anyone who he could understand had said it.

He could tell they were in a hurry but to his immense frustration he just didn't know where they were going. If he did, then he could just shadow-travel there instantly and be there long before they could, lying in wait. But that was not possible now. He needed to follow them in a more… manual way.

And since he was meant to be staying out of sight, this was proving extremely difficult, because while Duskmon was capable of moving quickly without shadow-travelling, he could never hope to match the speed that they were going at now.

He was being forced to shadow-travel into any nook or cranny nearby that would be large enough in the mountains and yet where he could still see them. He could cast about with his mind to find those places, naturally attuned with the darkness as he was, but they were few and far between among the peaks of these mountains and he had to begin searching for the next one almost before he had arrived in another.

He growled to himself as he melded into the shadows once again and re-appeared in the entrance of a small cave, retreating into the shadows just as the group flew past once again as he hurriedly, almost frantically, searching out the next location he could appear in, finding it, and re-appearing again beneath a ledge a few moments later and found that his targets had already flown past it.

If it was night then he would have absolutely no problem doing this. If it was night then he could shadow travel anywhere with absolute ease and probably pop up right next to that four-legged one in a mere instant. He was an assassin that best operated at night, going in and gutting the enemy when they least expected it in the small hours. He was not a spy that was meant to go around snooping in the middle of the day like this.

What was DarkKnightmon thinking putting him on a task like this? Most of that group were probably diurnal anyway and would _sleep _during the night. Surely he should just slay them where they lay and do what he did best, not doggedly pursue them through the light in such a manner.

DarkKnightmon's entire scheme was just stupid and pointless in his view. Why did he not just step out and take this world by force as the Demon Lords would have done instead of all this damn sneaking about like cowards?

So what if the Sovereigns showed up? DarkKnightmon could just cut open a portal to another world to escape through and take over that one instead.

That's what he thought anyway, and as the closest lieutenant of the Demon Lords back in the day, he knew that would surely have been the path that someone like his Master, Daemon, would have taken. DarkKnightmon was a mockery of everything that the Demon Lords ever stood for in his opinion.

Yet he had little choice but to obey. One thing he did agree with DarkKnightmon on was that they were no match for the Sovereigns. If even Lucemon, Lilithmon and Daemon had fallen to them, there was no way that their group could do so. That had been why had consented to follow DarkKnightmon into this world. But now he could not go back to the Digital World even if he wanted to. He was stuck as DarkKnightmon's minion.

And even though he hated it, he would do it. To make the Demon Lords proud and spread the chaos in their name. That's what he would do.

But another thing that he was silently raging about was the company that he was now forced to keep. Why… _why_ did he have to be put on a mission with _her_? He didn't even understand why DarkKnightmon had consented to allow her aboard in the bid to take over the world. Granted, her abilities could be extremely useful but still… she was one of _them_. One of the weaklings. One of those that deserved to be crushed under their boots, _not_ working alongside them for a share of the glory and the chaos when it was to end.

It made his arm itch at the point where her three red claws were gripping it. He wanted to show her what a _real_ red weapon looked like. He wanted to draw his sword and stab her through the chest with it, ending her pathetic life once and for all and allow him to work along on this stupid project. But he restrained himself. DarkKnightmon was already angry and him and would suspect him of having a hand in her demised if he returned without her in tow eventually.

She would stay alive for now.

But that didn't make her presence any less _aggravating._

_Hurry up. You're losing them_, she muttered in his head, turning her stabbing blue eyes upon him. _I thought that you were more efficient than this._

"I would be…" Duskmon snarled as blipped them both away to another cave entrance some distance away. "If it weren't for the fact that it is daytime! Or… if they had gone through that tunnel that runs beneath this mountains instead of going over them like this. Darkness is my domain. The light only gets in the way."

_I thought you Digimon were supposed to be able to do anything with ease_, his companion snorted, quoting some of Duskmon's own words back at him. _I thought that you said in comparison to us 'puny weaklings' you were ultimately superior in every way and that there was no mission that you couldn't just swoop through without batting an eye. And yet I see you here struggling hard to just keep up with these people we're following with the excuse that is because its daytime._

"I don't see… you having an easier time of it," Duskmon snarled. "You're the one who has to cling to my arm just to keep up with _me_, you know. And just so you know, you _are _a puny weakling. All of your kind are."

_Keep telling yourself that,_ she snorted. _Perhaps you'll be able to crush all of your adversaries under your ego._

Duskmon snarled, and she just chuckled harshly.

"You would do well to be more careful about who you insult," Duskmon growled at her. "Or it could go badly for you."

_Please,_ snorted his companion. _You don't own me. You're not my master. Nobody is my master really, and the only one who can tell me what to do is DarkKnightmon. I don't care what you think. You can make all the threats you want, but I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, even from you. I had to learn about that the hard way._

"Oh yes," Duskmon smirked. "Let's hear it again – that sob-story you told DarkKnightmon about how this world has turned its back on you and how nobody wants anything to do with you and how you are feared and loathed and you have no ties at all to anything here. Because hearing about that never gets old."

_I could say the same to you about your rants about how supremely perfect those Demon Lords of yours were in every way_, his companion growled back.

"The Demon Lords were the epitomes of…"

_I really don't care,_ she snorted imperiously. _They have nothing to do with my world after all. But suffice to say, I've long since learned that the other residents of this world would chew up and spit out me and the rest of my kind in instant if they could. I've been met with nothing but fear and hostility wherever I go. Shunned and persecuted all of my life. I can't remember the last time I came across another of my kind._

_And I've had it. I've had enough of spending my life playing tricks on those who hate me to keep myself amused. If I'm so hated then I might as well give them a reason to hate me, which I've never done before._

"I care no more for your story than you for mine," Duskmon growled.

_I didn't expect you to_. _Just let's get a move on and see what we can find out about those we're following, who by the way are getting away from us._

"Then stop distracting me."

_Oh hark at you, the patient assassin. I can see why you were such a success back in the time of your Demon Lords._

Duskmon just growled and shadow-travelled along again seriously trying to stop himself from running his mouthy companion through and damning all the consequences involved.

* * *

It was not much longer before Suicune drew to a halt on the sheer face of a cliff, standing tall and proud as the Tailwind that she had initiated faded away, the wind resuming its normal direction and causing her mane and ribbons to ripple and billow gently in the powerful breezes. A couple of moments later and the rest of the party joined her, with Latios and Latias lowering themselves down to hover on either side of her while Charizard and Garchomp thumped into landing beside her.

"Are we there now?" Impmon asked as he bounded off Latias' back.

"Yes," Suicune nodded, pointing down with her nose. "There it is. I believe that that is the Kanto Power Plant that humans all over the region use to power their various major functions. I've never really understood how all of that works no matter how many times Raikou tries to explain it to me."

"Well, it's relatively simple," Henry said. "You see, electrical currents can be generated by…" Rika's hand clapped over his mouth a moment later.

"Yeah, let's not go for the lecture right now, eh Brainiac?" Rika smirked at him as Charizard allowed the both of them to clamber down. "We've got more important things to think about than teaching a deity about how electricity pylons are useful."

"Right… okay," Henry nodded, looking a little sheepish as the group gathered on the edge of the cliff. Henry put a steadying hand on Suzie's shoulder as they did and Impmon gripped Ai and Mako's own hand with his, making sure that if one of them fell, they all fell and thus enable them to biomerge before they could hit the ground.

"I see what you meant about the alcove," Aayla said as she hopped onto a rock overhang that leaned perilously out over the cliff. She wished that she had a pair of macrobinoculars that would enable her to get a better view of the surrounding area, but she could see it pretty well as it was.

The Power Plant was nestled in what appeared to be a small area of land with cliffs on three sides leading up into the small mountain chain that they had been traversing ever since they had left Lavender. There were high rises on almost all sides of the large building, with only a small strip of land in front of the main door to the place and the outside world before it gave way to water.

Though the Power Plant was surrounded by a wall, presumably to prevent flooding and which had a couple of flights of stairs up either side to allow people in and out, most of it that didn't have a towering cliff over it had deep blue water, in what looked like a small bay, that was attached to the rest of the ocean by a long strip that led away through a valley between the mountains – which was presumably the only way to get through to this place from ground level.

There were a couple of boats moored at the side of the wall, ready and waiting for the staff when the day was over and it was time for them all to leave.

All in all, it looked like a very secluded place, meaning that it was not an eyesore on the landscape for the most part and there would be less chance of interference. The building itself was tall, broad and multi-storied, with a pale red roof, many large windows and also had four tall chimneys that were white and striped with red and had some thick jets of steam coming out of their tops.

"Well, that place looks pretty pleasant in comparison to a lot of the Power Plants that we have back home actually," Henry said. "A lot more… decorative. And mostly one building as well – that's an interesting layout."

"I don't know how much time we have to admire the architecture, Henry," Renamon pointed out as she bounded up a nearby cliff wall to a higher point to look out across the valley. "What I want to know is, where is Zapdos? Can anybody see him?"

"What does he look like again?" Ai asked.

"Just look for a big yellow bird with strange looking wings," Impmon replied. "And I hope you have more luck than I do on that front because I'm not seeing him at all."

"Nor am I," Felkan shielded his eyes from the sun and peered out across the mountaintop line. "I've seen many pictures of Zapdos before, some of them all looking quite different from one another, but I'm not seeing any of them here."

"And I can't sense him," Latios replied, pulling out from his mind for a moment. "Not that I think that I would really need to cast about with my mind to know that he was here."

"What do you mean?" Terriermon asked.

"Well… when Zapdos is in the area, he… tends to make his presence known. He's rather… shall we say… flashy."

"Flashy?" Terriermon grinned. "I think I like the guy already. You mean flashy in the literal sense right, with a shower of lightning bolts all over the place and stuff like that?"

"Pretty much, yes," Latios nodded.

"Cool," Terriermon grinned, before he turned back to the surroundings. "But I'm not seeing anything like that here."

"Does this mean that we've got another no-show?" Suzie asked, worriedly.

"Whoa, whoa, don't go giving up that quickly, Suzie," Lopmon bounced onto her shoulders. "He might not be here at this very moment, but that doesn't mean that he's not in the area somewhere. He could be close by still."

"True, but don't forget what Professor Oak said," Rika muttered. "This isn't Zapdos' home. This is just a place that he likes to visit, I think. Remember the story he told us about that one guy who spent half a year here waiting for him to show up and he never did, and then he actually did appear a couple of days after he'd gone? That's not exactly encouraging me at this point."

"Maybe we'll have better luck," Terriermon suggested.

Felkan had stepped back from the edge and called out Lucario from his Pokéball while they were having this conversation. Lucario had immediately placed his paws together, knowing full well what was being asked of him, and the strange flap-like projections on the back of his head rising up as he shut his eyes and scanned the immediate area for any signs of life.

After a moment he opened his eyes and said, "I hold the same verdict as Latios and Latias. I can sense no sign of the Legendary Pokémon Zapdos anywhere within a two mile radius of here. I can sense a lot of human presences in the Power Plant below, along with several Electric type Pokémon, as well as several Water-types in the bay and a couple of Spearow nesting on a ledge nearby.

"However," he added with a slight frown. "I actually can sense something a little unusual. There… appears to be another human presence in the mountains, standing on the edge of a cliff and overlooking the Power Plant just as we are now to the north-west of here."

"Another human?" Aayla blinked, looking up in the direction that Lucario had stated in bemusement. "Why would there be another human standing at staring at the Plant? Could he also be hoping for a glimpse of Zapdos?"

"It's possible," Suicune purred. "There are a _lot_ of people who would like to get a glimpse of us after all."

"Perhaps one of us should check it out?" Lopmon asked.

"I'm on it," Aayla replied. "Keep an eye out for Zapdos." And she sprang out across the edge of the chasm from her outcropping up to where Renamon was standing and began to flip her way across the clifftops and around the side of the large alcove in the mountain range and away.

"So… what is our next move going to be exactly?" Garchomp asked as he scuffed at the ground with one clawed foot. "We can't exactly wait around forever for this guy to show up. We don't have a whole lot of time on us. Certainly not the six months that the guy were talking about before waited."

"I don't know," sighed Henry. "I suppose we just… wait a day and see if we come up with anything and… is anyone else seeing how much of a long shot that really is."

"I am, if that helps," Felkan muttered dryly.

"To be honest, it doesn't," sighed Henry. "What are we meant to do then? Any suggestions?"

"Well there is only one thing that we can do really," Suicune replied. "And that's call him."

"Call… him?" blinked Latios. "What do you mean call him?"

"I'm assuming you don't mean that he carries around a mobile phone with him," Rika said.

"A mobile ph… oh! You mean those dinky little human devices that they talk into and hear other people's voices come out of the other end?" Suicune snickered. "Yes, I remember those things – they look so weird. Anyway, no, it is certainly not like that. But while Zapdos might not be here at the Power Plant right now, I believe it is safe to say that he is not far away. We have a large mountain range right here all around us, and I believe that this is where he makes his home."

"You think so?" Latias grinned excitedly. "You think that he might be somewhere nearby?"

"Well I don't know a whole lot about the Birds and their day to day lives," Suicune replied. "But Lady Ho-Oh lives on a high mountain peak far, far away from the rest of the world, where no human can hope to find her without a great deal of effort or the help of a large flight-capable Pokémon and she says that the other Birds usually live in similar places.

"You tried the Seafoam Islands to find Articuno and she wasn't there, but you had the right idea in searching places like that. And since Zapdos likes to visit the Plant, I believe it is safe to assume that he lives somewhere in the mountains nearby where he has easy access to it whenever he wants."

"Still sounds like it could be a longshot," Henry muttered. "What if he _doesn't_ live here? We'll be back to square one."

"Momentai, Henry," Terriermon patted his leg. "We don't know until we try. What are you suggesting we do, Sucee?"

Suicune opened her mouth to reply before she realised what Terriermon had just her and turned to stare at him with rather flat eyes. Terriermon blanched and stepped backwards a little, almost walking right off the edge of the cliff that they were standing on and throwing out his ears to balance him out. "Erm… sorry?" he ventured.

Suicune rolled her eyes. "Well it's better than Cooney, which is what Raikou calls me. Much to my chagrin. Anyway, Zapdos knows my voice. I believe if I were to call out then if he happens to be in the vicinity, he will hear me. My voice can carry pretty far in the winds around me after all."

"But what about the people down there in the Plant?" Felkan asked. "Won't they also hear you?"

"Maybe," she smirked. "But they won't be able to come up and find me in any kind of force with a cliff like these ones in the way. Come on. Let's find a place somewhere out of sight of the Plant where we can call out and see if Zapdos is in the area."

"Oh I hope he's here," Suzie mumbled. "Two Legendaries in two days – that would be great wouldn't it?

"Heck yes, it would," Impmon grinned as they moved off to try and find a clearing in the mountains or something.

* * *

Nearby, Aayla bounded and flipped over the rocks with great leaps that no ordinary humanoid could ever hope to match – the Force pushing her onwards and upwards as she sprang up cliffs and dodged between boulders and rebounded off ledges. She had to admit, she was feeling pretty exhilarated right about now. She hadn't had a real chance to test her athleticism like this in a while, and it felt good to be on the move in this manner after several hours of riding on Garchomp's neck.

She skirted around the edge of the canyon, monitoring the conversation of the others through her mind-link while at the same time following the presence of the single human that Lucario had reported that she too could now sense. It was coming from right up ahead and as Aayla sprang over a crevice and off a ledge, tucking in her legs and rolling over in the air several times before she lashed out and landed spider-like on another ledge below, she found herself within a few metres of the mental signal.

Aayla shut her eyes, calling on the Force around her and picturing herself stepping away from her own body, as if she was removing herself from herself. It was part of the technique that Master Vos had taught her when it came to using the Force Cloak, and after several moments of concentration she could feel the Force flowing around her, bending the path of light right around her very body and rendering her totally and completely invisible to the naked eye, and to just about everything else as well.

The Twi'lek stood up and stepped slowly forwards to the edge of the small ledge she had landed on, looking over the side into a tiny crevice below. She frowned under the Cloak as she beheld a single man dressed entirely in black except for the grey gloves and boots on each of his limbs. He was even wearing a black cap on top of his head, nestled over his short orange hair. He was lying on his stomach right on the edge of the cliff and peering down at the Power Plant below through a pair of binoculars.

And he was apparently sniggering to himself.

Aayla frowned and dropped down from the ledge to land a short way behind him, silent as a wraith and step up closer, totally invisible. She could hear him muttering quietly to himself as well as sniggering and she leaned closer, straining to hear what he was quietly saying to himself.

"…once me machine part steal, I be big man then, they celebrate me with hero bigness. If steal I do bit of machinery from there down, big panic for people here be in Kanto. Because me energy stop and chaos become everything, like Magnet Train stop and big blackout all people through suffer. Hehe. Then I boss man become and everyone shout big hooray!"

Aayla frowned to herself as she listened to the man rambling to himself, and she found herself thinking that even Master Yoda could talk a straighter sentence than this guy seemed to be able to. But as she listened to him going on about all the "big tapestries make of I they will" and the "maybe I love find because so am glorious I" and such like that, it became pretty clear what this man was planning to do.

He was planning on stealing a part of the Power Plant down below for some reason, thinking that it would throw the region into disarray due to the loss of power and the fact that it could not be repaired easily with a part of the machinery going missing. What part he hoped to steal and how he was planning on doing it she didn't know but she could tell that he was rather earnest about it.

What was she supposed to do?

This man was a thief? On Coruscant, she would have just grabbed the guy right then and there, arresting him on the spot and taking him to the police droids to extract a confession and get him put where he belonged.

But she had no sway here in Kanto in the Pokémon World. She was from a complete other dimension and she was the only Twi'lek in the entire existence here as far as she knew. Plus, they were meant to be staying away from the authorities anyway. What to do?

"…they say stupid I am, but show them will I. I be organisation of crime's biggest and baddest," he was saying. "Team Rocket grunts before me bow."

Aayla raised a brow. This man was part of a criminal organisation? That was even bigger than she'd expected. Team Rocket? An obscure name to be sure. But it didn't change the fact she could go revealing herself to the public to actively do something about it.

Thankfully though, this man didn't seem to be… particularly intelligent. Either that or his speeches were being deliberately jumbled up in some way that Aayla couldn't fathom, but regardless she didn't think that it would be difficult to deal with him. She knelt down right beside him, as he still had no inkling that she was there and waved her hand in front of her, right to left.

"You do not want to steal anything," she said simply.

"Steal anything I want to not," the man said. Aayla blinked at this bizarre repetition of her words but she shook her head and waved her hand again.

"You want to go to the nearest city and turn yourself in to the police," she added.

"I to the nearest city want to go-go and myself turn in to the police," he repeated, standing up and with a rather blank stare on his face, narrowly missing clipping Aayla's invisible shoulders. He then frowned and said, "Is that voice I hearing?"

"You are not hearing someone else's voice," Aayla said immediately.

"I hearing someone else's voice not," the man nodded firmly.

"And when you turn yourself in, you want to tell the police everything you know about Team Rocket," she finished with a final wave of her hand.

"And turn myself in when I do, Team Rocket I want to tell everything to the police that I know about," the man nodded, turning around, and Aayla noticed that he appeared to be a large red R on the front of his shirt. He then waved to the building down in the gorge and said, "Power Plant bye-bye a go-go," and turned to walk away, summoning what looked like a large bat with a massive mouth – a Golbat if Aayla remembered correctly – from a Pokéball at his waist.

He took one of the Golbat's legs in hand and said, "Take to the Lavender Town police station me," to the Golbat. The Golbat looked bemused at the command, but followed it and lifted the man into the air, flying him down south in the direction that Aayla and her group had come from.

Aayla stood up and dropped her Force Cloak when she was confident he was out of sight, smiling lightly to herself. She wondered if the Jedi mind trick she had used would stay in effect in time for him to reach the police station before he realised what the heck he was doing. But the guy seemed particularly dim-witted so it seemed like a safe bet that he would.

Still, she was pleased to know that she had potentially helped out this world in some manner, though she had to wonder about this Team Rocket that that man seemed to be a part of. Crime syndicates, it seemed, would crop up everywhere no matter what world that you happened to be in. And while hopefully this one would not be as formidable as the ones from her world, like Hutt clan and the Black Sun, it was still a potential threat to the people of this world.

If that man's plan had worked, it could indeed have created a great deal of disorder, particularly if this was the only Power Plant in northern Kanto.

She shook herself a few moments later – this was none of her business. She might be a Jedi but she was not here to do her regular Jedi duties for this world – she had her own mission to think about. Team Rocket was not her concern right now, but finding Zapdos was. So, she turned and bounded away through the ledges again, following the signals of her friends in a bid to rejoin them.

* * *

The group had found a great spot a short distance away from the Power Plant – it was like a small valley in a mountain-top, which looked like it could have once been a plateau except now it dipped sharply downwards into a relatively flat floor in the middle of the tall walls. It was like some kind of man-made structure in mountains like a Colosseum or an amphitheatre, except that it was not man-made at all – it was perfectly natural.

There were various ledges inside the dip that the group set down in, able to get a good view of the sky in all directions and not be seen by any random hiker in the mountains unless they went right to the edge of the dip and looked in towards them, and hoping that at some point they would get a good view of one of the sky's inhabitants.

"Now what?" Impmon asked. "We just wait here while you call for him and… hope that he shows up?"

"That's about it," Suicune nodded. "Searching these mountains for Zapdos will hopefully not be necessary if we can bring him to us. Just wait here while I call for him."

"Good luck, Suicune," Latias said, as Suicune bounded up the side of the steep wall and sprang onto a stall stone column jutting out of the ground. "We'll keep a sense out, see if we can spot him."

"Let's hope so," Suicune called down before she raised her head to the wind, which picked up all around her slightly as it whooshed its way southwards and whistled through the mountain peaks like some kind of eerie ghost shrieking before Suicune howled into the wind like a wolf to the moon, lifting her muzzling and making a smooth, almost musical sounding note that went:-

"Ccuuuuuuuunnnnneeee!"

"And we're hoping Zapdos will here that and recognise it?" Lopmon asked.

"Sounds like it to me," Renamon sighed, folding her arms. "I just hope he is here. If he isn't, then we really have no further leads to go on when it comes to finding those Legendary Birds."

"Except for high mountains like this where there aren't many people," pointed out Suzie.

"True," nodded Renamon. "But I imagine there are a lot of those in this world and I doubt that we have time to search them all."

"Is there anything we can say about this situation that _doesn't_ seem bleak and rather depressing?" Felkan asked, slightly deadpan.

"Does 'only twenty-four' to go count?" Terriermon piped up.

"Not really," Felkan shook his head.

Suicune, who had remained silent for about half a minute, lifted her head again and made another howling call into the wind.

"It give me goosebumps whenever she does that," Latias grinned.

"Heh, that's nothing. I can do that too," Terriermon grinned and raised his head, only for Renamon to bring her tail down on top of him and smother him with the fur.

"Don't you dare shout that into the wind, Terriermon," she said.

"Alright, alright," Terriermon muttered, fighting off the enveloping tail.

Latias giggled. "I think it would have been funny. I saw what you were going to do there."

"Yeah, well… sometimes Renamon can be a bit of a funsponge," Terriermon shrugged.

"You want to repeat that?" Renamon asked, leaning down to whisper it into his ear.

"NO MA'AM! SORRY MA'AM!" Terriermon cried, saluting wildly. Latias was struggling not to burst into a fit of giggles. She knew that this was practically a routine that the two of them went through and neither of them were overly serious, but it was pretty amusing for her to watch.

"Well, that's that taken care of," Aayla suddenly landed next to them, with a slight frown on her face.

"What was the deal?" Felkan asked.

"Apparently it was a guy planning on stealing an important piece of machinery from the Power Plant to shut it down and cause chaos," Aayla said.

Felkan growled. "See, it's at times like this that I remember how truly low humanity can go."

"Don't judge the actions of the many on that of the few or the one," Aayla said. "To paraphrase something on Star Trek I saw once. Spock was very brave in that episode to die like that."

"Yeah, but he got resurrected for the next film," Terriermon said.

"True, but never mind that now," Aayla replied. "Tell me, has anyone, and I look particularly at you Felkan, heard of Team Rocket before?"

"Team… Rocket?" Felkan frowned. "That's… a weird name. I hope that that's not what you intend to call our group – I know you used to call yourselves a Tenacious Ten or something."

"No, nothing like that. It's just that that guy said that he was a member of Team Rocket, some kind of crime organisation if I heard it correctly," the Twi'lek responded. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Felkan frowned. "Not really," he said. "I think I may have heard something in the news once about some group called Team Rocket acting suspiciously in Kanto back when I was a regular trainer but other than that… never heard of them no."

Aayla mused for a moment, before she sighed and said, "Well it's nothing to do with us right now I suppose so I'll drop the subject. It's not important to our quest." She looked at Suicune and murmured, "But that is."

Suicune put another howling call into the wind, while Latios hovered in circles around the large dip in the ground, searching for any sign of something coming. But still, there appeared to be nothing.

* * *

The group settled themselves down to wait, watching Suicune repeatedly howl before falling silent once again to see if her calls were going answered. They wondered if the people in the Power Plant could hear them not far away and had turned out to see if they could spot whatever was making the noise, but couldn't because the mountains were in the way.

"So… I ask again, how long are we going to stay here?" Impmon asked.

"Until we decide that it's time to move on," Rika replied. "And you don't get to make the call because we all know how impatient you can get."

"Really?" Impmon raised a brow. "_You're_ telling me that? You? The same girl who gets impatient whenever the Gogglehead is ten seconds late for a Tamer meeting?"

"Shut up," Rika muttered sullenly.

"I almost feel like a nature photographer or cameraman," Henry said. "You know, waiting for something to show up when you have no idea if it will or not, having to have patience in spades to get the perfect shot, or in this case to find the incredibly rare bird species…"

"Is that a career path you'd like to go on?" Terriermon grinned.

"Are you kidding me?" Henry sighed. "You'd scare off everything before I could get within half a mile of it."

"Only a half?" Terriermon scowled. "Man, I must be losing my touch."

"You are all a bunch of weirdos, you know that, right?" Charizard rumbled from nearby, flaring his wings outwards and little to enjoy the feeling of the sun on his back.

"Oh we do," Renamon shook her head. "Believe me… we have been told that… a_ large_ number of times."

Suicune's next howl rang into the wind once again, sailing through the mountains on the winds currents displacing the air around her.

"Do you think that she'll be answered?" Ai muttered. "Anytime soon?"

Impmon opened his mouth, but before he could say anything positive or negative, there was a faint noise in the distance that made them all freeze up. A noise that sounded like the screech of a hawk and the hoot of an owl and the caw of a condor all in one. Suicune smirked to herself as she raised herself up on her back legs and gave an extra loud howl into the wind. Moments later, there was the noise again, faint as the wind tried to whip it away… but definitely and unmistakeably there!

"You know," a slow grin began to creep over Impmon's face. "I believe that it already has been."

"That was Zapdos?" Mako asked excitedly.

"It sounded like him," Latias grinned as she did a celebratory forward-flip in the air. "Yes! I knew that we'd be able to find him!"

"I'm sensing something coming towards us!" Lucario said, turning his head in a south-westerly direction and lifting a paw to point. "From over there. Something large and alone and… I believe that I know what it is if that thundercloud that's rolling towards us from that direction is anything to go by."

Numerous heads turned towards the south-west and each set of eyes widened as they saw a thick, dark, roiling mass of cloud-like vapour, black as coal and mixing in amongst itself like some kind of aerial maelstrom. Flashes of light pierced the air beneath it, accompanied by the occasional spark of electrical bolts and, moments later, a couple of tremendous thunderclaps echoed throughout the mountains, causing Ai and Mako to slam their hands over their ears and all of Renamon's fur to bristle, her tail fluffing out a little, possibly as a natural reaction or possibly as a result of electrical charge in the air.

"Erm… it's coming towards us," Suzie murmured. "And… quickly!"

"I am not surprised," Aayla murmured. "If that is there for the reason we think it is."

And indeed the thundercloud was rolling their way like a colossal flying tidal wave, surging through the skies like a living thing straining to break free of something that was holding it back, the vapours of the clouds swirling and eddying around themselves like they were having some kind of titanic battle amongst themselves. It looked a sweeping blast created by a massive explosion that was washing over the landscape around them.

The lightning bolts picked up in intensity, flashing across the sky in streaks of white and yellow, crackling and sparking and searing through the air to light up the place with such violence that it was a good thing none of the group suffered from epilepsy or they would have gone into a fit right then and there. More than once a bolt of lightning struck the side of a cliff or a mountain not far away, resulting in an explosion of stone and rubble that surged down the mountain like giant cannonballs.

Suzie whimpered. "He sounds angry. Should we go?"

"Actually I'm not feeling so comfortable right now either," Impmon muttered. "Do you think he's mad because there are strangers in his territory… because if he is then I quite like to scarper."

"He's not angry," Latias chuckled, rolling her eyes slightly and having to raise her voice to be heard over the lightning blasts as the heavy cloud rolled over them. "He's Zapdos. He _always_ likes to make an entrance."

Just then the screeching noise from before was heard again but _much_ closer, followed by thunder so loud that a lot of the group flinched and almost went for their ears as the concussive sound of it practically tried to blast them backwards.

And then, a yellow streak suddenly shot through a narrow gap between two peaks, rolling over and over several times before it levelled out and pulsed towards the small mountain-top valley with the speed of a thrown javelin and straight than a die. Lightning coursed out of the clouds above and struck the shape full on, flashing it a bright yellow before smaller arcs of lightning_ exploded_ out of the oncoming shape like a giant EMP burst, innumerable bolts of electricity slamming outwards in literally _every_ direction – down, up and to all sides of the compass and diagonally all at once in an eruption of voltage that almost blinded a lot of the group right then.

But as they lowered their arms, straining to see through the veritable barrage of lightning that was crashing down all around the valley now and blowing pieces out of the rocks like a rain of cannon blasts, they got to see the shape properly for the first time. Practically the entire shape was surrounded by yellow as if the very air in two metre radius around it was turning to electrical power, but nevertheless it was still distinguishable.

The thing was practically as jagged at the lightning bolts streaming off it. It was almost entirely yellow itself with two wings sweeping out to the side with massive jagged feathers that made it look like it was a piece of lightning itself, the front layer yellow but with a second layer black at the back. Its tail was similarly jagged and layered with yellow and black feathers and its head had a huge crest of sharp looking yellow feathers around its entire face. It looked like it had almost as many spikes as a hedgehog, all large and sweeping out to the side and behind it.

It's only other real distinguishing features were a long, orange beak jutting out of its face, sharp and pointed as the feathers on its wings, and it had brown tufts of down around the bases of its two long, orange legs, each with three forward facing claws and one backwards facing one. Its eyes at the base of its beak were small and beady and surrounded with black, and the long thin beak opened to let loose that powerful squawking call once again.

"I THINK WE FOUND HIM!" Impmon had to yell over the blasting thunder.

"REALLY? YOU THINK?" Terriermon cried as the giant bird came to a hovering stop in the middle of the small valley, flapping its wings hard to keep it aloft as lightning continued to flash around it. The little bunny turned to look at Renamon and suddenly burst out laughing at the sight of her entire pelt sticking up like a giant fuzzball and not entirely unlike the feathers of the great bird above them.

"QUIET YOU!" Renamon yelled back at him for it.

Suzie huddled closer to Henry as the lightning bolts continued to rain down and strike the ground all around them and Ai and Mako were whimpering a little, but after a moment more of this, suddenly the stream of lightning ceased, almost as if it was being drawn back into the bird itself. The bird had finished surveying the group and turned towards Suicune, still crackling wildly with smaller volts of electricity but without the booming of the thunder

Suicune offered him a smirk.

"Hello, Zapdos," she said. "It's been a long time."

Zapdos responded by blasting a huge bolt of electricity out directly at her. There were cries of alarm from the group below, but it turned out the bolt was actually aimed the pillar that she was standing on and quick as flash Suicune has sprang off the pillar and sailed downwards moments before the bolt struck home with enough force to blow up the rocky top.

As Suicune landed at the edge of the valley, Zapdos swooped down to stand on the smoking remains of the pillar, folding his large jagged wings into his side and chuckling as he looked down at Suicune – his long thin beak opening as he spoke at last, it a voice that sounded slightly raucous just as the call had.

"Morning, Suicune," he said. "Still as spry as ever, I see."

"Must you always greet me with a lightning strike to whatever I happen to be standing on?" Suicune rolled her eyes.

"Just making sure you're on your toes," Zapdos somehow managed to pull off a grin despite the shape of his beak. "Don't know why you're complaining – you knew I was going to do it anyway and you've always passed so far."

Suicune sighed. "Well I see your rather… brash attitude hasn't really changed much. You can never resist an excuse to use your lightning bolts for something, can you?"

"Well, I am the Electric Pokémon," Zapdos chuckled. "People call me the Thunderbird. It's kinda expected of me. When I show myself to people, if it isn't without a colossal display of electrical activity, then they'd just be a little disappointed, wouldn't they? All you have to do is stand there and look majestic."

"I suppose you have a point," Suicune smiled. "Still, it's good to see you again, Zapdos."

"And you. How long has it been now?"

"It's been about forty-three years since I last saw you, I think."

"Ah, well it's only been five years since I last saw you – I saw you running along the ground once while I was flying off to the meeting we three Legendary Birds have with Lugia every decade or so. I would have said high but I was in a hurry and it looked like you were too so…"

"Really? Well then. Perhaps I should look to the sky a little more often just in case I see you too."

"Um, hello? Mr. Zappy?" Latias rose into the air and waved. "Are you going to notice us, anytime soon."

"Latias!" Zapdos spread his jagged wings out. "Come on, give us a hug!"

"Yeah, I'll pass thanks," Latias looked at the lightning crackling over his feathers. "Every time I've done it in the past you've given me a jolt of static electricity."

"Hehehe. Like you wouldn't do the same thing if you were me," Zapdos replied, folding his wings again. "Now if really _has_ been to long since I saw you. And there's your dear brother, Latios. How are you both? Is your sister still running you ragged, Latios? You still struggling to try and keep up with her on a daily basis?"

"Oh yes," Latios nodded, moving in to hover beside his sister. "She is _always_ a real handful."

"Good," Zapdos nodded approvingly. "Keep it up, Latias. I'd hate to see your personality taking a turn up the serious ally. We've got so many of the Legendary Pokémon who are like that already – the funsters like you and Mew and Celebi and Mesprit are what keep us entertained, at our rare meetings."

"Aaw, you charmer you," Latias giggled. "How about you? How have you been holding up all this time?"

"Not so bad, not so bad," Zapdos said. "You know how it is. Going about from time to time and spreading my thunderstorms during the autumn months as such-like, generating the currents through the air and the oceans with my electrical energy. Keeps people on their toes, I can tell you that. Paid a visit down to Sinnoh last year to have a look around the place. Hasn't changed much since the last time I was there but what can you do?"

"Hey! Hey, Zapdos, check it out!" Latias suddenly said. "I perfected this move three years ago." She raised her arms and there was a colossal boom in the clouds that still roiled above and a huge lightning bolt came surging down in a powerful Thunder attack to strike Zapdos head on.

"Ooh, tingly," Zapdos said as he looked up, opening his wings and closing his eyes as if he was receiving a massage. "And flashy. Just the way I like it. Very nice Thunder attack. You got something like that up your feathers, Latios?"

"I learned how to used Thunderbolt," Latios said. "But she insisted on learning Thunder because it was bigger than what I was learning to do."

"Of course," Zapdos nodded. "Just as it should be between brother and sister. But now, if you don't mind, I would quite like to know one thing. Who the heck are all of your companions? Or are they paparazzi? Never cared for paparazzi – the number of times I've seen some guy down below trying to sneak a look over the fence of some human woman is despicable."

"You know," Terriermon grinned. "I think that I was right before. I like this guy."

"Of course you do," Renamon muttered. "He's rather cocky, but more of an amusing cocky instead of being an arrogant jerk. That has you written _all_ over it."

"I will take that as a compliment," Terriermon grinned.

"I'm not sure it was meant as one."

"Course it was, because you love me for it," he grinned, as he waved at Zapdos. "Hello there. I'm the leader of this little party and my name's Terriermon."

"Ignore him, he's being deliberately silly," Henry said. "But yes, hello Zapdos. I cannot tell you what a relief that it is to see you here."

"Dear Arceus, those guys didn't capture the three of you did they?" Zapdos turned back to the other Legendaries momentarily. "Surely I should have received a memo via a Delibird if one of the Legendaries had been captured by human trainers."

"Nah. They're just our friends," Latias said. "And we've all come together to find you."

"It's serious," Latios said.

"Is it now?" Zapdos raised a brow. "Alright then, I guess I can put my listening ears in. So," he turned towards the rest of the group and eyed them closely, a little like a hawk inspecting a mouse. "Why don't we begin with some introductions?"

"F-A-B," Terriermon saluted, with a snicker.

Lopmon smacked her hand into her forehead. "Seriously?" she asked. "Did you just say that?"

"What?" Terriermon asked. "I thought it was appropriate."

"Um… I don't get it," Ai raised a hand. "What's F-A-B?"

"I believe," Impmon sighed. "That it is the code signal used in the program, Thunderbirds, which basically means that they received and understood the message that was just given to them. Never did know what it stood for though."

"Full Acknowledgement of Broadcast I think," Terriermon said. "But yep, that's what it's from. Not that those Thunderbirds are the same as this one, but considering this guy is called Zap_dos_ that would probably make him Thunderbird 2 and if he was Thunderbird 2 then he would be huge and green and carry things around with him, including a little yellow one that goes in water…"

"Terriermon," Henry had a hand over his eyes now. "You… are… rambling."

"Nothing wrong with that," Terriermon muttered.

Zapdos was staring at them with a look on his face that clearly said, _…Eh?_

"Let me start over," Aayla said, stepping forwards. "Since Terriermon insists on putting a bunch of trivia about an earth television show into the conversation. Good morning, Zapdos. I am Aayla Secura and this is my team… ragtag bunch that they often seem to be. And don't worry. None of us are here to capture you. Indeed, only one of us is a Pokémon trainer and I believe if he was going to try and capture you then he would have already done so."

"Probably," Felkan nodded, a little mutely because he was staring at Zapdos in awe – here was yet another Legendary Pokémon – he was standing on a mountain with _four_ of them in his view. Seriously how many other people in the world or the entire history of the world could say that and mean it?

"Oh?" Zapdos asked. "Then what are you? I can tell that you're not a Pokémon, and most of your friends are certainly no Pokémon that I've ever come across before. And what do you all want with me then? What is this serious situation?"

"It's complicated," Rika said, and because that was the first time any of the humans had directly responded to what Zapdos was saying the Pokémon started a little bit.

"Hey, did that kid just understand what I said?" he blinked. "Since when have kids been able to do that?"

"They've met Uxie," Suicune stated. "He gave them the ability to understand we Pokémon."

"Did he now?" Zapdos was suddenly intrigued. More so than before anyway. "Well then… must be a big deal if Uxie decided to do that. He doesn't go giving out mental gifts like that to just anyone. And for a group of humans to have come across so many Legendary Pokémon as us. That's a rarity, isn't it?"

"Very," Suicune nodded. "So perhaps we should cut right to the chase and tell you want we know. Simply put, Zapdos, the world is in danger of destruction and we need your help to save it."

"Wow… that was blunt," said Impmon. "I like that."

Zapdos was staring at Suicune as if she'd grown a head out of her hindquarters. "Er…" he said. "Is that some kind of bizarre joke of yours, Suicune? Because if it is then I'm not getting the humour."

"It's no joke, Zapdos," Renamon stepped forward, the fox having smoothed down most of her fur after the electricity from before had caused it all to fluff out. "It's the deadly serious truth. And a terrible one at that. But simply stated, myself and several of my companions here are what are known as Digimon. We come from another universe – the Digital World – and it is that world which is colliding with this one and currently causing the potential collapse and destruction of both."

And so the long complicated process that everybody hated known as explaining began, in which they had to repeat the story that they'd already told many times, and everything that Uxie had told them about how to wake up Arceus to get him to help them out.

When they'd finished briefly outlining what they'd done so far on their quest – about how they had found nothing in their search of the Seafoam Islands for Articuno and how they'd met Suicune during the attack on the cruise ship and come here to him, Zapdos looked pensive and thoughtful for a moment, as if rolling around all the information he'd received in his head like the clouds above him were still doing.

Then he said:- "Huh. I was not expecting to hear that when I woke up this morning, I can tell you."

"Does that mean you don't believe us?" asked Lopmon.

"Oh, I believe you," Zapdos replied. "If Uxie told you about all of this and Latios and Latias received the same story…" he looked pointedly at the Eon Twins.

"We did," Latios nodded.

"Then of course I believe you," Zapdos replied. "I remember the last that that I didn't believe Uxie. That didn't end well for me…" He shuddered as if recalling a nasty memory. "But regardless, if the Pokémon of Knowledge said its true then it's true."

"He's never been known to pull a practical joke then?" Impmon asked.

"He would _not_ joke about this," Zapdos frowned. "I know that full well. Our world being on the brink of destruction and apparently the only hope to it being a group of people from that other world who act totally barmy half the time along with Latios and Latias – yeah, he wouldn't joke about that. No offence," he turned to look at Latios and Latias themselves.

"None taken," Latios said, as Latias said, "Oi!" at the same time.

"Then? You'll help us?" Lopmon asked hopefully. "You'll come with us and help us to save the world?"

"Probably," Zapdos nodded. "After all, I think that I would be rather stupid not to. I quite like being alive and have no desire to see the universe go up in smoke, or rather end with it so that I don't see it going up in smoke for myself."

"But that's great!" Henry grinned. "We did it! We got our second Legendary Pokémon to help already. Maybe it not really so hopeless after all."

"Hold on," Zapdos spread one wing out in a large, sweeping gesture. "I didn't say that I was totally without doubt here. Why has it got to be you? Why does Uxie feel that all of you have to be involved in all of this?"

"We… really don't know," Aayla sighed. "We've spent a long time mulling over it all but we are no closer to understanding it than we have ever been."

"I see," Zapdos muttered, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Alright then, well… I guess that I'll have to see for myself what you're really capable of then." He spread his other wing and lowered himself down slightly, as if making ready to spring off his perch at a moment's notice. "So… which one of you would like to take up the task?"

"Ex…cuse me?" Henry asked.

"What are you talking about?" Rika added.

"Looks to me," Garchomp suddenly spoke, "That he's issuing us with a challenge. He wants to fight one of us."

"Fight one of us!" Rika cried in alarm. "What? Why?"

"Simple really," Zapdos said. "I want some confirmation that the safety of this world is in good hands, or paws or whatever appendages it is that you all have done there – I've never really understood the difference between them. Anyway, frankly I haven't seen most of you do much but mess around since you got here, and I want someone to prove to me that you are actually capable of the task."

"But… but isn't Uxie's word proof enough?" Henry asked desperately. "Do we really have to fight you?"

"I think it would be appropriate," Zapdos stated. "I may not be a Psychic type Pokémon, but even I know that the future is never clearly defined. Uxie probably chose you because he thinks that you have the best chance of saving the world, but there could be other alternatives. And besides, there's another reason for this test. If that other thing you were saying about other Digimon appearing in this world and threatening it is true, then I'd like to get the measure of what it is to fight a powerful Digimon now. Let me know how much of a challenge it is that I'm getting myself in for."

"So… bottom line, one of us has to fight you," Renamon folded her eyes. "One of we Digimon, apparently."

"If you'd be so kind," Zapdos smirked. "I'm issuing this challenge to test your worthiness and get a measure on your strength and the strength of your kind. You guys said you were powerful protectors of your own world after all, so it shouldn't be too hard to fulfil both of those goals."

"Is this… really necessary?" Henry almost whined. "We don't want to fight you."

"Actually, Zapdos has a point," Suicune said as she stepped closer. "It would help to get a measure on how powerful you guys can be. And I'd quite like to see it for myself. Plus, there have been cases in the past where someone has had to undergo a test from a Legendary Pokémon to see if they are really worthy of the task. Lady Ho-Oh has set tasks for human heroes of this world in the distant past to test their strength and their heart. This is not unlike that."

"Indeed," Zapdos nodded. "Now, which one of you will it be? And it can't be you… Alaya was it? I'm not going to possibly end up fighting against one of your kind, after all."

"It's Aayla," corrected the Twi'lek. "And that is quite fine with me. I am not big on fighting."

Henry sighed. "Well, I suppose if we must do this… then we must…"

"Alright then, Zapdos, we accept your challenge," Rika replied with a smug smile. "What are the rules?"

"You should use the standard Pokémon League rules," suggested Felkan. "First participant of the battle to get knocked out loses."

"Or the challenge will end if I deem you worthy enough," Zapdos responded. "Now come… who shall take up the mantle amongst you four Digimon creatures?"

"Should it be me or Impmon?" Terriermon asked. "The both of us are the ones with aerial forms at our higher levels that are capable of moving about quickly."

"I ain't risking getting my Tamers hurt in some test match, Helicopter Head," Impmon replied forcefully.

"Maybe it should be us," Suzie suggested to Lopmon. "If we go to our Mega form of Cherubimon, then it will be lightning against lightning, won't it? And we can show him just how good we are, yeah?"

"Suzie I think that Cherubimon might be a little on the… large side," Lopmon replied with a sigh. "We'd be almost guaranteed to be spotted by someone over the mountain tops at some point and the peaks themselves would most likely hinder our movement."

"Oh," Suzie looked at her feet. "Never mind then."

"Well… then maybe it _should_ be me," Terriermon suggested. "I'd like to see what that guy could do against Rapidmon."

"No, Terriermon," Renamon shook her head. "You fought against that MarineDevimon on that cruise ship in a one on one battle. I believe that now, it is my turn."

"You're turn?" Rika asked. "Renamon, are you sure?"

The fox turned to her partner and offered her a kitsune smirk. "I would like to take this opportunity to test myself against a Legendary Pokémon. Apparently they are supposed to be the guardian deities of this world – the Pokémon versions of the Sovereigns, the Great Angels and the Royal Knights. The Pokémon version of the four of us! For we were all warriors of heaven ourselves before we were sent down into the world to help protect it, were we not? I am sure, Rika. Let's walk all over him."

Rika blinked at the use of the old phrase she used to use as an order against enemy Digimon in the old days. She hadn't used it in a long time, and she felt a smile creeping onto her lips.

"Alright then," she swept out a card and turned it blue. "We won't go all out right away. Let's first see what he can do against an Ultimate level Digimon."

Renamon nodded and, almost without warning, bounded off the edge of the cliff and sprang outwards into space, as Rika flashed the card through the slot. Renamon exploded into light, causing the intently watching Zapdos to reel backwards a little bit, blinking in the brightness.

"**RENAMON MATRIX-DIGIVOLVE TO… TAOMON!"**

"I will never get used to that," Charizard shook his head as Renamon's new form lifted itself into the air to hover above the small valley, her long sleeved robes flowing in the North Wind as she pulled her long calligraphy brush out of one of the sleeves and held it ready like a staff.

"Zapdos, Legendary Thunderbird Pokémon," Taomon announced. "I shall be your opponent."

"How interesting," Zapdos chuckled as his body began to practically ripple and come alive with electrical volts. "Alright then, Digimon. Let's see if you and your little band are indeed capable enough to succeed in this endeavour."

"Yes. Let's," Taomon replied.

* * *

And not far away, on a nearby ledge held deep in the shadows, Duskmon was watching events with keen, red eyes. All of them.

"Well," he murmured. "This should be intriguing."

* * *

Heh, well, I have to leave it there I'm afraid, but I hope that you liked what you saw. I thought it would make sense if they found the Legendary Pokémon that they were looking for this time around, but of course it wasn't ever going to be entirely smooth sailing. I hope you liked Zapdos' character – I tried to portray him as a brash but rather amusing character, always looking for both a challenge and a good chuckle, and I think I pulled it off but well… I can never be really sure. Hehe.

Not sure when I'll be able to post next but I'm definitely getting two chapters out next week no matter what. Unless more uni work gets in the way because that takes precedence over everything.

* * *

Next time…

With the challenge issued, Taomon must now take up the mantle and try and prove herself capable in the eyes of the Legendary Zapdos. Is she up to the task? We'll find out as the match begins in earnest, watched by the various onlookers, including the two that are trying to keep out of sight.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 33 : Versus Zapdos**


	33. Versus Zapdos

Hiya everybody. Wow, this chapter was most fun to write indeed – definitely one of my favourites of the story so far, if not my most favourite. I hope that you guys similarly enjoy it because it's quite explosive. MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Geehee. Sorry about that. Anyway, I won't keep you with anything else. Please read on.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 33:- Versus Zapdos**

* * *

The atmosphere was electric. Literally. As in, the air was crackling with miniature bolts of lightning that practically peeled themselves off Zapdos' feathers with giant leaping sparks, sizzling over the nearby rocks and stones in jagged circles and other shapes that couldn't possibly be given a name.

The Thunderbird Legendary Pokémon stood with wings outstretched, the yellow and black points of the feathers stretched out to either side like spear and his eyes narrowed as he stared at his opponent, sizing her up with his stare and trying to get an estimate on her skill as a fighter and the power she wielded.

His opponent, Taomon, was doing much the same thing, except without the lightning. She floated in the air calmly in front of Zapdos, her black hat perched on top of her head and her calligraphy brush clutched in her paws beneath her long sleeves. She made no move as she analysed the giant bird still perched on the rocky column, though it was quite difficult to see him underneath all the volts of electrical power he was producing with seemingly no effort.

"Does anyone else get the feeling this is going to be… quite a tough match?" Lopmon asked. She too was eyeing Zapdos warily, and she could feel the power that the Legendary possessed practically through her skin. She was well-versed in the use of lightning as a weapon after all and it seemed as though her senses had attuned into detecting it.

"Taomon can do it," Terriermon clenched his fists, though in reality he was not sure which way this match would go. "She's got no small amount of power herself."

"We all know that," Aayla agreed, who could also sense the lightning charge quite clearly and the tips of her fingers were buzzing, as if she herself was about to fire an Electric Judgement burst from them. "But we've already established that these Legendary Pokémon are no pushovers."

"I wouldn't like to be in there right now," Charizard muttered, staring at the electrical grid that was practically forming itself around Zapdos.

"I wouldn't mind," Garchomp smirked.

"Shaddup! Just because you're a Ground type…"

"Ssh," Felkan hushed them, his eyes fixed on the battle. He could feel a bizarre thrill coursing through him at the prospect of the upcoming battle. It was a thrill he had not experienced for years… the thrill of a Pokémon battle. And though he was doing his best to ignore it, he found his whole attention taken up by it as the two of them sized each other up, neither moving a muscle and the atmosphere grew tenser and tenser, waiting for one of them to make the first move.

Eventually, Latias broke the tension by yelling, "WOULD ONE OF YOU JUST GET ON WITH IT!"

The electricity around Zapdos suddenly vanished, dissipating into nothingness as if someone had pulled the proverbial plug and leaving Zapdos exposed. "Very well," he said. "I'll go first." And without moving from his perch he flapped his wings and a cloud of golden Swift stars suddenly seemed to burst from his very wings and scythe through the air towards Taomon like shurikens.

"**THOUSAND SPELLS!"** Taomon cried, flicking one sleeve into the air and firing out dozens of talisman slips of paper out of them which lanced forwards like spears. The two swarms of projectiles collided head-on and detonated amongst each other in an explosion of smoke, paper seals and Swift stars alike going up alike and the attacks totally negating one another.

Taomon wasted no time and surged forwards even before the paper and stars had hit each other, pulsing through the smoke and whooshing out the other side with brush raised high, hoping to catch Zapdos off guard but expecting him to have already moved.

She was rather surprised to find him still standing on the rock pillar, but didn't question it and instead cried,** "BRUSH STROKE!" **swinging the calligraphy brush like a bat towards Zapdos' head. Zapdos' eyes narrowed and a moment later something sprang up right between the pair of them and Taomon's brush impacted against what appeared to be something like a transparent wall in front of Zapdos. The Reflect did not stop the attack but did slow it down. However, Zapdos took the initiative and hurled himself off the pillar, slamming the top of his head into Taomon and pushing her backwards as he swept up into the air with a pulse of his wings.

Taomon recovered quickly and rolled over to face him. **"TALISMAN STAR!"** she yelled, conjuring a red symbol in one hand and throwing it like a shuriken. It certainly acted like one and shot off after Zapdos, but as the Thunderbird whooshed around to avoid it it followed him around like it was on a homing signal and span on after him.

"Impressive," Zapdos noted. "But this is just getting started." And suddenly he used Agility, putting on a sudden spurt of speed and pulling away from the spinning symbol to shoot past Taomon almost before she could blink. She spun around, to find that Zapdos had already whirled around the rocky pillar and was coming towards her, body sparking with electricity and releasing an enormous electrical Thunderbolt straight towards her.

Taomon's eyes widened at the size of lightning strike and swiftly raised a **"TALISMAN SPELL!"** shield, the dome that came with the symbol surrounding her just in time to take the blast, but the sheer force of it still pushed her backwards, shield and all. The shield held, but Taomon had to grit her teeth to do it and the moment the lightning fizzled out she saw Zapdos was already within metres of it, his wing glowing bright white and taking on a metallic sheen before he slammed into the bottom of the shield with a Steel Wing.

Taomon yelled as the airborne dome went spinning over and over. It still held under the assault but it went rolling through the air to slam into another rocky wall at the other end of the small valley they had situated the battle in.

"He's strong," murmured Rika, greatly reminded of the time where Zhuqiaomon had sent them all spinning under Taomon's shield in a similar manner and thanking the fates that Zapdos was apparently not as strong as Zhuqiaomon.

"Don't count Taomon out yet," Impmon grinned as the Talisman Spell shield vanished to reveal Taomon stowing her brush into her sleeves and raising both arms, still almost unhurt and unleashed a furious storm of Thousand Spells straight towards the fast-flying Zapdos.

Still under the speed boost of Agility, Zapdos twisted through the air at incredible speed, swooping low to the ground and dodging paper talismans is a zig-zag pattern as random and wild and fast as a bolt of lightning itself. But the storm of paper that exploded on contact with whatever it hit was too large to be dodged in that in that manner and Zapdos promptly found himself swarmed by folds and folds of paper that came down upon him. Truly the attack Thousand Spells was well named.

But Zapdos' beak curved into a slight smirk as he activated the other type of defensive shield he possessed. His body was suddenly surrounded by a glowing yellow cube – Light Screen – and he veered up and swept straight into the storm of paper and towards Taomon, who's eyes widened in shock. Dozens of paper spells collided full on with Zapdos and while he still took damage, the Light Screen greatly lessened the damage and he remained largely unaffected, bulldozing through the attack in her direction.

She watched as Zapdos' beak suddenly glowed white and seemed to lengthen before Zapdos surged forwards, tucking his wings into his sides and whipping himself into a spinning barrel-roll so furious that it might him seem nothing more than a yellow blur and he almost literally became a giant spinning lance.

"Drill Peck," Felkan observed.

"Taomon!" Rika cried, but Taomon had already raised another Talisman Spell shield and braced for the attack, which slammed into it with tremendous force and threw the shield back against the valley wall again.

But Zapdos didn't stop. He kept spinning and pushing against the shield, his beak throwing up sparks like a blowtorch to a piece of metal as it drilled powerfully against the see-through dome. Taomon gasped as she practically felt herself thrown back against the back of the shield and pulsed her power into trying to maintain it, but Zapdos was adamant. He never slowed his spinning even for an instant and to Taomon's astonishment the shield splintered beneath his force.

Then it cracked.

Then it shattered totally and Zapdos ploughed through towards her.

Taomon furiously rolled to the side at the last second and Zapdos stormed past and slammed into the rock wall with a shower of boulders and a cloud of dust that momentarily screened him from view. Taomon looked on, slightly concerned that he might have injured himself.

But she needn't have worried. She should have got out of there, but all she had time to see was Zapdos shooting out of the dust and one glowing foot shattering a falling boulder with a Rock Smash attack before said foot crashed straight into her chest and threw her down towards the ground with a yell of pain. She crashed into the ground on her back hard enough to crater it and lay there for a moment, gasping for breath.

And as she tried to lever herself out of the hole, her eyes widened with alarm when she saw Zapdos spreading his wings overhead, with his body glowing bright white as he formed a large, blazing white Ancientpower ball in front of him, which he sent flinging down towards her.

Taomon seized her brush and quickly used it as a lever, flipping herself out of the hole and tumbling to the side just in time to avoid the main attack but still getting flung back a little in the blast. Still, she managed to roll onto her feet and skid to a halt, holding her brush in front of her like a staff and looking up with a grim determination to where Zapdos was flapping and staring down at her, body writhing with electrical power.

Taomon responded to the challenge and shot upwards, spinning in a corkscrew of her own and releasing a cloud of Thousand Spells from her sleeve once again. Zapdos narrowed his eyes, thinking that she was using the same move as before and sought to repeat his own counter by powering down through it and readying another potent Drill Peck.

He did not, however, expect the paper seals to instead start writhing around amongst themselves and joining up end to end to form longer lengths, like giant paper streamers, which passed through the remnants of his Light Screen and lashed themselves around his body. Zapdos squawked in alarm as the paper lengths plastered themselves around his wings and legs, one of them managing to wrap around his beak. Losing his ability to fly, Zapdos spiralled to the side until he crashed into another rocky pillar, where the paper talismans immediately began to wrap around the pillar as well, keeping him there.

Taomon smirked, remembering how she had used this technique to subdue the Acklay on Felucia, one of which had also used lightning as a weapon. Zapdos thrashed and struggled, but the paper was much stronger than ordinary paper would be and it held him fast against the pillar. Taomon quickly sought to take advantage of the situation and lifted her brush, sweeping it to the side and painting a glowing symbol in the air.

"**TALISMAN OF LIGHT!"** she cried and the symbol shot through the air towards Zapdos' exposed stomach.

"Game over," Rika sighed in relief – she had been quite worried for several moments there.

But as Zapdos saw the incoming attack he growled beneath the paper sealing his beak and braced himself against the pillar, flexing his feathers out so wide that they practically grew in length as his wings took on a slightly red tinge and then a sudden wind rippling with streaks of flame burst out of his feathers, incinerating the paper holding him on the spot and washing past the symbol unaffected and blowing towards Taomon.

Taomon, startled, raised another shield to take the hit just in time, while Zapdos pushed himself off the pillar with his legs just as the symbol crashed into the rock where he had just been and exploded, knocking him for a loop slightly, but he quickly regained his flight as his attack enveloped Taomon's shield.

* * *

"What was that?" Lopmon asked, referring to the attack Zapdos had just used.

"Heat Wave," Felkan muttered. "It's a Fire type move but many Flying types are capable of learning it too. As Zapdos so clearly demonstrated."

"Yeah… okay…" Impmon faltered. "We… might have a slight problem."

* * *

Taomon threw out her arms the moment the Heat Wave died down, dispersing the shield enough for her to soar out rather unaffected and flinging a pair of Talisman Stars up at Zapdos as he wheeled around again. But this time he just blasted through them with another Thunderbolt that Taomon only just managed to roll aside from. She flung out another round of Thousand Spells but Zapdos raised a Protect around him and prevented them from doing any damage at all.

"You're not the only one with a shield," Zapdos pointed out as he soared around the nearest pillar. "Still, I am impressed so far. It's been a while since I've encountered an opponent that I felt inclined to use Protect to shield myself against. You should be commended."

"I will take that compliment," Taomon said fiercely. "But you're not going to get the better of me, Zapdos."

"Very well," Zapdos said, alighting on another pillar. "Let us see what else you have under those very large sleeves of yours… seriously why are they so long?"

"I don't know," Taomon admitted, but then shook her head and narrowed her gaze down on Zapdos. The truth was that she had actually used all of the attacks in her arsenal against him already, but it looked like Zapdos still have plenty of tricks to spare. That was the ace that most Pokémon had in a fight with a Digimon – most Pokémon were not as powerful as the more powerful Digimon but had enormous numbers of attacks and techniques to fall back on. But Zapdos was both versatile _and_ powerful.

She was going to have to try and pull some new stunts to try and get the better of this Legendary Bird.

"**TALISMAN SPELL!"** she called again, but instead of summoning the shield dome around her, she brought it into existence around Zapdos instead. Zapdos blinked and looked at the shield that had suddenly formed around him, but he didn't have much time too because the shield, and him with it, was promptly thrown towards the ground. Taomon gripped her paintbrush and, even as the shield fell, she painted the largest Talisman Spell in the air that she had ever produced, one that was even larger than she was, and prepared to send the bright glowing letter down after Zapdos.

She hesitated momentarily when Zapdos lashed around with his wing feathers like blades, generating a massive Razor Wind that battered against the side of the shield. Not localised around Taomon's power as it was, the shield was not as strong and the attack easily sliced through it and shattered the shield. Zapdos shot out of it and swept upwards right at her, forming another Light Screen around him before he powered on upwards with a Double-Edge, his body surrounded with a blinding white aura.

Taomon hissed and pulsed the giant symbol downwards to meet him head on, bird and letter, both blazing white, racing towards each other at breakneck speed.

The watchers were on tenterhooks, waiting to see if Zapdos would succumb to the blast once it hit him as the collision course seemed certain.

But seemingly moments before collision Zapdos suddenly activated his Double Team and split into five identical copies. The Talisman of Light attack surged straight through one of the copies and continued on harmlessly towards the ground, and the four remaining Zapdos immediately joined back together and spurted back onwards towards Taomon.

Taomon's eyes widened as she saw her giant attack miss and immediately flung herself backwards and away from the fast approaching thunderbird. She summoned another shield directly in front of her to keep him occupied before she flung out a long string of talisman papers that wrapped around another pillar, and allowed her to swing around it, flinging herself to the side as Zapdos cannoned into the shield and sent it flying backwards and out of the way.

"You're a slippery devil alright," he observed as he alighted on the pillar that Taomon and swung from, while she caught her breath nearby.

"And I see that your… strength… was not exaggerated," she agreed as she held her calligraphy brush close and pointed it forwards like a spear, the brush part at the tip waving slightly in the wind. "But don't count me out of this fight just yet."

"I did not say that I had," Zapdos raised his wings and his body becoming surrounded with a bright red glow, as the clouds above him seemed to condense and darken still further, casting the valley into slightly deeper shade as the wisps of vapour roiled and pulsated around. "But I might have to do something about that slipperiness."

Taomon flinched slightly when she felt a plink of wetness suddenly hit her between the eyes, followed by another and another, until she was being peppered by the little droplets. To put it bluntly, it was raining, and the rain quickly increased until it was pouring down on top of them.

* * *

"Oh come on!" Impmon complained. "Of all the bad timing it had to start raining now."

"It's not bad timing," Felkan said as Lucario cast a shield of aura over the group to shield them from the rain. "It's Zapdos' doing. He's using Rain Dance."

"Rain Dance?" blinked Terriermon. "But he's not moving. Where's the dancing part?"

"I think a more appropriate question is, Pokémon can control the weather?" Aayla asked.

"For a brief time," Felkan nodded. "But for someone like Zapdos it should be pretty easy – he's a Legendary after all. But… uh-oh…"

"Uh-oh?" blinked Rika. "What do you mean 'uh-oh?' What does 'uh-oh' mean?"

"I think that Taomon might have a problem," Felkan muttered.

* * *

Taomon didn't see it that way though, and thought she was getting soaked to the skin and her robes sodden by the rain already it was just rain. There was no damaging or draining or hurtful nature to it whatsoever.

"You think a little water is enough to best me?" she asked. "My brush doesn't use paint. It won't be hindered by this."

"Maybe," Zapdos nodded, as his feathers began to cackle again. "But rain is often accompanied by something else."

There was a deep rumble from the clouds up ahead as Zapdos flared his wings out wide, electricity lancing off his body in dozens of miniature bolts that crackled upwards into the sky, disappearing amongst the roiling cover in the sky. Taomon looked up to follow its progress, eyes widened as she saw the inside of the clouds lighting up with flashes of yellow that betrayed the presence of the mass electrical activity within.

She tensed and backpedalled swiftly, ready for the _enormous_ bolt of lightning that crashed downwards towards her, light blue in colour and with dozens of smaller bolts crackling around it along its entire length. Taomon shot across to the other side of the valley at high speed, thinking she was in the clear…

…But she wasn't.

The Thunder attack practically seemed to jump from raindrop to raindrop as it tore down from the sky and followed her progress exactly across the valley.

* * *

"_That_… is uh-oh…" remarked Felkan.

* * *

Taomon tried to raise a shield but it was no use. She was not fast enough and had barely the time to cry, **"TALIS…"** before the huge blast of electricity struck her dead on and practically lit up her entire body, the volts surging and lashing through and around her, charring her robes and her fur simultaneously and ripping a veritable roar from her throat as she was fried from the inside out. The force of the attack flung her backwards like she'd been fired from a catapult.

The spectators watched in shock as she crashed into the wall above them with a plume of dust and rolled down to land in a smoking heap a short distance away. Taomon groaned and glowed briefly yellow, shrinking back down until she took on the shape of her Rookie form once again.

"RENAMON!" Rika cried as she sprinted over to her partner, Terriermon leaping into the air and whooshing over to her side as well.

"What just happened?" Impmon blustered.

"Thunder never misses in the rain unless you block it," Latias, who was capable of using the attack but not _that_ powerfully, replied. "Not unless you block it. But there's no way to dodge that attack as long as it's raining. And Zapdos made it rain to make sure that it wouldn't miss."

"A good cause for an 'uh-oh' then," Impmon muttered.

By this point half the group had already gathered around the battered Renamon. Zapdos alighted on a perch nearby and looked down at them as the rain began to clear up. "Ah," he muttered. "Perhaps I put too much power into that last attack. I think the heat of battle might have… carried me away a bit…"

"A bit…?!" Rika turned to glare up at him. "A bit?!"

"Oh don't blame him," Felkan shook his head. "That's the way that a Pokémon battle works and that was the rule which we decided – a winner would be chosen when one or the other was rendered unable to fight. You must have known that would mean that if Zapdos was to win he would have to have to put some force behind his punches. She'll be fine."

"Yes," Renamon grunted, pushing herself up onto one arm. "I… I'm okay… I'm not too injured. And Felkan's right, those were the rules that we agreed to. But that… _really_… hurt."

"Yeah… sorry about that," Zapdos shrugged his wings. "I very much doubt that it escaped your notice, but I am not very good at holding back in a battle situation."

"Yeah… I did notice," Renamon chuckled, coughing slightly.

"I suppose that you could call it a bad pun but… as Legendary Pokémon go Zapdos always did have a… short fuse," Suicune stepped over towards them as Renamon pushed herself back up onto her knees. "You'll have to excuse him. He acts before he thinks of the consequences a lot of the time. Still, that was not a shot to kill. If it had been then there would have been even more power behind it."

"More power than that?" Lopmon blinked. "That was incredibly powerful as it was. Possibly even on level with one of the Lightning Spears that I can use in my Mega form."

"You are strong, Zapdos," Renamon observed. "The Legendary Pokémon are truly remarkable. I do not believe that my Ultimate form stood much of a chance against you."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Zapdos replied. "You were certainly a worthy adversary. I can't remember the last time that I had to pull some of the techniques that I ended up using there. But, unfortunately, you have failed the test that I set you. I have to wonder if you really are…"

"Whoa," Renamon pushed herself to her feet and placed one fist in the palm of her other paw. "I did not say that I was out yet. The rules of the match clearly state that in order for a victory to be assured, one of the sides has to be unable to continue battling any further. And I am still ready to fight now."

"Oh?" Zapdos asked, with a brow raised. "Forgive me if I got this wrong but is that form of yours not… weaker… than the one I was facing."

"Maybe," Renamon smirked. "But I was no talking about fighting you in this form either. Rika… are you up for it?"

"Renamon, are you sure about this?" the orange-haired Tamer placed a calming hand on the arm of her partner. "You were badly injured in that last attack. Some of your fur is charred. Maybe it would be better to…"

"Rika," Renamon turned around and gave her a warm, fox smile, her pale blue eyes reassuring. "We have overcome everything that was ever thrown against us before together and this… this is not even a full-scale real battle. This is still a test and I do not believe that we have failed yet. The Legendary Pokémon are more powerful than I thought and we have not yet shown them all we are capable of yet? How can we forfeit a test like this without doing that?"

Rika hesitated for a moment, taking in Renamon's slightly battered and frazzled appearance worriedly, before Renamon's paw settled on her shoulder.

"We can do this," she said. "Let's fight together once again and prove once and for all that we are capable of taking this world to safety."

Terriermon flashed her a peace sign and a wink, as several of the others around her nodded. Rika delved into their mental bond and felt all of their reassurances, as well as confirmed that Renamon was actually not in much pain, most of the damage having been taken away with her de-digivolution into the smaller form.

So she sighed and nodded, a smile spreading over her face as she stood beside the fox. "Honestly Renamon, you guys never give up do you?"

"Give up?" Terriermon asked. "What is the meaning of this phrase? I know the two words that make it up but when you put them together… IT MAKES NO SENSE!"

Rika snorted and pressed her Digivice to her chest. "Alright then Zapdos," she called up to him. "You want a challenge. We'll definitely give you a challenge." Renamon seized her by the shoulders and sprang into the air, carrying Rika up with her and wrapping her arms around the Tamer to keep them together and Rika thudded her Digivice into her chest and cried, **"BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"**

The eyes of Felkan and the surrounding Pokémon that were currently out of their Pokéballs widened at the spectacle. A couple of them had seen a biomerge before, but only from a distance and during a serious situation where awe had been replaced with fighting the enemy on that cruise ship. Now they could stare with all the amazement required as the shapes of Rika and Renamon merged into one in a flare of bright light.

"**RENAMON BIOMERGE TO…"**

The glowing shape shot upwards into the sky above Zapdos and then plummeted down towards him. Zapdos flung himself off his perch and spiralled to the side, body re-surging with electricity as the glowing form thudded into the top of the pillar, the light dying down to reveal a single, tall figure, twice as tall as an average human, which spun around to face him and called out her new name.

"**SAKUYAMON!"**

Zapdos and everyone else who had not seen this before, including Suicune and the Lati twins, were suitably impressed and several pairs of eyes widened at what they saw. The gleaming golden staff and breastplate and belt buckle and the fox-like helmet the covered the entire top half of her face glinted in what light was currently piercing the clouds above, the staff standing tall with the butt planted on the top of the rock pillar. She maintained all the grace of Renamon, and some of the similar appearance traits such as the purple gloves, but Zapdos could practically feel the power brimming inside her.

"Well now," he remarked. "This is more like it. You Digimon certainly are full of surprises aren't you? Capable of shrinking back into your smaller forms and changing into others moments later and merging with humans no less. I don't believe there has ever been a Pokémon that has ever done such a thing."

"And don't you forget it," Sakuyamon said calmly in both Rika and Renamon's voices. Any trace of injury that Renamon had previously had was not visible on this new form, as if the power surging through them had eliminated it entirely. "This is the strength of the bond that we share that allows us to do this. But you are indeed a strong opponent for us to resort to using this form – our Mega form. I assure you that this is more powerful than my Ultimate form of Taomon."

Zapdos frowned. "Hold on," he said. "Doesn't Ultimate literally mean 'the best that you can be?' Why is this form not named the Ultimate form instead?"

Sakuyamon opened her mouth to answer, closed it and then opened it again… before she said, "Never mind that. But let's show you now the full power of a Mega level Digimon. And this time, I strike first. **AMETHYST WIND!"**

She spun around and leapt into the air, spinning her staff wildly in a circle and sending a veritable storm of purple diamond shards with viciously sharp edges blowing with the forceful wind straight towards Zapdos.

"Two can play at that game," Zapdos smirked and flung himself backwards by flapping his wings so forcefully forward that they actually clashed into one another, generating a purple Ominous Wind out of nowhere that burst forwards. It seemed similar to the opening of their last battle as Zapdos' attack collided with Sakuyamon's and blew the crystals aside, causing them to pepper the ground below as the winds cancelled each other out. And, as with last time, Sakuyamon was already moving, to shoot through the remnants of the collision.

This time though Zapdos had more sense to get out of the way and wheeled to the side, diving towards the ground and re-activating his Light Screen for good measure. Sakuyamon arced around to follow him and Zapdos flipped over onto his back and launched a multi-coloured Signal Beam from his beak, the rainbow-like colours bursting upwards towards the oncoming Digimon.

"**TALISMAN SPHERE!"** Sakuyamon cried and easily raised another type of shield, this one tinged with purple and entirely spherical and took the attack with ease, powering down through it before Sakuyamon clenched her fist and the sphere rapidly expanded outwards with a burst of energy that took Zapdos off guard. Though the Light Screen lessened the damage he was flung backwards beak over spiky tail-feathers.

"How do you like them apples?" Sakuyamon asked as she readied her staff, watching as Zapdos tumbled towards the cliff edge nearby.

But Zapdos twisted around, his body taking on a slightly greenish aura and with a twist that took Sakuyamon by surprise he had right himself and was suddenly coming back towards them, curving up and over inches before he hit the wall and streaking upwards with amazing speed. He had used U-turn to avoid a collision and was coming down again to attempt to strike with it, but Sakuyamon raised her staff and took the hit. The force of the blow pushed her backwards but she was able to whip out with her staff and snag Zapdos' foot with the ring around the end of her staff, promptly being jerked along behind him as he went.

"Bad move," Zapdos looked down at her, and his body suddenly flared with electrical power that lanced down the metal staff and caused Sakuyamon to let go with a cry and roll to the side, hands smoking slightly as her staff fell from Zapdos' foot and towards the ground below.

"Wow. I feel strangely naked without the staff," Renamon muttered. "It's like it's part of the image."

"Keep it together, Renamon, he's coming in," Rika muttered as Zapdos did indeed cruise around for another pass. Sakuyamon immediately shot upwards and span head over heel, implementing a new attack that they had only recently learned they possessed in this form called, **"FLAMING FOX!" **which involved her foot being enshrouded in bright red flames and powering down towards Zapdos.

Zapdos responded by his eyes glowing and twisting through the use of Detect at the last second to avoid the kick. But Sakuyamon did not mind the miss for she continued to plummet towards the ground, and the staff that was lying there. Zapdos saw his mistake and twisted around, blasting another Thunderbolt down towards them with a burst of at least three electrical bolts, but Sakuyamon seized the staff and then flipped off her hands in the same motion, catapulting herself out of the way of the attack.

"My turn again!" she said as the spun around and slammed the butt of the staff into the ground, before sweeping them out to either side and crying, **"TWIN BLADES OF BEAUTY AND TRUTH!"**

The huge, pink energy blades that peeled off the staff sliced upwards through the air and crashed into Zapdos head on in mid-dive before he had an opportunity to protect himself. He squawked in astonishment and it broke through his Light Screen and hit him with full force sending him spiralling backwards to crash into the valley wall and go skidding along its length a fair distance with a cloud of dust and bit of rock before he finally caught himself and pushed himself back to his feet, turning around to face the opponent with wings held wide.

"Wow," Zapdos grinned through his narrow beak. "Talk about a power boost. Been a while since someone hit me _that_ hard."

"Does that make us worthy in your eyes yet?" Sakuyamon asked.

"Maybe," Zapdos laughed, as his body was promptly surrounded by electrical sparks that looked like they were being absorbed from the air into his feathers. "But regardless I want to see what else you've got."

* * *

"Oh boy," Felkan muttered from nearby. "He's using Charge. That means that the next electrical attack that he uses will be easily twice as powerful as normal."

"Sakuyamon better watch out then because if he uses that Thunder attack again…" Henry fretted.

"Relax," Terriermon grinned. "They got this now."

* * *

Sakuyamon got the information on what Zapdos was doing through Terriermon's mind and braced herself, preparing to dodge or raise a shield as necessary as Zapdos finished Charging, his body taking on a bright yellow glow that seemed alive with tiny sparks. Zapdos narrowed his sights down and folded his wings closer like a pair of arms and Sakuyamon watched with slight trepidation as a ball of crackling electrical power began to grow between his wings… and grow… and grow… and soon it was easily able to match the size of the Terra Force of a WarGreymon.

* * *

"Whoa!" Charizard's eyes widened. "If Luxray got a load of _that_ Zap Cannon he'd die of envy."

* * *

The Zap Cannon exploded forwards like a gigantic ball fired from the world's largest cannon, the ground and rock beneath it buckling and cracking under the sheer force of the attack as it streaked on towards Sakuyamon.

But the Mega level Digimon was ready for it and quickly did three things in rapid motion. First, she formed a Talisman Sphere and rapidly expanded it outwards and away from her, then she yelled, "SPIRIT STRIKE!" and pulled the lids from the tubes on her belt to send the four brightly coloured fox spirits shooting forwards and then she shot upwards into the air right at the moment the Zap Cannon collided with the shield. Even with the distance between them it still struck with such a tremendous force that it exploded hard enough to create a crater the size of a small house in the valley below and blow Sakuyamon backwards.

The fox spirits, on the other hand, remained unaffected by the blast and whisked through it, undulating in Zapdos' direction with intent in their narrow eyes. Zapdos, panting a little from the force of the Zap Cannon, fired a bolt of electricity at them to get them out of the way, and was rather shocked when the yellow one suddenly lurched in front of the others and took the hit without effect before they all swept on.

"The heck…?" Zapdos cried and threw himself into the air and shot skywards, the fox spirits twisting around to follow him in a line. The red one curved in from the side and turned into a plume of fire that Zapdos had to flare to dodge, while the blue one spiralled up from below and became a jet of water that exploded up like a geyser.

"Oh, this is new!" Zapdos cried as he swung around to dodge the blast, activating Detect again to keep ahead of the kitsune spirits. And it had to be said he was very hard pressed to dodge them even with Detect enabled.

The fire spirit came back around, joined by the green Wind spirit that merged together to create a massive tornado of flame that tried to envelop Zapdos but he twisted back down towards the ground so it passed just over his tail-feathers. The lightning spirit then came in from the front and blasted forwards a bolt of electricity of its own, but Zapdos took the blow this time and threw himself into a Drill Peck at it, only to pass straight through the spirit as if it wasn't there.

And then he had to dodge madly to the left to avoid a surge of water from the blue spirit before he was suddenly hit from below by a powerful burst of wind from the green one and sent rocketing up into the air.

Detect would only work for so long as a dodging strategy after all.

As he struggled to regain his balance and the four fox spirits converged below him, spiralling upwards in an intricate weaving column and leaving trails of their respective colour behind them, Zapdos' head snapped around as he sensed Sakuyamon herself coming in from an attack from above.

"**THUNDER KICK!"** she yelled, another new move that she learned she had that didn't involve thunder really, but she was spinning her staff above her head and plunging towards him both feet first, intending on crashing straight into his head with them. Zapdos wrenched himself over in response and lashed out with his own feet, his talons latching around her high-heeled boots before she could make impact and continuing the wrench to swing her out of the way.

Sakuyamon regained herself quickly and flung another Twin Blades of Beauty and Truth at him even as she continued whirling. Zapdos motored backwards and spiralled just above the attack, rocketing upwards into the air, gaining height as the four spirits quickly returned to Sakuyamon's side as if to check that she was okay.

"You aren't the only one who can attack from above," Zapdos yelled as he spread his wings wider and took on a white aura before powering down towards her at colossal speed, the aura building and building around her until it took on the shape of a giant, fiery white bird around his body.

Sky Attack.

Sakuyamon fell back as Zapdos closed in, dropping towards the ground where she planted her feet against the steep rocky side and raised her staff above her head, thudding the butt into the ground and calling, **"FOX DRIVE!"**

A humungous blue flame whooshed out of the ring in the top of her staff and blasted up towards Zapdos to waylay him. Zapdos crashed into it head-on, straining against it as it waged war with the energy from his Sky Attack, gritting his beak as he pushed downwards against it. Maintaining the strength of his Sky Attack he blasted out to the side with his Thunderbolt, the electricity arcing around the fire and striking Sakuyamon in the sides, causing her to cry out and relinquish her attack with her concentration broken.

Zapdos immediately powered down and swept in from the side with his burning attack. Sakuyamon swiftly raised a shield and Zapdos crashed into it, throwing it backwards like a giant stone from a sling and sending Sakuyamon tumbling. Still, the impact hurt Zapdos' head and he was forced to land, staggering a little and shaking his head right as the shield hit a wall nearby and rebounded off it to go flying right back and strike Zapdos in the face, tossing him back into the air and rolling.

The thunderbird had to lash out and burying his talons in the dirt to slow himself down, leaving lone lines behind him as he finally drew to a halt, facing off against Sakuyamon like a pair of cowboys at either end of the street they were about to duel in. Both Pokémon and Digimon looked quite battered but neither of them were out of the count by a long shot.

"This is quite something," Zapdos remarked. "You're definitely much more powerful now than you were in that previous form of yours. And all from merging with a human child. Who'd have thunk it?"

"You can definitely tell we're full of surprises now, can you not?" Sakuyamon asked.

"I learned that one a long time ago," Zapdos chuckled, as lightning bolts crackled around him again. "But don't think the games over yet." And he blasted them forwards with such force he tore up the ground and forced Sakuyamon into a rolling dive before the two of them lanced up into the air again.

* * *

Besides the onlookers watching from the ledge together, marvelling at the skill and strength of both the combatants, there were several other eyes also watching the battle. And most of the were all on the same body, fixed on the action.

Duskmon, from where he had remained half merged with the shadows near the top, was astonished. Not that he would admit it, even to himself, but he was seeing a Pokémon going toe to toe with a Mega level Digimon and neither of them giving an inch. Granted it wasn't a regular Pokémon – there was _no_ way a regular Pokémon could be doing _that_; no chance at all – but it was one of those guardian Legendaries. They really were on another level to everything that he had observed so far about the Pokémon World in the last six months.

Maybe… loathe to admit it as he was… maybe DarkKnightmon had been right to be cautious after all. According to the intel they had gleaned there were many of these Legendary Pokémon throughout this world – heck there were three others right there in that valley below watching the fight as he was. If all of them were as strong, or heck even stronger, than this Zapdos… perhaps the caution that DarkKnightmon had been exercising wasn't such a bad idea after all.

_You feeling stupid yet?_ The female voice in his head asked. _About those demands for a full-frontal assault earlier?_

"Shut… up…" Duskmon growled as he watched Sakuyamon rolling aside from another electrical burst from Zapdos and retaliate by sending out her spirits again. His eyes briefly roamed around in search of the other sneaky spectator but he couldn't see her at all. She was totally hidden from him and had gone off somewhere to watch the battle from another angle. How he loathed her and her ability to hide without having to stay in the shadows.

Of course, the Demon Lords would have crushed this Zapdos long before this point by now. Any one of them, even Beelzemon who was standing in his smaller form right now. He could have dealt with Zapdos when he's been in his prime before he'd signed on with these weakling humans…

Weakling humans… yes, that must be part of the reason why this Mega… this cheap imitation of a Mega… fused with a _human_ of all things, was having such trouble. It wasn't just that Zapdos was strong… it was that Sakuyamon was weak. Yes, that was it.

Although to be honest that sounded a little hollow even in his mind, for he'd seen the other human partnered Megas taking down the Nightmare Soldiers a year ago just as DarkKnightmon had. Including Beelzemon.

Duskmon growled as he stepped a little out of the shadows to glare down at the back of Impmon's head, the teeth of his skull hands clamping together as his multiple eyes narrowed. He itched to do something, to take down the little purple Rookie. One blast to the back of his head from here and the abomination would be out of the picture for good. The one that despoiled the name of the Demon Lords by remaining alive now while they were gone and fighting for the light instead of the darkness they stood for.

Oh, how he _loathed_ Impmon now.

Then again, he'd loathed Impmon from the start hadn't he? The seventh Demon Lord, the last one to join, who had been brought in even after Duskmon had succeeded in becoming official assassin of the group. He'd been secretly hoping that they would consider him worthy of filling the seventh slot, for Lucemon had been adamant that Seven was the number they would need, and then in came the brat and dashed those hopes.

Of course, he had respected Beelzemon greatly after he became the ruthless, brutal, soulless Beelzemon, Lord of Gluttony.

But before then… before then…

_Oh, you made me sick,_ Duskmon thought as he leaned further out of the shadows, venting his hatred on the unsuspecting Impmon from behind. _You and your pathetic wailing and cowering and snuggling up with that… buddy of yours like a frightened Lunamon. But oh, I remember. Lucemon didn't take kindly to you getting close to his little pet at all, did he? Oh, I can remember the fear in your eyes that day… and the screaming… her screams of anger and despair… ah, the music…_

* * *

As he ranted inside his head though, Aayla had tensed slightly, her eyes flicking to the side even if the rest of her remained rigid, as if attempting to peer through the side of the head and up the slope behind them. She had suddenly sensed something, and while most of her attention and the attention of her friends, was focused on the aerial brawl going on in front of her, it was as if the Force had suddenly poked at her and alerted her to a presence.

A presence that was positively dripping with darkness, and it was coming from behind them, up the slope.

_Lucario,_ she sent, hoping that the jackal-like Pokémon would pick it up. _Do you sense that?_

Lucario was instantly on the alert, for he had in fact, not sensed anything. He went rigid and asked, _Sense what?_

_A presence,_ Aayla replied. _Approximately fifty metres to the left and another thirty up the slope, near the top. And a dark one too._

Lucario shut his eyes and opened his senses, focusing in the area that Aayla mentioned. For a moment he felt nothing, but as he fine-tuned his minds he began to sense something too.

_Yes,_ he nodded quietly in his head. _I sense it_.

_Digimon?_ Aayla asked.

_Almost definitely_, Lucario confirmed. _It is Digimon that I have trouble detecting with my aura unless I know what a specific kind feels like or I already know there's one in the vicinity. It certainly isn't a Pokémon or a human._

_How long has it been there?_ Aayla wondered. _I sensed the presence just… emerge from nowhere. Like it teleported._

_I don't know how plausible that is. When a Psychic type Pokémon teleports I can sense the psionic energy that it gives off like a beacon. I don't know if that same principle would apply to this Digimon or not so I suppose we shouldn't rule it out. But it either means that it appeared by another method…_

…_or it was deliberately concealing itself from us,_ Aayla finished.

_It certainly isn't moving,_ Lucario nodded. _It's just watching. And I can sense the darkness seeping from it as well. I would suspect that the latter option is what happened. But whatever the case it has lowered its defences a little now. Perhaps it doesn't know that we're aware of it._

Aayla glanced at the others briefly. None of them seemed to be aware of anything out of the ordinary themselves, but they were all too engrossed in the ensuing conflict to have even noticed Aayla's suspicions through the mind-link.

_One of us should check it out,_ Lucario said, who also appeared to have noticed the same thing.

_I have the Force Cloak ability_, Aayla noted. _I'll do it._

_But what if it sees you turning invisible? It might suspect something._

Aayla frowned, knowing full well that Lucario was right. She had no way of knowing if the creature was looking her way or not. But perhaps it too was watching the battle instead. Still, all she could do was clench her fist slightly, deliberating her next course of action.

* * *

But the battle between Sakuyamon and Zapdos was still going strong, and Sakuyamon catapulted herself around another stony pillar that was promptly destroyed by a furious blast of lightning that followed her, multiple beams lancing outwards and forcing her to zig-zag furiously to avoid them before she landed on the ground and raised another shield to block.

Zapdos came swooping down towards her, readying another Drill Peck to try and crack through the shield once more. But Sakuyamon clenched her teeth and raised her staff above her head, saying, "Alright, I guess it's time to pull out all the stops isn't it?" And she slammed the staff down on the floor and roared, **"AMETHYST MANDALA!"**

Zapdos suddenly screeched in alarm when the area around Sakuyamon burst into light and then, so did the area around him. He scrambled to an aerial halt as an bright barrier of pure holy energy form around him in a spectacular shining orb that blazed like a miniature sun and illuminated the mountains all around with its fierce glare.

* * *

Duskmon had to resist the urge to cry out as the pure light from Sakuyamon's attack almost seemed to burn at him, and it wasn't even near him. But in any case, all of his many eyes were suddenly blinded by the intense light and he stumbled backwards slightly, stepping almost totally out of the shadows in his daze.

_It's faltered,_ Lucario cried. _Go!_

Aayla suddenly backflipped onto a higher ledge and tucked herself out of sight behind another boulder, trying to shut out the bright light from Sakuyamon's attack and focusing on her breathing, meditating and feeling the Force pooling through her as she began to fade from sight as the light passed around her instead of on her.

_It has not moved. It doesn't appear to have noticed_, Lucario reported, shielding his eyes along with everyone else from the glow of the Mega level's attack. _Go for it_.

Aayla nodded even though nobody saw it, and indeed none of the other spectators seemed to have noticed that she had suddenly gone. So, quietly and steadily as she could, ensuring to maintain the Force cloak at all times and therefore going slower than she could by some distance because of it, she stealthily jumped and crept her way towards the presence she felt.

Duskmon had retreated back beneath the ledge a little, the light still blinding him and leaving spots before his eyes, but he soon began to recover even though the light still blazed. He shook his head, his long hair waving around behind him as it did so and he pictured sneaking up behind that Sakuyamon and running her through with his sword.

He was totally unaware of the Twi'lek that was currently stepping towards him, invisible to all, and staring at him with narrowed eyes. She could see him clearly in the light from the Amethyst Mandala and had absolutely no doubt that this guy was _not_ friendly even if she didn't have the ability to sense the darkness and evil he was practically riddled with.

Slowly and invisibly, Aayla unclipped both of her lightsabers from her belt and stepped forwards, before she sprang with a single mighty leap and dropped her Force cloak. Duskmon saw her instantly and reacted blindingly fast, whipping out both long red swords and spinning up to slash at her. But Aayla's lightsabers sheered through both of his blades instantly and sent them clattering to the ground.

Duskmon could only stare in shock for a split second before Aayla's foot caught him right in the chest-eye and he went crashing back against the wall under the ledge with Aayla's foot on his stomach and one lightsaber point inches from his face.

"And just who are you?" Aayla asked.

Duskmon tried to shadow-travel away but he realised there _was_ no shadow. The light from the Amethyst Mandala had dispelled it. He growled and added, **"DEADLY GAZE!"** and fired several beams from the eyes on his feet and knees. And he was shocked again when Aayla reacted almost before he'd fired and her lightsabers twirled around her in blazing circles to deflect the lasers away, and one of them struck him right in the stomach, searing at his armour.

"That," Aayla said. "Was not the answer I was looking for."

Duskmon looked up at her and glared, wondering what course of action to take now.

* * *

Back with Sakuyamon, she was carefully controlling the Amethyst Mandala and making it shrink down to small enough to just be able to close Zapdos in but not smaller enough to start crushing him, as was the aim of the attack in general.

"Do you yield?" she called out to him.

The answer came to her when flashes of lightning began to punch through the Amethyst Mandala and a couple of seconds later there was a _tremendous _explosion of electrical energy as Zapdos released a radial Discharge attack that blasted into the sphere all around him, merged with it and kaboomed outwards with near-concussive force, killing the bright light and tossing both Zapdos and Sakuyamon backwards, as well as all of the spectators.

* * *

Including Aayla and Duskmon, who were both knocked off their feet. But Duskmon recovered quickly and lashed out, catching Aayla in the stomach with one foot and bowling her onto her back and rolling. He quickly lanced out with another Deadly Gaze from every eye on his body except those in his head, but Aayla was already flipping back onto her feet and deflected the attack again in mid-air with windmilling strokes of her blades.

Duskmon growled in irritation, but before he could think of another strategy Aayla was suddenly struck in the back by something invisible and with a yell she was flung to the side and tumbled over the edge of the valley. Duskmon's eyes narrowed, guessing who was behind what just happened, but then he noticed that the shadows had returned behind him now that the light was gone.

Aayla managed to twist and land on her feet on another ledge before she bounded back up to the top, just in time to see Duskmon stepping back into the shadows and merge with them, disappearing into the darkness. The Twi'lek ran to the ledge and peered under it, thrusting her lightsaber in to illuminate the space but now… it was totally empty.

The interloper had got away.

But who the heck was he?

And what had hit her in the back? She turned around, still alert, but could neither see nor sense any other presences. Her eyes narrowed, puzzled. But unless she was very much mistaken, she had just encountered whoever it was that had been spying on them and tracking their movements since Fuchsia.

* * *

Sakuyamon and Zapdos though, were still unaware of what had just transpired up on the top of the ledge. The both of them were now standing at opposite ends of the valley, both breathing relatively heavily now and both looking a little worse for wear, but neither of them ready to back down just yet.

"You've certainly got a stubborn streak about you, Zapdos," Sakuyamon remarked. "I think you may be the first person to ever have broken out of my Amethyst Mandala before. But then again, its holy light is designed to weaken forces of evil from within and I've never used it on someone who was not evil such as yourself so… there is a first time for everything."

"Indeed," Zapdos nodded. "And you're one of the most skilled fighters I've ever come across. I've used almost every attack I possess in this fight."

"But I haven't used all of mine yet," Sakuyamon twirled her staff in readiness.

"Neither have I," Zapdos smirked back. "I did say 'almost' did I not? And it seems to me that that staff of yours is one of the keys to your power." And he suddenly exploded with electrical power that momentarily dazzled Sakuyamon even under the mask as he barrelled forwards in a thunderous Wild Charge.

Sakuyamon sprang up and released the four spirits again to shoot towards Zapdos in their intricate spiral, but Zapdos opened his beak and let loose a terrible, guttural sound that made everyone clap their hands over their ears, including Sakuyamon as soundwaves seemed to spill from his beak. Sakuyamon, to her surprise, felt a sudden fear grip her and felt the urge to turn tail and flee, but she managed to stop herself from following through with it. The spirits, on the other hand, were hit with the full blast of the Roar and immediately turned tail and shot back into their containers on Sakuyamon's belt before she realised what had happened.

Zapdos shot in and Sakuyamon took to the air, slamming into a rock pillar feet first and springing off it and over Zapdos before he could crash into her, sweeping her staff around and slamming him full in the back with a powerful Amethyst Wind. Zapdos went tumbling, losing his focus on the Wild Charge, but was able to regain his balance and swing around for another pass. Sakuyamon gritted her teeth and fired another Fox Drive spurt of flames from her staff and Zapdos twisted around it and lanced out with another round of Thunderbolts.

Sakuyamon dropped towards the ground, dodging the blasts and luring Zapdos in closer and preparing to use another Twin Blades of Beauty and Truth at point-blank range. But even as she landed, Zapdos' eyes began to glow a bright blue and a sudden mass of small electrical sparks pulsed out of his entire body down towards her. Sakuyamon did not raise her shield in time and was hit full on by the sparks, which seemed to wrap themselves around her and cover her entire body with crackling volts.

She was rather surprised to find that the attack hadn't hurt at all, looking down at herself and her fizzing, sparking body in mild bemusement. But Zapdos was closing in and she prepared to launch her attack… only to find that her body wouldn't obey her. She gasped and tried to wrench her arms but they were seizing up, as were her legs. She struggled and managed to move painfully slowly but it was like she was… paralysed.

"Got you now," Zapdos squawked as he closed in, pleased that his Thunder Wave had done its work. Sakuyamon looked up with gritted teeth and saw his beak glow white and lengthen slightly. With painfully slow movements she brought her staff to bear and tried to raise a shield, but Zapdos slammed into her beak-first and drove her backwards, his lengthened beak closing around the staff in her hands.

Sakuyamon was startled again when the staff was wrenched from her fingers as if physically compelled… and indeed it had been. Zapdos had used Pluck, and now Sakuyamon's staff was out her reach.

But even as Zapdos spread his wings to try and soar away with the main source of a lot of her powers, she commanded her muscles into one last burst of energy, seizing a long, red card from her belt and flinging it at Zapdos' stomach with a cry of **"FOX CARD!"** where it plastered onto his chest and stuck there, glowing brightly. Zapdos' immediately staggered in the air, eyes widening as his body became tinged with a similar red glow and his power… it felt like his power was being… drained away.

At an alarming rate.

It was all Zapdos could do to fly to the other end of the valley with the staff in his beak and land with a heavy thump that almost made him lose his balance. The staff clattered to the floor and he put his foot on it, stumbling around to face the opponent, but as he tried to summon more lightning, he found, to his distress, that he couldn't. Forget drained… his power had been sealed.

The Legendary Pokémon and Mega Digimon stared across the canyon at one another and they both knew then that the match was over. Sakuyamon had been robbed of her staff and was struggling to move even one arm, while Zapdos was only able to stand and couldn't summon any of his attacks.

It was a total impasse and neither side could alter it.

But Sakuyamon was rather surprised to hear Zapdos chuckling. The Bird lifted his head wearily and offered her a beaky equivalent of a grin.

"Well done," he said. "Very well done indeed. There may not have been a decisive victory to this battle but you're the first person who's managed to get the better of me like this for an age."

"Does that mean… we passed the test?" Sakuyamon smiled, wincing slightly at the electricity still sparking around her. "Did we prove ourselves worthy?"

"Oh you proved yourself a long time ago," Zapdos chuckled. "I just wanted to see how the fight would turn out since we'd come so far. Though I certainly didn't expect this result. But yes, I believe that you are more than worthy of saving the world. And the good news is that if you have my word on it, none of the other Legendaries will challenge you in a similar manner. You only have to pass this test once."

"Well, thank goodness for that," Sakuyamon said in Rika's voice. "You Legendary Pokémon are strong indeed."

"As are you? Are all Digimon at this… Mega Level… as strong as you?"

"No. Some are weaker, some are much stronger than I. The rank of the level only means so much – individual power does come a lot into it. But I hope you don't consider it a brag when I say we probably are on the stronger side, thanks to the bond between partners that we share."

"Then the journey ahead looks interesting indeed. Alright then, boys and girls, I'll be more than happy to join you on your quest."

There was some cheering from the group up on the ridge – evidently they'd heard most of that. But then Zapdos winked and said, "But just so you know, if this was a fight to the death, I would have put a lot more force into things."

"Oh, as would we," Sakuyamon smirked. "As would we."

"Good," Zapdos laughed boisterously. "I suspected as much. I almost look forward to seeing it. Now I don't suppose you could take this paper thing off, could you?"

"Sure…" Sakuyamon grunted and, with effort, beckoned with two fingers. The paper seal peeled itself off and shot back into her hand. Zapdos immediately felt his strength surge back into him and he flexed his wings, lifted off from the ground and flapped back over towards Sakuyamon, twisting overhead and dropping the staff back into her open hand before seizing her gently by the upper arms and hoisting her into the air, carrying her back towards the ledge where the others were waiting.

"Would it be too much for you to ask to un-paralyse us?" Sakuyamon asked as she was set back down and almost fell over as she struggled to stay upright.

"No, I can't," Zapdos chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"I'll take care of it," Felkan took off a Pokéball and summoned Gardevoir out of it. Gardevoir did not need to be told what to do and placed her fingertips together, shutting her eyes and her body glowing a slight blue-green colour, before waves of the same colour emanated from her body and washed over the group with a faint sound that sounded strangely like a bell. Immediately Sakuyamon felt her paralysis wearing off and she sighed as the feeling returned to her limbs, before she de-digivolved into both her component individuals and both Rika and Renamon dropped to their knees.

"Heal Bell," Zapdos noted. "Handy."

"Now that… was a tough match," chuckled Renamon.

"And I get the feeling it could have gone on a lot longer than that if we'd stuck to just blasting at each other," Rika looked up towards Zapdos flapping overhead.

"Probably," Zapdos laughed as he settled on another pillar. "Still… look what we did to the valley."

"Yeah…" Terriermon snorted as they took in the huge rifts and craters dotted around the place. "You really did a number on it. But still, that was _awesome!_ If I do say so myself."

"And now we've got another Legendary in the group," Henry nodded. "You aren't too injured are you, Zapdos."

"Might need some rest but I'm still capable of travel," Zapdos folded his wings at his side. He then looked across the group and said, "Hey, where's your friend? The blue-skinned woman that was neither human, Pokémon nor Digimon? Ayala?"

"Aayla," Renamon corrected him again. "The Twi'lek. And yes, I was just about to ask that."

Most of the rest of the group noticed for the first time that she wasn't there anymore and looked around in bemusement, but Aayla's voice rang out, "I'm up here," from above. The group turned to see her vaulting nimbly down the ledges towards them until she landed with graceful flip back next to them.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Felkan asked. "And when?"

"About five minutes ago," Aayla replied. "And up there. Because I sensed that we were being watched. By something that was very much not a member of our party."

"What?" several voices instantly cried.

"Was it a human?" Latios asked. "Someone from the Power Plant? I'm sure I would have sensed something like that myself."

"No, not a human," Aayla shook her head. "Digimon. Not a friendly one either. Its small wonder you two didn't sense it. From what I have gleaned from your Psychic powers you are unable to sense Dark types. And while you can't really pin a label on a Digimon as a Dark type in the same way, their attributes can still affect Pokémon, just as a move that involves fire from a Digimon would still have a worse effect on a Grass type. And this Digimon… I could sense incredible amounts of darkness coming from within it."

"You mean evil?" Suzie asked.

"No, not evil," Aayla shook her head. "Though it undoubtedly was that too. I am referring to actual powers of darkness. Not all darkness is inherently evil – Houndoom and Absol are examples of that. Though it is true that more often than not, darkness and evil do go together. The Dark Side of the Force and the way it can twist the soul is a very good example of that. But regardless of terminology, I believe it may have been whatever's been following us for a while."

"Powers of darkness, huh?" Impmon shuddered, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, and remembering the sheer amount of darkness all around during his brief time in the Dark Ocean as a prisoner, as well as IceDevimon's talk about how he had entered the Dark Ocean and somehow escaped. Could it be that his past was not yet done haunting him? He'd thought with the death of GranDracmon and the replacement Belphemon, both of which had been similarly steeped in the powers of darkness, that would have been it. But it seemed it was likely that he had been wrong.

Ai and Mako saw him cringing and knelt down to try and reassure him with their presence somehow, but weren't quite sure how to do it.

"What did it look like?" Henry asked.

"Humanoid, covered with viciously pointed black armour, long blond hair, most of its face obscured and a large number of red eyes on various parts of its body. And unfortunately it escaped. It phased back into the shadows and seemed to merge with them and vanish at its earliest convenience." She sent a picture through the mind-link to anyone who was connected to her mind. And since Gardevoir was out of her Pokéball she handily sent it to everyone else.

Henry's eyes widened. "I've seen that Digimon before."

"Me too, but never in the flesh," Rika agreed and began rootling in the card pack on her belt, before she pulled out one specific card and stared at it. "Bingo. Here he is. Duskmon. Champion level Digimon with signature attacks being Deadly Gaze and Lunar Plasma… yep, this guy does look like darkness personified to me. Thank goodness the Force can still pick him up."

"Yes," nodded Aayla. "But only if he's in a mostly corporeal state. When he melded with the shadows I was no longer able to sense him. And that worries me. If he's able to merge with shadows and neither Lucario nor I can sense him either when he's like that, then how many times has he been close enough to hear what we've been saying?"

The set the group aflutter slightly and they looked around a little nervously, as if expecting Duskmon to jump out of any shadow, even their own, and yell "BOO!"

He didn't, but they couldn't help it?

"So what do we do now?" Felkan asked.

"We still can't change our mission," Aayla shook her head. "Just because we've found our spy doesn't mean we can do anything more about it unless he shows himself again. But I believe we should remain watchful at all times and from now one we should communicate with minds only when discussing our mission or anything we plan to do. Latios, Latias… do you think you two can transmit everything said to those without Psychic powers or a mind-link?"

_Leave it to us, captain,_ Latias winked and gave an encouraging thumbs-up with her tiny claw.

_Very well then,_ Suicune thought, and the Eon twins immediately began their job and transmitted it to everyone else. _Then we must make headway. It is possible the people in the Power Plant saw the lights from the battle and humans may be along to investigate soon. We must leave._

_Good idea,_ Zapdos nodded. _Hey Renamon, and your little human partner, Rika? Want a lift?_

_Why thank you,_ Renamon laughed. _And again, great match._

_Right back at ya,_ Zapdos smirked.

"This is not about the mission, you do not need us to talk about that," Latios pointed out, aloud.

"Right. Good point," Renamon chuckled.

And as the group geared up to go, while aware that they could be being watched right at this very moment, they were _not_ aware of the female spy that had been accompanying Duskmon, currently standing on a ledge above in plain sight, but invisible to all through eyes and senses alike.

_Well_, she murmured to herself, flexing her red claws. _Looks like I'll be following them the hard way for now._

* * *

Duskmon materialised back in the darkness of the base in the middle of the ocean and screamed in fury into the corridor, scaring a couple of nearby Devimon, who he promptly slammed in their faces and sent flying in his anger. The dark Digimon extended his two swords, or what was left of them, and glared at the stubs in irritation.

Those swords had been with him for years – the very ones that had been of service to the Demon Lords with him as their assassin. They had killed many an innocent Digimon in their time and they had just been sheared through with ease by that… that… THING! The being that was neither human nor Digimon, and was very probably not a Pokémon either, swinging those fancy laser swords of hers around to deflect even his Deadly Gaze like it was nothing. He'd heard of the laser swords of a Lobomon before, but even they shouldn't be able to do that to his own metal blades so… _easily_.

That… _irked_… him.

Replacing the swords would be no trouble. He could get some of the other minions who were skilled with metal to forge him a pair of new ones and attach them to the stumps of his old two. And this time he would have them forged in red Chrome-Digizoid. He'd like to see those light swords try and cut through them after that.

He stepped off into the rocky corridor and past the groaning Devimon to find a Digimon who could do the job when a giant foot descended in front of him and he looked up sharply to see DarkKnightmon filling the corridor.

"Duskmon," DarkKnightmon stated bluntly. "I thought that cry of outrage belonged to you. Might I ask why you are currently not at your post watching those Tamers and their companions as I instructed? It had not been three hours since you were last here and you have already abandoned your post. That… does not sit well with me."

Duskmon swallowed and coughed a little. "The… that… _she_ is still watching them. I assumed that only one of us was required to watch them at a time so…"

"I would think carefully before you try and make excuses, Duskmon," DarkKnightmon replied. "Because I can see from the stumps of your swords there that you did not simply decide to… pop back. Now tell me… did the targets I requested you _not_ to let see you… see you?"

Duskmon said nothing for a moment.

"Because you see, the only ways that I can fathom those swords being broken is if you either slammed them against something in anger or they were sliced off by something. And those look like very clean cuts to me."

Duskmon knew there was no point. "Yes, sir," he growled. "One of them saw me. But she came out of nowhere and I…"

Duskmon fell onto his back as DarkKnightmon thrust his spear down at him, the point stopping inches from his face.

"And you are supposed to be the incredibly skilled assassin of the Demon Lords?" DarkKnightmon raised his voice, which he hardly ever did. "I heard all the stories about the incredible stealthy jobs you pulled back when I was just a minion myself and this time you get yourself seen? That does not reflect well on your reputation, Duskmon."

"It wasn't one of the humans," protested Duskmon. "Or one of the Pokémon or Digimon. It was another one – a creature that belongs to none of those groups. I don't know anything about her or what she can do and she came out of nowhere."

DarkKnightmon pulled his spear back and stared down imperiously. "Tell me everything you _do_ know then."

Duskmon felt physically ill talking about it but he managed to spit out a description of Aayla and his encounter with her, including what she could do with her blades although he did dial down how completely she had humiliated him back there. DarkKnightmon thought he was embellishing the truth a little but he merely tapped the floor with his spear.

"I have heard of this being," he said. "They call her Aayla Secura, I believe. There have been rumours of her going about the Digital World. Apparently she arrived with the Prophecy Trio from a completely alternate reality they were sent to initially by a Parallelmon, neither this one nor the Human World nor any Digital World."

"What are we supposed to do about her then?" Duskmon asked. "Can we at least eliminate her now that they know that we're onto them?"

"They still don't know everything about us," DarkKnightmon replied. "But, as always Duskmon, intelligence is key. We need to learn more about her and the abilities she possesses and perhaps find ways to counter them."

"But there won't be any information about her kind in this world," Duskmon pointed out. "Are we supposed to just… watch her?"

"No," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "Perhaps we can find some more information… and maybe even some more help… from another world. More precisely… _her_ world."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed that battle. Zapdos, well… he's a Legendary. ALL of the Legendary Pokémon in my story will be on par with a Mega Digimon, because their very role is to be guardians of the world. They HAVE to be super strong. The other Pokémon in the group – the ones under Felkan's command, are about equivalent with an Ultimate, but that's because they've been done hardcore training for five years and most of them were training for five years before that anyway. Just to put some of the power ratios in context with one another.

Oh and in case you're wondering, I've made a list of the moves they know for each Legendary Pokémon and all of them know thirty. Four is too limiting. XD

And yep, there have been a couple of developments in this chapter sure enough. The ball is definitely beginning to get rolling. Hope you liked it as much as I did. But I'm afraid now that I've written and published this chapter I am going on a brief hiatus from all fanfiction work for two weeks at most in order to get all of my remaining uni work done and out of the way. I have quite a few deadlines coming up next month and if I get it all done quickly then I can get back to writing stress-free.

Until next time, whenever that may be.

* * *

Next time…

Return to Mortis. After the kidnapping of Ahsoka and Barriss by the Son, Anakin sets out for the tower where they are being held, while Obi-Wan heads off to the monastery of the father to seek the council of the Father. Neither of them are going to like what they find at the other end.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 34 : Bonds of the Light**


	34. Bonds of the Light

Okay, first off, I am sooooooooo sorry for the delay to this chapter. But, as you probably can guess, I was waylaid. I managed to get most of my work done in the two weeks that I had off as planned, then wrote the next chapter of TBAK, but before I could get on to writing this, suddenly and inexplicably, a large portion of the uni work I had just done got deleted and I had to do it again. And then, in the last few days, several other things got in the way, like my mother's birthday and a couple of ending uni things. But now I am back, and I intend to get back on the ladder once again.

However, to all of those guest reviewers who sent reviews asking where I was, can you not do that? A review is meant to be what you thought of the story or chapter, not a question to the author. If you're not patient enough to just wait then I would ask you get an account and PM me because I can actually reply to that – I'm not going to post a new chapter just to answer the questions of a guest reviewer

Anyway, on to the very late chapter. Hehehehe. Sorry again.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 34:- Bonds of the Light**

* * *

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka! Wake up! Please, wake up! Are you alright?"

"Ngh," Ahsoka muttered, her eyes fluttering open and immediately shutting them, for although there was only a minimal amount of light in the room it still seemed to sear at her eyes. Her head hurt, particularly the back of it, and she tried to lift her arm up to try and touch it, only to find that her arms weren't obeying her. Or rather they were trying – she could still feel her finger fluttering and her upper arms flexing, but something was impeding them from doing much more than that.

"Ahsoka, are you hurt?" a voice – Barriss' voice – came from somewhere close by. What was going on? Barriss sounded frightened, and that was not something that she usually associated with the calm young Knight unless…

Ahsoka's eyes snapped open as everything came back to her in a flash – the strange planet they'd found themselves on, the tall beings that lived here and the strange proposition of the Father to Anakin, asking him to stay here and keep his two children from destroying each other and a lot of other things in the process, right before…

"The Son!" Ahsoka gasped. "The Son… he… he…"

"Got us?" Barriss asked, a little wryly. "Yeah… I noticed. Unfortunately. I almost wish I was still unconscious. Then I wouldn't have to worry about anything right now."

Ahsoka looked up at the Mirialan and found that she was standing with her back pressed against the opposite wall. She didn't exactly have much of a choice about it either – heavy manacles of some metal that Ahsoka couldn't even begin to guess at had been fitted around her wrists, locking her arms out to her sides in a slightly loose crucifixion-style position, thought fortunately her feet were still on the ground and unbound. There was no chain linking the manacles to the walls – they were just fitted straight against it, forcing Barriss to stay put exactly where she was with almost no leeway at all.

And Ahsoka didn't have to look across at her own outstretched wrists to know that she was in the exact same position.

"Great," she muttered to herself, gritting her teeth. "Getting captured by Ventress and Grievous that one time was enough for me and now this happens? Where's the electrostaff? Is there going to be an electrostaff put to use on me this time as well?"

"I would hope not," Barriss replied. "Still, if you're feeling up to talking like that then you're not too hurt, which is a relief."

"Where's the Son?"

"I don't know. You were knocked unconscious when he dropped us because he only had two feet and no hands so it was awkward for him to land. Then he dragged us in here, took our lightsabers and chained me to the wall, then you, and then he just left."

"This is blatantly some kind of trap for Anakin," Ahsoka muttered. "And knowing, Skyguy… he's going to walk right into it if it means getting us back."

"I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing at this stage," Barriss bit her lip. "But I've tried getting in contact with him and… nothing. I can sense he's there somewhere, and coming closer, which means he's definitely alive but… I can't seem to message him even though he's still in range. The Son must have some kind of way of blocking our telepathy."

"How the heck could he do that?" Ahsoka asked.

"I do not know but if the Son is capable of a fraction of what he seems to be then I don't find it so strange."

"Well we can't just stand here helplessly like some damsel in distress types," Ahsoka jerked on her manacles, which did not budge at all, and she also attempted to use the Force on them, but nothing happened there either, even though she could still use the Force without being interrupted with some kind of electric shock like last time. "We've got to get out of here. Skyguy's not walking into any traps for me if I have any say in it."

"I've been trying to get free for half an hour," Barriss sighed, pulling on her own bonds futilely. "But there's nothing in the room that can be used to bash these things open and no matter how hard I try I can't get them to open directly."

"Well, we have to escape. When Aayla got kidnapped by Cad Bane she managed to get out of the situation."

"Yes, but she did that by striking a deal with Bane and paying him a buttload of money to get him to let her go. I don't think that's going to cut it with the Son."

Ahsoka stared at Barriss in slight bewilderment. For Barriss to say any kind of rude word, even something as relatively mild as 'buttload' was practically unheard of. She must be much more distressed and frightened than she was letting on for something like that to slip out.

"Well then," Ahsoka grimaced. "Yelling and screaming it is. HEY LARDFAT! YOU CAN'T KEEP US HERE! LET US GO RIGHT NOW!"

"Smooth, Ahsoka," Barriss muttered, deadpan. "Call the epitome of the Dark Side of the Force 'Lardfat' while chained to a wall and at his mercy."

"Calling it like I see it," Ahsoka muttered. "HEY! YOU LISTENING? GET IN HERE AND RELEASE US OR…"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," muttered a voice from the corner, making both Ahsoka and Barriss jump as something small and weird shuffled out of the shadows. It was like a small… gremlin creature with a pot-belly, large bat-like ears, gangly arms and a snout that ended in a flat nose with a small jaw and little, sharp teeth. Beady black eyes regarded the two prisoners as the creature said, "It's a waste of time. You can shout until you lose your voice but it will make no difference. You will be entombed in this room until you perish."

"Who are you?" Barriss asked.

"Who am I?" the creature shuffled further towards them. "I don't even remember. I may have had a name once, but I lost it, along with the knowledge of what species I am or if I have any family, years ago. I've been stuck in this room for years and every escape attempt has ended practically before it even began. Though it is nice to finally have some form of company before I finally fade into nothingness."

"The Son did this to you?" Ahsoka asked, gritting her teeth. "Don't worry, whatever you are. We'll get out of here, and when we do, we'll take you with us."

The little thing regarded her dolefully. "You should give it up, young girlie. The Son will never let you leave here. It is hopeless."

"Nothing is hopeless ever," Ahsoka grimaced. "Don't you know? We're Jedi. Part of the former Tenacious Ten. We don't know the meaning of giving up."

"Tenacious Ten?" the creature shook its head. "I have never heard of them. But I have heard of Jedi. Are you not supposed to be older to be a Jedi? Does that make you a Padawan only?"

"Yes, I am a Padawan, but Barriss is a Knight," Ahsoka nodded towards the other captive.

"Yes, I can see she is older, but not old enough to be your master, I believe," the creature regarded the Mirialan for a moment. "Is that right?"

Barriss was eyeing the thing with slightly narrowed eyes before saying, "That's correct. I am not her Master. But her Master is here, on this planet. He is on his way now."

"Is he now?" the creature asked. "And what makes you say such a thing? Surely a Master with any sense would know that attempting to take on the Son is pointless, even to you Jedi. You shouldn't hold out hope of rescue, young ones. It will not come. Your Master will abandon you. It is the sensible thing to do – it's the instinct in us all to protect ourselves even before others."

"No, that's wrong," Ahsoka shook her head. "He's coming. He will never give up on us. We can sense him coming closer all the time."

"Oh?" the creature asked as it reached Ahsoka and started to clamber up the wall beside her as easily as a large spider, and, to be frank, looking just as creepy as one. "Well… even if that is the case, then I would not count on rescue. The Son… he is too powerful for any mere Jedi to stop. He is the Dark Side incarnate. He cannot be killed by mortal hands. He will never be tamed."

"That's where you're wrong," Ahsoka smirked. "Anakin is the Chosen One. If there's anyone that can stop the Dark Side, it's him."

"Such confidence," the creature said as it leaned into Ahsoka's personal space. "You certainly have a great deal of faith in him. But Chosen One or not, you must forget him. He cannot help you. The Son is growing more powerful by the minute. There is only so much even a Jedi of that calibre can do here in his domain. If either of you are to get through this, you must forget him entirely."

He clambered on up the wall and flipped a switch that was hidden somewhere in the wall and suddenly Ahsoka's wrists were detached from the wall and fell to her sides, albeit with the cuffs still around them.

"Thank you," Ahsoka said, lifting her wrists up and seeing if there was any way to remove the things now as the creature scrambled down beside her.

The creature almost snorted to itself as it shook its bat-like ears. "Those things? Escaping from them is easy. But it's the rest of it that'll make things much more difficult. It isn't the chains that will keep you here. It is your mind."

"My… my mind…?" Ahsoka asked. "What do you…?"

"Ahsoka!" Barriss suddenly barked. "Get away from him! He's not as innocent as he's saying!"

"What?" Ahsoka blinked.

"Can't you feel the darkness coming off him?" Barriss cried. "He's no simple prisoner!"

"Huh?" Ahsoka stumbled – she _had_ been getting the incredible feelings of darkness within her mind but she had put that down to being just the aura of the entire place around them – an area bathed in darkness where the Son made his home. But as Barriss said it, she instantly realised that while the _was_ the case, most of the darkness _was_ emanating from the little creature now crouched next to her.

The creature hissed at Barriss and then sprang at Ahsoka, who backpedalled and attempted to grab her lightsabers, except they weren't there. Before Ahsoka could do much else, the creature's gangly fingers and scrabbling toes had latched onto her and its sharp teeth sank into her lower arm, plunging straight through the material guarding it and piercing her skin. Ahsoka gasped as she felt it, and Barriss cried out, but the creature merely dropped to the ground and gave Ahsoka a small smirk.

"One little seed of doubt in your mind is all it takes," it said. "And now, you are mine."

Ahsoka gasped and doubled over, clutching her arm before falling to the ground, her body convulsing and seemingly wrapped in pain. Barriss was only able to watch, horrified, as she rolled over, thrashing a little, before she came to stop.

"What did you…?" Barriss began to demand but faltered when the creature went pitch black and warped upwards, growing and expanding until it took on another shape entirely – the shape of the Son, who smirked at her. Barriss cursed. If the Son could transform into a giant gargoyle then he was logically capable of transforming into other things as well. Why had she not guessed that earlier? Not that it would have made a great deal of difference with Ahsoka chained to the wall.

But now she was free.

"Ahsoka, get up! Run! You have to…" Barriss voice quietened down as she watched, horrified, as Ahsoka's orange skin seemed to take on a slightly darker hue and to her disgust she could see the veins in Ahsoka's face and arms as they seemed to turn a more darkish blue. Then Ahsoka's eyes snapped open and the blue irises changed right before Barriss' eyes, going from dazzling bright blue, to lurid piercing yellow in the space of a second.

And worst of all, was the sudden sense of darkness and malice that Barriss could feel coming off Ahsoka.

"No," Barriss breathed. "What have you done to her?"

"I would say I have broadened her horizons," the Son smiled, walking over to Barriss as Ahsoka stood up slowly, her face set in a glare and making no effort to run. "Showed her the truth path that a Force User should take if they want to reach their true potential. I am, after all, the Dark Side given form. It is only natural that I can enthuse others with darkness."

"Ahsoka…" Barriss choked, feeling tears springing to her eyes and feeling nothing but cold anger coming off her, as she regarded the Mirialan balefully. But she didn't get any further because the Son had lashed out and clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"I could force you to embrace the darkness too," the Son smirked. "But I feel it will be more amusing for you to see what happens without it before I do so. Ahsoka… that is your name, is it not… go ahead and gag your friend for me." The Son lifted his hand and seemed to produce both Ahsoka's lightsabers and some cloth from nowhere and tossed them to the Togruta. Ahsoka caught them deftly, returning the blades to her waist and stepping forwards with the cloth.

The moment the Son took his hand away, Barriss only had time for, "Listen to me, Ahs…" before the Padawan stuffed a huge wad of cloth straight into her open mouth and began to tie another piece around her mouth to keep it there. At such close range, Barriss could sense her through the mind-link which had, up to now, been blocked. And to her shock as Ahsoka finished gagging her, she could sense nothing but malice and hatred.

This was barely Ahsoka at all. It was like every tiny negative feeling inside her had been massively expanded. And Barriss could do nothing. Nothing at all.

* * *

Anakin ran on towards the tower as it loomed higher and higher into the distance, desperately wishing that he knew what was going on inside the tower. He could sense nothing but the life-forces of the others over the link, but he was sure they were not unconscious. And at one point, he'd gotten a furious spike of something that made him pause and wonder what had just happened, but whatever it was, it filled him with unease.

And that was only extra incentive for him to run on and try to get to the tower.

* * *

Obi-Wan was making less progress. While he had been planning on going to get the Father, he had realised shortly after Anakin had run off that he didn't have the foggiest idea where he was or where in relation to the site of their crashed ship was the monastery that the Father had met them in, which was where he would most likely be.

This place, Mortis, might be inside a giant monolith and might be small for a planet, but it was definitely still a planet. Finding the Father again without directions… might be a bit of a problem.

"Perhaps sticking together might have been a better course of action after all," he muttered. "How am I supposed to get help from the Father if I do not even know where to look."

And naturally it was at that point that some kind of pale blue light fell across him, illuminating the ground and bathing him in its glow. Obi-Wan blinked and looked around him, alarmed to find that he was suddenly nowhere near the crashed ship, and was now standing beside a giant mountain. Or, to put it more accurately, at the base of the giant mountain that the father's monastery was situated on – the blue glow around him coming from the giant crystal at the top.

"How in blazes…" Obi-Wan muttered, before he shook himself. He'd found out later what had just happened – maybe the Daughter or the Father himself had helped he get to where he wanted to go but now was not the time for such questions. He dashed for the stairs, ready to make his way up the mountainside and find some answers to his questions.

* * *

The Father sat, knelt on his throne, where he had been since the others had left in their ship, with his eyes closed and meditating peacefully. His glowing Daughter was knelt on his right, beneath the griffin statue on one side of the throne, with her hands pressed palm to palm as if in prayer and her head lowered.

The Father opened his eyes, but did not look around as he said, "You are growing stronger, my Son."

"Am I, Father?" the Son's voice replied as he emerged from the shadows. Moments before he had been in his tower with the two Jedi, and now he was here. In the dead of Mortis' night – that was when his power was at its strongest. Even flight was no longer necessary for him to get around quickly.

"Do not think I have not noticed," the Father replied as he slowly rose to his feet. "You crave power. You always have, perhaps even before you did what you should not and drank from the Font of Power. You are allowing the Dark Side to feed that craving, and it is getting stronger within you. You are allowing it to take you over once again."

"Is that not who I am, Father?" the Son asked. "I am the Dark Side. Is it not natural for me to feel the anger and the hatred that I do? You have said it many times yourself. Why should I deny this strength? Why should I not let it flow? It is who I am."

"No, my Son. It is true that you are darkness incarnate, but it is not necessary for darkness to become evil," the Father implored, motioning with his hand to the Daughter to return to her knees, for the Light Side incarnate had begun to rise – feeling the tenseness in the air. Reluctantly, she did as she was told and knelt back down as the Father stepped across the bridge hall, closely followed by the Son.

"I do not understand your reasoning, Father," the Son folded his arms as they walked. "Darkness is power, and is designed to cover all in its shadow. Yet all you do is attempt to restrict me at every turn I attempt to make. You claim you love me and what the best for me, yet you will not let me fulfil my right, my destiny, even if that destiny does lie with evil."

"It does not have to," the Father replied. "Why can you not see what I have been trying to impress on your all these millennia. Darkness and light must remain in balance. Darkness is not always evil. Look at nature. In great deserts, it is the light that is the evil force, searing down and scorching the lands below, while the darkness of the night brings shade and a cool relief for all its creatures. Just as in nature, the Dark Side need not be used for evil either. But only if you have the strength to stop yourself."

"Strength, Father," the Son snorted. "You said yourself I am getting stronger. I have all the strength I need."

"I mean the strength of character. Of willpower. Of which it seems you are lacking. I beg of you, Son. Do not give in to the darkness' urges. Or I will have to step in and forcibly ensure that you can do no damage."

"Are you sure you are still capable of such a thing?" the Son sneered. "You grow weaker by the day."

"But I am not yet dead," the Father threw a warning glance over his shoulder.

The Son grimaced and clenched his fist as his Father walked on before him. "Well," he muttered. "Perhaps I should do something about that!" And before the Father could do anything else, the Son had lashed out with his hands, red lightning flashing out of his fingertips and catching the Father full in the back, tossing him like a ball from a cannon out through the doorway he had been about to exit and past the staircase, to come to a crashing halt at the bottom and almost flattening Obi-Wan, for the Jedi Master had just arrived and had just seen the whole thing.

In the old days, the Father might have shrugged off a blow like that with no problem, but now, with his power weakened, he gasped as he rolled to a halt and slid into unconscious.

"I HATE YOU!" the Son roared and morphed into a gargoyle, launching himself into the air and lashing his talons at Obi-Wan as he swept past, forcing him to duck down to avoid the blow. But the Son made no further effort to finish them and simply flew off into the night.

Obi-Wan watched him go with a grimace before a cry of "Father!" came from the top of the stairs and the Daughter appeared, running down it swiftly to her Father's side and bathing him in her light, as well as everything else around her. Obi-Wan turned around once more and looked at the unconscious man.

_So much for getting help from him,_ he muttered. And he couldn't help but wonder if the Son had known he would try and done this because of that.

* * *

A few minutes later, and the Father was resting on a pedestal somewhere within the monastery, the Daughter having swiftly taken him there as Obi-Wan looked on, the two of them kneeling on either side of the elderly being. The Daughter was waving her hands over him, no doubt doing some kind of complicated healing process that would make even Barriss envious, but it seemed to be having little effect. The deterioration of the Father's strength was not helping.

"He must rest," the Daughter replied to Obi-Wan's unasked question.

"I need to speak with him," Obi-Wan protested.

"Father is weak," the Daughter replied. "He has not long left. We must let him recover all the strength he can. Then you may speak to him."

"But this is urgent," Obi-Wan replied. "Your brother is no longer operating within your Father's control. The Dark Side has consumed him."

"He _is_ the Dark Side," the Daughter said, bluntly. "That is no small surprise."

"Maybe, but when he kidnaps some of our friends, it makes it our business," Obi-Wan said forcefully. "And sure an attempted murder on his own Father should make it your business as well."

The Daughter looked a little distressed, but said, "I cannot interfere. It is my brother's nature. We combined are both sides of the Force, and I cannot meddle in that. Father has forbidden such a thing. When we fight, the universe is thrown into chaos. And while he is selfish, I am selfless. That is our way. I can do nothing against my Father's word."

"And if your brother escapes?" Obi-Wan pointed out. "If he manages to leave Mortis? You know what he will do? He will destroy everything in his path and neither you nor your Father will be there to oppose him. What then? The Dark Side will surely then triumph. But if he is stopped, here and now, on this planet, then surely the results would be far less catastrophic than whatever he could do when set loose."

The Daughter looked mortified, glancing at her stricken Father before turning away and standing up. Obi-Wan could tell this was hard for her. If what he understood about her was true, then he knew she loved her brother very much despite his darkness and despite the seemingly inevitable conflict that always arose between them.

But he knew he was right. And he knew she knew it too.

Finally, she nodded and said, "Then you must follow me. With my Father so weak and my brother's strength growing… there is only one way to stop him. Even the Chosen One might not be able to tame him alone now."

The strode towards the exit and Obi-Wan dutifully followed her, wandering what she could possibly be talking about.

* * *

He found out a short while later. Outside, daylight was coming around again and as it did, all of the plants that had died during the night were suddenly springing to life again and growing at a startling rate, as if Obi-Wan was walking through a time-lapse shot in a nature documentary. But the Daughter ignored it all and lead Obi-Wan towards a nearby cliff, and a small, craggy and domed cave entrance that stood in the side like a giant mouth.

The Daughter's natural body light illuminated the way inside and they walked a short distance down a tunnel until they came to a large opening and the edge of a cliff at the same time. The Daughter looked over the side of the drop and Obi-Wan followed her gaze. His eyes widened when he saw what was down there – a raised metal structure, like an altar, surrounded by what looked like eight plumes of bright blue flames.

The Daughter led Obi-Wan down a narrow, curving ledge complete with stairs at the side of cave wall that led further down towards the strange structure, which was standing on a small plateau that stretched up from the foggy cave bottom that only just had room for it. As Obi-Wan drew closer to the altar he saw that it was made up of four blocks that stood in a square but each had a pointed tip, and situated precariously on all four tips was the trapezium shaped top. Or was the top actually floating above the tips? It was difficult to tell.

The Daughter stopped at the edge of the steps, on the edge of nothingness and said, "I cannot go beyond this point. But you can. When you reach the altar, it will give you what you need."

"And what might that be?" Obi-Wan asked. "I don't understand. What is this place?"

"We Ones are immeasurably steeped in the Force," the Daughter replied. "We cannot be destroyed by natural forces. We only die when our bodies are cut off from the Force, for that is, after all, what we are. My Father is dying because his body is failing after so long keeping us in balance, and he too is losing his connection with the Force after so long using it. But here, at the altar, is kept the one thing that can kill us – the one thing that can cut off our Force connection and simultaneously destroy us. An absolute last resort that neither I nor my brother can reach. But you can. Only the blade will be able to defeat my brother."

Obi-Wan thought he understood most of that but it was still very confusing. But still he understood that this was the only hope they had for defeating the Son and so he leapt onto the nearest ledge, which juddered as he landed on it and began to sink downwards. Obi-Wan initially felt alarmed but realised quickly it was like some strange rock elevator as it neatly drew level with the ledge the altar was one.

Obi-Wan curiously stepped between two of the flame plumes towards the altar. The trapezium top floated into the air, while the four blocks at the corners leaned outwards, to reveal a strange, twisted rod of metal hovering inside the gap between them. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment before he slowly reached out and grasped the rod in one hand. The moment he drew it back, ghostly flames seamed to congeal around one end and peel away, revealing the rod to be a hilt as a metallic blade formed out of nothingness beneath the flames, ethereally appearing out of nowhere until it became a point.

It was a rather unremarkable looking dagger, though it was really about the size of a short sword when it was done and the flames fell away but Obi-Wan held it with grim determination. This unassuming looking blade could do what a lightsaber could not and kill the Son. And while Obi-Wan was normally one for taking prisoners rather than killing, this was one time that called for the latter.

Obi-Wan looked back up at the Daughter, who nodded at him, a rather grim looking expression on her face as she regarded the Dagger he now held. He could tell she was feeling reluctant in the extreme to have anything to do with the thing, but if this was the only way, then it had to be done.

She turned and began to walk back up the stairs, with Obi-Wan stepping onto the elevator-rock-platform, which rose back up until he could follow her. As they neared the exit of the cave, the Daughter stated, "There is little time. If we must do this, then we must be swift. I shall carry you. Would you rather I lift you by your arms or I carry you on my back?"

"On your… back?" Obi-Wan blinked, as they emerged into the daylight. "Why in the name of the Force would you ask to carry me on your…?" his words were cut off when suddenly the Daughter's robes billowed upwards around her and her body, in the course of a split second, morphed into a giant, glowing griffin with blazing white feathered wings and fur on its lion-like body, with a mane of green feathers around its neck and upper torso that was the same colour as the Daughter's hair, as was the tuft of hair at the end of her new tail.

"Ah," said Obi-Wan as the griffin looked back at him. "If the Son can change shape… I suppose this makes sense. Somehow. Yes, I think the back would be more preferable." And he hurried forwards and vaulted onto the rather comfortable seat on the griffin's neck feathers before it barrelled forwards on foot to get out of the trees, spread its wings wide and whooshed into the air, heading for the part of Mortis that was still totally dark, and the distant green-topped tower in the distance.

* * *

At the site of the tower itself, Anakin was already there. He had reached it a while ago and scaled the outer wall of the fortress, and now he was clambering up the sheer side of the tower itself. It was tough going – particularly when he got half-way up it, because the tower seemed to grow thinner in the middle and wider at either end, meaning for the first half he'd been effectively climbing a very steep hill. Now, he was climbing up an inverted one and directly below him was the drop below.

But Anakin was not one for giving up easily and he was buoying himself up with the Force as much as he could while concentrating on clambering on. He could not levitate himself, though he knew that it was possible to do that with extreme practice, but at least this way he could effectively stop himself from weighing himself down and that made the climb easier, though it was still far from easy.

But the sense that he was getting closer to Ahsoka and Barriss drove him on, as did the rather uneasy feeling in his heart that had appeared there ever since he had felt that bizarre spike of some dark energy earlier.

It took him a while, but eventually he reached what appeared to be the top of the tower, his fingers grasping at the edge to the ledge above him and heaving himself into a backwards flip that swung himself away from the wall and over the top to land on the edge.

He looked up.

He appeared to be in some kind of courtyard, with a citadel building at one end, and raised platform close to the other that contained, bizarrely, a small garden. Not that it made the place look very cheery since it was as dark and foreboding as everything else, and it only seemed to consist of a few bushes and a single tree with dark leaves.

But, sitting on the platform was a sight that made Anakin's heart leap with relief – Ahsoka was sitting with her back to him and her legs crossed, but it was definitely her. He ran towards her and cried, "Ahsoka! Don't worry, I'm here now. I came to get you out of here. Where's Barriss? And the Son? Where is he?"

He was about to run all the way up to his Padawan but something made him pull short when he felt that spike of darkness suddenly within his mind again. The mind-link, which had been greatly nullified by the tower until he had gotten close, was screaming at him that something was wrong. This was Ahsoka all right, and not the Son in disguise, but still… the feelings that were coming across… they were all _wrong_. It was as if Ahsoka, perky, fun-loving, occasionally mischievous Ahsoka, was not sitting in front of him at all, and this person was someone else entirely.

Someone dark and filled with anger… hatred…evil.

"What…?" Anakin gasped. "What is… Ahsoka… what happened to you?"

Ahsoka tittered slightly without turning to look at him. Only now did Anakin see the dark veins on her arms and the back of her head and the fact that her very skin seemed to have taken on a darker hue.

"I knew you would come, Master," she said. "I knew without a shadow of a doubt that you would come. And that's what he was counting on, you know. You always go blundering in for me, don't you? It's so… touching. And so very, very stupid."

"Ahsoka…!" Anakin started but he suddenly felt a pulse of hatred over the mind-link that almost literally forced him to his knees. This was wrong… wrong, wrong, wrong…

"Well, did it ever occur to you that maybe I could have escaped on my own?" Ahsoka stood up and slowly turned to face him and Anakin's eyes widened in horror when he saw her yellow eyes. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, I don't need you to come swanning in to get me all the time. Did you ever think, just once, that maybe Ahsoka has the situation well in hand? No, you don't. You never do, do you? You always worry about me and think that I can't handle the situation. Don't think I haven't sensed it over this mind-link we share. Disgusting thing. I don't know why I was so eager to share my mind with someone like you. I really don't."

"Ahsoka… that's not true," Anakin shook his head and pushed himself up. "Snap out of it. I don't know what he's done to you but you'd never say these things if you were in your right mind."

"Maybe not," Ahsoka sneered. "But I was always thinking them. Always in the deepest cavities of my mind that I sealed off even from you. Does it bother you, hearing what I've been thinking for so long now? You've never believed I could get the job done all by myself have you. Even when I was against that Sith Witch, Ventress, in the Senate Building, I could sense it. I could sense your fear that I would fail and get my head cut off. You never had total faith in me and my abilities at all. I could tell you were ready to come and help me at the drop of a saber. But oh look, I did do it. And yet I'm still a Padawan and you still run around after me, even after that accomplishment."

"You yourself said you wanted to remain a Padawan," Anakin protested. "Now, I don't know what's going on here, but I'm taking you home. We're all going home like the family we're supposed to be."

"Family," Ahsoka scoffed. "Isn't a family supposed to be trusting of one another? But that's such a foreign concept to you, isn't it? You don't trust anyone completely do you? You haven't even told Obi-Wan about your relationship with Padmé yet, have you? Well… I don't need you and that family anymore. The Son has opened my eyes. I now see how blind I was to it all, to the lie that is family. Family is just about the guy at the top protecting those that he thinks are weaker than him because it makes him feel good."

"That's garbage and you know it, Ahsoka," Anakin could hear desperation appearing in his voice now as he stepped closer towards her, like she was a wild animal that could spring at any moment. "Family is nothing like that. Family is about the trust and bonds forged between its members. Family is about coming together and becoming what an individual alone could never hope to be in a million years."

"I figured you'd try and preach such rubbish to me," Ahsoka snorted, before turning her back on him again, and Anakin spotted the unlinked manacles around her wrists and felt a flare of anger of his own at the thought of his Padawan being chained up at the hands of that monster, the Son. And his mind flashed to Barriss, wondering where she was and if she was okay, but he was not getting anything back apart from a vague feeling that she was alive. Had the Son done something to her too?

"Well, if you think that bonds of family are so important, Master," Ahsoka snorted. "Then why don't you join yourself with the Son. If you do that then you can still be with me, for I have no intention of leaving his side. And besides, if you don't, then he'll kill me. He said so himself."

"That'll never happen, Ahsoka," Anakin vowed. "Even if you offer your neck to him for him to slay you I won't let it happen. You mean too much to me for that."

"Oh?" Ahsoka asked, turning back again. "I would have thought the threat of my death would be a sure way to gain your co-operation if you _really_ cared about me. The Son only wants to bring order to the universe by making it all equal – coating all in darkness. I can see that, but apparently you can't. If the threat of him killing me won't bring you the Dark Side, then maybe you yourself should be the one to strike the blow. Either that, or I'm the one that strikes you down instead."

And suddenly her lightsaber shot off her waist and into her hand, activating in an almost slow and menacing way and illuminating her face and blazing yellow eyes. Her mouth twisted into a smirk that looked hideously out of place on her – she was supposed to smirk in a roguish way, but not in this sinister manner.

And just as Anakin felt his heart reach a dull thud at the fact that his own Padawan was apparently turning her blade on him, Ahsoka sprang off the courtyard pedestal and sailed at him with lightsaber raised and slammed it down towards him. Instinct alone saved Anakin, for the thought of an actual lightsaber fight against Ahsoka was unbearable but the sight of a blade crashing at him instantly made him grab his own and activate it just in time to block.

"Looks like we have to fight," Ahsoka smirked at him as they locked blades and pushed her face towards his. "And this time I'm not pulling my punches."

Anakin grimaced. He and Ahsoka had fought many times in practice duels, always with practice lightsabers that left nothing but a small burn mark if they made contact with the opponent. But this… these were real lightsabers they were using. If either one of them made contact, they could easily kill or disfigure the other. And Anakin couldn't stand to see that happen to Ahsoka, especially when she was clearly not in her right mind.

But Ahsoka had no such qualms. She was not physically strong enough to overpower Anakin in a lightsaber lock like this so she pulled backwards and drew her shoto, scything underneath his guard with it. Anakin sprang backwards and avoided the smaller weapon, knowing full well the damage that little thing could do but even as he brought his lightsaber ready and tried to figure out what he was meant to do next, Ahsoka sprang at him again and this time the battle really began.

Ahsoka scythed at his legs with her lightsaber and spun around to strike out behind her with her shoto in frenzied, spinning leap, but Anakin was able to jump over the first strike and catch the second on his own blade before it impacted with him, so Ahsoka span the other way and slashed both blades around in a full circle that Anakin had to dodge by leaning backwards so they cut the air over his stomach. Ahsoka allowed her momentum to carry her around and into the air, spinning about to slash down at his head with her lightsaber and, when he caught that blow too, sweep her shoto under her own arm to aim at his chest.

Anakin bent his legs and brought his elbow up to slam it into Ahsoka's wrist before the shoto could make contact. Ahsoka gasped and lost the feeling in her fingers, the shoto falling to the ground uselessly. But she ignored it and went into a spinning frenzy with her remaining blade, aiming three almost simultaneous strikes at his chest, all of which he blocked and leaping up to launch a spinning roundhouse kick at the side of his head.

Anakin frowned a little as he ducked deftly underneath it and lashed out with his hand to grab her ankle as it shot above his head, eliciting a startled yelp from Ahsoka as he plucked her out of the air and spun her around to throw her across the courtyard and put some distance between them. One thing that Anakin had already noticed about this fight was that Ahsoka wasn't following her usual pattern.

Her best asset in a lightsaber duel was her speed and her light frame, which allowed her to dodge about and make lightning strikes from many different directions, and he had always taught her in his duels with her to use that to her full advantage and make sure to never stay in one spot, keep her feet moving, and never, _ever_, leave herself open.

And yet she'd been doing that for most of the brief fight so far.

He put that down to three possible reasons instantly. Either Ahsoka was possessed by something that was not as used to fighting with a lightsaber as she was, or she was intentionally leaving herself open at the command of the Son to try and make him strike in a killing blow at her, or, and Anakin felt a sliver of hope building inside him, there was some part of Ahsoka's normal self in there somewhere pulling back on the attacks somehow. She certainly wasn't moving with the same fluid grace that she usually did.

"Ahsoka," he attempted to get a word in edgeways but Ahsoka snarled and lashed her hand to the side with the Force, sending the shoto shooting off the ground from where it had fallen and hurtling at Anakin from the side, the blade activating even as it whirled towards him. Anakin reacted quickly and slammed his lightsaber into it, catching it at an angle and sending it zipping past him, but the shoto curved around in mid-air and shot back into Ahsoka's free hand even as she shot back at him and sprang at him like a leaping panther, crashing both blades down towards him.

Anakin caught on his own blade but Ahsoka's full weight bore him onto his back, so he thrust upwards to push her back into the air and send her flipping away, landing on her feet behind his head and whirling around to face him even as he pushed himself off his shoulders and back into the air, spinning over her head again. She struck up at him but he was out of range of the slash and landed facing her even as she whirled around with her shoto aimed at his face.

He turned the blow aside, as well as the slash at his midriff and then legs with her lightsaber, ducking under the next slash of her shoto and bringing his lightsaber over his shoulder as he spun away from her to block her scissor slash that followed. Dancing backwards a few steps, Anakin watched as Ahsoka charged him head-on once again and just started sending hack after hack after hack of her blades at him in blind fury. Yes, this was definitely unlike Ahsoka's usual techniques.

"Come on, Snips," Anakin said through gritted teeth as his blade crashed with Ahsoka's before her green weapon to hit him in the neck and span to the side to avoid a downwards slash from the shoto, only for the Togruta Padawan to follow him with a spin of her own aim a kick at him. Anakin raised his free hand again and caught her by the bottom of the foot, pulling her leg taut as she fought for balance on one leg. "Snap out of it!"

"Don't call me Snips!" Ahsoka spat venomously. "I'm not your little underling anymore…_Skyguy._ And I never liked that nickname anyway! In fact, I hate it!" And she suddenly kicked her other foot into the air and struck Anakin across the chin with it, sending him stumbling backwards in surprise as he released her foot and allowed her to hit the ground on all fours with limbs splayed like a spider.

Then she pushed herself upwards with her hands and into a spinning backflip that allowed her to strike at him while still upside-down with her lightsaber. Anakin recovered himself enough to block the blow, but as Ahsoka's body carried on over the top of him he was forced to roll aside just as her shoto sheared through a portion of his robes on his shoulder, missing hitting flesh by a mere fraction.

Now _that_ was more of an Ahsoka technique and Anakin turned around to see her pushing into a cartwheel to lash out at him from the side, but he rolled beneath the blow and kicked into a spinning jump of his own as her blade followed him and whooshed beneath his toes, landing on the ground just in time to catch the next blow to his abdomen, both her blades crossed on either side of his as he pushed to keep her back.

"Fight back against me!" Ahsoka demanded. "Launch a few blows of your own. Never stopped you in the training sessions."

"This isn't a training session Ahsoka," Anakin's face hardened as he glared at hers. "I don't know what that sleemo did to you but I swear to whatever part of you is still in there that I will fix you. You hear me?"

Ahsoka blinked and looked slightly bleary for a second before Anakin pushed back with the Force to send her hurtling backwards several feet before she managed to catch herself.

Ahsoka shook her head and then scowled once more. "And what if I don't want to be 'fixed'? I see now how much I stood in the way of things when Sidious was still alive. The Galaxy would have been so much better off if the Digimon had not come here. The Dark Side would have ruled with you near the helm. Heh. How pathetic and blind we were to fight against such a thing."

"And that is why I know you're not yourself," Anakin grimaced. "Because no matter how much things had changed, I know Ahsoka would never say such a thing unless the darkness had been forced upon her. And I'll never give up on you, Ahsoka. Never."

Ahsoka shook her head again, as if trying to clear a fog from her mind. But then she just snarled and said, "Then maybe converting you to the Son's cause is a lost cause after all," and she barrelled forwards again to re-initiate the fight.

* * *

The entire battle going on in the courtyard was, in fact, being witnessed by the Son, who had returned to the tower some time ago and was standing beside his personal throne in the citadel, looking out of the window with a smirk on his pale face. He could feel it. The intense anger and hate coming off the young Togruta. Yes, he'd definitely done a good number on her.

And yet he did not need to turn around to know that he had company.

"Sister," he smirked. "I was not expecting you to come so quickly. Especially with company." And he turned around to see the Daughter and Obi-Wan moving across the room towards him, having flown in and landed at the back of the building.

"Brother," the Daughter looked at him imploringly. "What are you doing? You are trying to unbalance the Force – you're trying to undo everything that our Father stood for."

"Our Father is wrong," the Son sneered. "He's always been wrong. And I am finally going to take the Galaxy, no the universe, on the right course. The course that he should have allowed it to take all the years we've been cooped up here."

"Then is it true?" the Daughter asked. "Did you attack him? How could you? After everything he's done for us?"

"Done for us?" the Son snorted. "You mean like imprisoning us in this monolith and not letting us out to see the Galaxy?"

"He did let us out on occasion," the Daughter protested.

"But never to do what we wished. Only to fulfil what he wanted doing," the Son pointed out.

"It was for the good of the Galaxy."

"In his own blinkered vision perhaps. And maybe I agree that what he had us do when we did leave _was_ the right thing, but keeping us contained here, beating us down when we tried to follow our own dreams. No, that is not right and you know it, even if your so-called nature stops you from admitting it. But now I am taking control. And I believe I may have greatly shortened what life he has left with that attack on mine don't you think?"

"You cannot do this," the Daughter almost growled. "If you are thinking of leaving this planet then I guess that I must stand in your way."

"You don't have the power to stop me anymore, Sister," the Son clenched his fist. "As Father's strength wanes it is mine that gains, not yours. You're too… selfless… to take it for yourself."

"That may be," Obi-Wan stated. "But there is someone who could stop you with her help."

"Ah, you mean Skywalker," snorted the Son. "I wouldn't bank on help from him at this point really." He nodded towards the window. "He's stopped for a little chat with his Padawan. Only thing is, she doesn't appear to be in a listening mood."

Obi-Wan blanched, not sure what that meant, but needing to find out. He cast the Daughter a significant look before he ran past her and the Son and out towards the courtyard. The Son didn't bother to try and stop him – he was inconsequential. He was more concerned with the presence of his Sister.

"You can feel it, can't you, Sister?" he asked as Obi-Wan left the room. "The anger emanating from out there. It is so… sustaining. Yes, that is the word I will use."

"You gain power of negative feelings like that," the Daughter remembered. "You've turned families on each other, both the Chosen One's family and our own. I cannot allow this to continue."

"Then I suppose you would like to challenge me," the Son raised his hands, just as the Daughter raised hers. "It certainly has been a while since we last fought. It'll be… just like old times, won't it?"

The Daughter grimaced, not wanting to do this, but knowing the someone, anyone, had to prevent her brother from fulfilling his plans, so she resolved herself to the battle.

The Son struck first just as the Daughter expected, leading off with his signature burst of red lightning that tore across the room at her. But she countered quickly by raising her hand, forming something of an invisible shield in front of her that brushed the blow aside and she spun around to lash to the side with the Force and send her brother catapulting across the room. He snarled as he spun over and hit the wall with his feet, springing off it right back at her and letting loose an unearthly scream as he did so.

The Daughter felt her body seize up underneath it but with a surge of light energy she broke free of the Force power her brother was exerting over her and span to the side as he crashed into the ground next to her, raising her hand to deflect another burst of red lightning that crashed against her shield and pushed her back a little. But the Son then lashed out with his other hand and send a lightning burst in a wide red arc that bolted in from the side, forcing the Daughter to stretch her other hand out and bat it aside and jump out of the way as the first blast sought to overpower her.

The Son then instantly lashed out with a hand and seized her mentally by the neck, lifting her into the air in a Force choke. The Daughter hacked a little as her air was cut off, but both she and the Son knew that this would not be enough to detain her so the Son tried to fling her against the wall and pin her there. The Daughter's back hit the wall so hard it splintered it and she grabbed at her throat with a retching sound, trying to break free.

One she got her mind in order though, that was a trivial matter, for she placed her hands against the wall and pushed off from it, morphing into her griffin shape and breaking the Son's hold over her with the expansion of her neck. She spread her wings and shrieked, charging forwards towards her much smaller brother in an attempt to flatten him.

But her brother instantly took on his bat-like gargoyle shape and sprang to meet her, the two of them forgetting their various Force powers for the moment as they slammed into one another like a pair of crashing icebergs, tumbling over and over and slamming into the wall and knocking over a pillar or two with flailing limbs and wings as they slash furiously at each other with claw and talon. The Daughter latched her beak onto the Son's shoulder and the Son's teeth gnashed as he fought the awkward angle in an attempt to get his teeth around her neck.

The two giant forms thrashed and ripped and snarled and squawked, all traces of their former dignity as Ones seemingly gone in the light of the frenzy, but eventually it seemed that the Son won out as his taloned feet caught the Daughter in the gut, embedding in it and slashing downwards in an attempt to disembowel her. The Daughter morphed back into her smaller form out of the grip of the talons and free of wounds to her stomach and sent out a colossal shockwave with the Force the blew the Son backwards and sent him crashing hard into the opposite wall.

As he crumpled to the ground and reverted to human shape, a colossal blast of lightning instantly followed that slammed into the Daughter full on and blasted her back against the wall as well. Such a blast would surely have killed any regular mortal, but the Daughter was only injured, and she forced herself to her feet all the same.

Only to be hit with another blast that pressed her against the wall again. But even as she clenched her teeth and bore the attack without crying out she raised her trembling arms up and began to absorb some of the lightning into her palms and then pulse it back. The lightning blasts impacted against each other in an explosion that tossed them both backwards a little, but they just clambered back up once again.

"You really are stronger, my brother," she gasped as she pushed herself up again.

"This?" the Son smirked. "Oh this was just the preliminaries and you know that. In fact, it's barely even that. And the same goes for you. This fight has not even scratched the surface of the intensity of all our former battles. Shall we change that?"

"I do not wish to do this," the Daughter protested. "I do not wish to unbalance the Force with our fight."

"You needn't worry then," the Son sneered. "For I shall win and then the Force will find its balance in the darkness." And he sent a massive burst of lightning that almost seemed like a physical wall right at her, while she, with dancer-like grace, caught a portion of it with the Force and flung it back, and the fighting began again in earnest.

* * *

Ahsoka slashed and hacked in a frenzy of motion but Anakin turned and twisted and parried for all he was worth to avoid her blows, still not having thrown one of his own at her yet beyond the occasional burst of the Force to throw her backwards. With a double lightsaber swing upwards, Ahsoka managed to knock Anakin's lightsaber upwards and flip onto her hands to plant both feet into his stomach and knock him back, winded.

But even as she made ready to leap at him again with her shoto held ready he finally made a move of his own and flung his lightsaber out to meet her, skilfully manipulating it with the Force to swing about without him holding it and catch Ahsoka's lightsaber and, with a twist, flick it out of her hand.

Ahsoka snarled as she hacked into the lightsaber blade with her shoto and knocked it aside, charging towards the unarmed Anakin with the shorter blade held high. But even as Anakin summoned the lightsaber back into his hand, Obi-Wan, who had taken in the situation at a glance near the top of the stairs, had sprung downwards and landed in front of him to parry the blow and push Ahsoka backwards.

"Does anybody mind telling me exactly what's going on here?" he demanded.

"The Son's infected Ahsoka with the Dark Side," Anakin growled. "Nothing that's coming out of her mouth are even her words, I'm sure of it."

"Yes, I sense it," Obi-Wan agreed. "And see it," he added as Ahsoka glared hatefully at him. "Where's Barriss?"

"I don't know," Anakin grimaced. "She hasn't told me and I haven't had a chance to go looking."

Ahsoka summoned her fallen lightsaber back to her and crossed her blades in front of her. "Oh well this is hardly fair is it. A Jedi Knight and a Jedi Master against a lone Padawan. However will I survive? Oh, that's right? You don't want to hurt me. Sentimental fools. I'm not going to come back into your arms anytime soon."

"Don't bet on it, Snips," Anakin said as he stepped up beside Obi-Wan. "Because I'm never going to stop fighting until I have you, the real you, back. We're all going leave this planet together. I will not have this family broken apart any more than it already has been."

"You mean how Aayla and the Digimon and the Tamers left us?" Ahsoka sneered. "Aayla was selfish in the extreme that day – going off with them like that while we had to stay behind."

"No, she was not selfish. We gave her our blessings and we meant them too. We all did. Remember them Ahsoka. How would they feel if they could see what you were doing now? They'd be horrified, just like I am."

"Enough jaw-flapping," Ahsoka shrieked. "Let's see how good I am against the both of you," and she charged forwards once more, vaulting to the side and attacking Anakin again, forcing him to counter two blows to his upper body and duck under a third as he span around Obi-Wan, who came in to catch another strike that Ahsoka was aiming at Anakin's back. Obi-Wan pushed Ahsoka backwards and brought his blade to bear in front of him, challenging her to come at him again.

And so she did, in the same not-quite Ahsoka head-on style she'd been using all this time, attempting to stab her shoto towards Obi-Wan's face and sweeping her lightsaber across her body in the same motion to try and catch him in one of the two areas, but Obi-Wan swept his blade across his body and hacked both blades aside, sending Ahsoka spinning around. She aimed a kick at his head in mid-spin but he ducked beneath it swiftly and then she vaulted back onto her feet and span in a tight, scything circle back towards him, her blades like green rotors around her as she flung her arms out.

Obi-Wan avoided this attack by ducking down and rolling right underneath Ahsoka to flip back onto his feet on the other side of her, and as Ahsoka came to a halt she suddenly found herself between Anakin and Obi-Wan at the same time. She hissed and lashed out to either side of her, and when both her blades were caught she withdrew them and whirled to send the blades lashing out against the opposite opponent, only for them both to be caught again.

Ahsoka snarled in irritation and rounded on Anakin, trying to push him backwards with a barrage of hacks at him, about six in the space of one and a half seconds that Anakin parried with swift motions of his hand and then Ahsoka found herself yanked backwards by the Force towards Obi-Wan. She span to face him and stabbed with her shoto which locked with his blade and slashed with her other blade, but Obi-Wan angled his own to catch that too and Ahsoka had to cartwheel to the side to unlock both and put some distance between her and her opponents.

Obi-Wan and Anakin both aided her on her way and pushed her backwards with a simultaneous Force push that sent her tripping over the courtyard pedestal and almost fell in a bush.

"What are we supposed to do about this?" Anakin asked while she was recovering.

"We need to kill the Son," Obi-Wan grimaced. "If we do then his control over her should slip."

"Great. How do we do that?"

Obi-Wan smirked. "With this," he said, producing the handle of the Dagger and Anakin watched with wide eyes as the blade grew once again out of the ghostly flames. "Courtesy of the Daughter. Lovely woman."

Ahsoka gasped as she beheld the blade, and suddenly there was a male voice overlapping with her own that was definitely not hers and she said, "What? Sister gave you that?! Give it to me!"

"No can-do," Anakin glowered, very much relieved to have proof that Ahsoka was not attacking them solely on her own even though he'd always believed that was the case. "No offence to my Padawan's abilities but she's no match for both of us. Don't worry Ahsoka, we'll get you back to yourself again."

"Will you now," Ahsoka seemed to have regained control of herself and smirked before she stepped over to the tree in the courtyard and reached behind it. Anakin and Obi-Wan both blanched as she pulled another person out from behind it.

"Barriss!" Anakin yelled.

It appeared that Barriss had previously been unconscious, and there was a nasty looking bruise on her forehead that demonstrated what the cause of this might have been. But now she was waking up and when she saw Anakin and Obi-Wan standing there with blades, both lightsaber and ethereal Daggers, drawn, she mewled into the gag tied around her face. Her wrists were now shackled behind her by similar manacles to the ones that Ahsoka was wearing, but there was also a pair of them around her ankles as well.

"Hmmnngh!" was the only thing she was able to say before Ahsoka pushed her down onto her knees and held her shoto up, pressing it close up against Barriss' throat, so close that Barriss could feel her skin tingling just from being so close to it.

"Well then," Ahsoka smirked. "How about we trade for it? You give me the Dagger and I won't kill your friend here. She doesn't mean anything to me anymore, so don't think that this is a bluff." As if to prove her point she moved the shoto even closer to Barriss' neck, so close that it was almost singing her skin already and it hadn't even touched her yet.

"Ahsoka," Anakin pleaded. "Ahsoka, look at what you're doing. You're holding your best friend hostage and are threatening to decapitate her. That's Barriss Offee you've got there. The two of you are nearly inseparable. You pillow fight with one another almost every night. You run around chasing one another trying to tickle the other when you've played jokes on each other. You eat together, you fight together. You pulled a prank on Senator Deechi together once. It was hilarious."

"Yes, I'm well aware of who she is," Ahsoka said, though she faltered a little bit moments before saying it. "And she's your dear friend too. And if I don't get that Dagger in the next thirty seconds, she'll be nobody's friend, because she won't be alive any longer."

"This has gotten a little out of hand," Obi-Wan muttered. "I hope you have a solution to this Anakin because I am drawing up a blank here."

"I… I'm working on it," Anakin gritted his teeth. He needed to put a stop to this, but right now one of the members of his family was threatening to kill the other right before his eyes. It was like one of his worst nightmares come true.

_Ana…kin…_ Barriss' voice suddenly appeared in his head. He blinked. The darkness of the tower was still cutting into the clarity of the link, but now that Barriss was so close and had regained consciousness he was finally getting something through from her, and that was something that no scrap of cloth jammed into her mouth could stop.

_Don't worry, Barriss,_ Anakin grimaced. _I'll think of something._

_Ahsoka_, Barriss' voice said. _We've gotta… get her… back to normal._

_I know, but…_

_Open the… link…_

Anakin frowned at her words, and then, after a second or two, he almost felt the urge to slap himself in the forehead. Of course! Why the heck had he not thought of that sooner? Ahsoka might be corrupted by the darkness, so much so that words would never be able to get through to her, but even despite all of that, the mind-link – that thing which had been built up as a result of the bonds between them, that was still there. If Ahsoka had truly, one-hundred percent gone dark, then that mind-link should have gone dead.

But it hadn't. It was still there. He could feel intense hatred coming down it from Ahsoka, but it was still there.

And as long as it was still there, it could be used.

Barriss inclined her head just a little in Ahsoka's grip, knowing that Anakin had now understood her. The two of them locked eyes for a moment and called, _NOW!_ In their minds at the same time, before they both focused on Ahsoka and opened their minds, pouring every ounce of love and affection that they held between them from their minds and straight into Ahsoka's before she had a chance to block them out.

Ahsoka staggered and the shoto pressed against Barriss' throat slipped away, slightly, allowing Barriss to worm her way free and kick Ahsoka in the stomach to knock her back against the tree, though she could really do no more than that. Ahsoka howled and clutched at her head, shaking it wildly as if trying to clear acid out of it, but Anakin and Barriss did not relent, as they forced their minds into Ahsoka's together, merging themselves until they were almost as one.

The memories they shared were doing what their words could not and penetrated past Ahsoka's defences under the combined assault. They brought up every happy memory that they had, of which there were many, both of the times they had together before, during and after the Digimon had been in their universe. They bolstered all of the positive emotions and respect that they held for Ahsoka together and hurled them mentally into Ahsoka's mind, assuring her of the incredible bond that they had forged between them over the course of their adventures and how it made them not weaker, but stronger.

Ahsoka was still yelling like she was on fire, and clutching her head like she had the mother of all hangovers, but now Barriss and Anakin could feel it. Ahsoka's mind was surrounded by a thick blanket of darkness that was cutting off her real consciousness and they were mentally battering at this barrier with their own thoughts, spearing at it with needles of thought until they broke through and suddenly they felt a good deal of elation coming from Ahsoka.

This was the same sort of thing they had done back on Coruscant a year ago, when Anakin had been facing off against Darth Sidious, when all of the Tenacious Ten had pooled their minds together and sent over their love and bonds to Anakin and present Sidious with a united front that had bolstered Anakin's power and made him fight harder and stronger – there was nothing as strong as that to bring about the greatest potential in everyone.

And that's what they were doing now. Their thoughts were not getting rid of the darkness in Ahsoka. Their thoughts were bolstering Ahsoka, Ahsoka's true self, to beat the darkness away herself. It would have been stronger if the rest of the Ten were here, but when it came to this kind of thing, all that was really needed was one.

_Anakin! Barriss! _They both heard an almost tearful sounding sob coming across the link, along with a feeling of elation. _You… you came for me!_

_We'll always come for you, Ahsoka,_ Anakin yelled as he redoubled his efforts. _Feel our bond, Ahsoka. We can overcome anything if we fight together. Even a darkness within each other. Thanks to you and the others I avoided become a puppet of the Dark Side. Now, I will return the favour and stop you from being one too._

_I have no intention of stopping being your friend anytime soon, Ahsoka,_ Barriss agreed. _You guys mean everything to me. I'm not going to lose you as long as there's a breath still in my body._

_Guys…_ Ahsoka sniffed, and then she screamed, _GET OUT OF ME!_

Anakin and Barriss knew they were not yelling at her, but at the darkness that was still very present. They could feel the emotional turmoil going on inside Ahsoka's head as she pushed and fought with every iota of her mental strength to drive the darkness out of her. They bunched their consciousness' with hers and stood behind her, bolstering her strength with their presence alone. But the darkness congealed and pushed back, warring to stay in control and trying to re-smother the Togruta. It seemed to go back and forth between them, one seeming to gain power over the other and push them away before gaining power itself and pushing back.

And all the while Obi-Wan looked on, feeling the emotional battle with his own mind, but unable to get directly involved.

The struggle was only ten seconds in length, but seemed a lot longer to those that were involved. But eventually, there was an almighty wrench as Ahsoka's eyes snapped open and with a scream she pushed herself up and slashed her shoto down at Barriss.

* * *

Back in the monastery, lying on the pedestal that the Daughter had lain him one with his arms folded over his chest, the Father lay still, almost docile in his slumber and seemingly dead to the world, light from the window falling onto his face and an immense look of sadness on his features, even though he was not in the world of the conscious.

For now.

But it was not to remain so, for as the disturbances and struggles of dark and light grew stronger, the Father's eyes, green on black, opened.

* * *

Ahsoka was panting heavily as she looked down on her best friend, nearly slumped over from the effort of it all. Barriss' ankle manacles were lying shorn in half on the floor with Ahsoka's shoto buried in the ground between her feet.

"Hmmphg," Barriss said through her gag, but what she thought was, _That was a rather violent way of freeing someone._

Ahsoka let out a ragged chuckle before she flipped Barriss over and sliced through the manacles binding her hands and then pulled the gag from her mouth. As Barriss spat out the cloth, Ahsoka pulled the Mirialan into a fierce hug, tears rolling out of her eyes and splashing onto Barriss' cloak.

"I… I'm sorry, Barriss," she choked. "I was… I was going to… to kill you…"

"No, you weren't," Barriss returned the hug. "It was never you. Not at any point. It was only the Son, acting through your body. You can't blame yourself for that."

"But I had my shoto to your throat."

"And you weren't in control of that shoto even if it was in your hand. Don't worry, Ahsoka. I'm not hurt. You saved me from the darkness in yourself."

"Which you saved me from," Ahsoka sniffed. "Thank you, Barriss. Thank you, Anakin."

Anakin had run over during the course of that conversation and enveloped the both of them in his arms seconds after she said that. "Oh thank the Force that worked. I'm not letting either of you two out of my sight again."

"That might get a bit awkward when it comes to the shower," Ahsoka hiccoughed.

"Ah, yes," Anakin smirked, but hearing Ahsoka say something like that was just further proof that she was back. "But any time when it wouldn't be totally inappropriate then I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"We wouldn't expect anything less," Barriss smiled. "Thanks for coming for us."

"Always," Anakin nodded. "And Snips… well done. I knew you could do it. I had faith in you all the time."

"I couldn't have done it without you two. Literally. But he's gone now." And he was too. They could tell through not only the mind-link, but the fact that Ahsoka's skin, veins and eyes had all returned to their normal colour. "I'm free."

"And let's make sure it stays that way," Anakin smiled. He paused and then added, "You don't really hate it when I call you 'Snips', do you Snips?"

Ahsoka only giggled and said, "Nah. It's grown on me."

Obi-Wan looked on from nearby with a slight smile on his face and a shake of his head. "And to think," he muttered. "If the Jedi Order's policies of attachment had not been lifted, that would not have been possible." Then he added, louder, "While I'm thrilled we've dealt with the problem of Ahsoka, we still have not killed the root of the weed."

Anakin looked up with fierce eyes. "You're right," he said. "Ahsoka's free. Now we have to deal with the Son."

* * *

Well, there you go. A lot of this was pretty similar to what happened in the actual show as many of you probably expected but there were some key differences, as I'm sure you realised. Even though the Digimon are not here, the aftereffects of their presence are still more than enough to cause different things to happen, and not just because Barriss is here in this version while she wasn't in the canon events. And yes, I am aware of what happened at the end of Season 5 of the Clone Wars in regards to that but those episodes sure as heck won't be happening in this story I can tell you that.

Hopefully I'll see you soon and if I don't, feel free to angrily PM me.

* * *

Next time…

With a return to the Digital World and Guilmon leading the way, the group comes upon the one that they are looking for in short order, and for the first time, they start to realise how difficult what they are supposed to be setting out to do is really going to be. This little guy was once Alphamon?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 35 : Dorumon**


	35. Dorumon

Hello everybody. Sorry for the delay to this chapter but as you know I am nearing the end of my university career and as such my friends and myself are all preparing to leave our temporary homes so that we can have back home to our regular ones. We are also spending as much time as we can in one another's company, for we will not be seeing nearly as much of one another as we would like when we split up across the country again. That being said, I am still focused on this story as much as I can be and now I have gotten something which can aid me in my writing. Or rather in my speaking. I have purchased a product called Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 which allows me to talk into a microphone and the words I am saying appear on the screen in front of me. Yes that's right people, I have not touched the keyboard at all in writing this message to you before the chapter starts. I am just saying it out loud. And that means that I can get it done faster assuming that the computer understands what the heck is I am trying to say, which for the most part it is.

It even recognises Digimon names as soon as I put them into its database. It's a very handy program and it makes the writing, or rather speaking, seem a lot less like work. It actually pretty good fun and the last few sessions of this chapter were written in the same way. I will now be using this program to write out the rest of the stories except when I'm in places that would make this implausible so hopefully I should be able to get my work done faster. And I can tell you now that I'm quite annoyed that I waited until the end of University to get this as this would have helped hugely with my essays.

For now at least, please enjoy the chapter that I know some of you have been waiting for for quite a long time.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 35:- Dorumon**

* * *

"Uuuuuuggghhhhh. When are we going to get there?"

"The answer, Kazu, is still exactly the same as it was when you asked that same question fifty-four seconds ago," Takato replied, rubbing his temples slightly. "We will get there when we get there and currently we don't have any idea when the 'getting there' part will actually be. We're just following Guilmon."

"No offence to your partner," Kazu said, "No really, no offence, but are we sure that he's heading the right way. I mean for all we know he could have been distracted by the smell of something that smells like bread and has been slowly guiding us towards it instead of Alphamon for hours now."

"I say that we should have more faith in Guilmon than that, Kazu," Guardromon suggested. "After all, my sensors are telling me that he has been heading in a straight line ever since he took the lead. So unless he was following the wrong smell from the start, we are probably going in the right direction."

"Well, if you say so," Kazu sighed. "But how does Guilmon even know where we're supposed to be going in the first place. What makes him so sure that this is the right way towards the guy?"

Takato grimaced as he stared out towards his partner. Guilmon was oblivious to the conversation going on behind him and was stepping onwards across the desert with a purposeful stride to his step that didn't match the way that he normally walked, which had a more lollop-like stance to it and often had his tail swinging around a little of its own accord. Now, his tail and his legs were rigid, as if he was almost marching towards their destination.

And he had not asked for bread for hours. Not since they had started walking, in fact. And that was really unnerving Takato. Although they didn't need to eat in the Digital World, Guilmon always asked for bread and he had a large backpack crammed full of the stuff in what he assumed would be a vague and doomed-to-fail attempt to ward of Guilmon's incessant appetite.

But the backpack was still almost full. Guilmon had had a few pieces since he'd got here but not _nearly _as many as he should have had to stay in touch with the character that Takato had gotten to know so well.

_Is this a sign?_ Takato wondered. _A sign that I'm losing him? He's changing already and we haven't even found the one we're looking for yet. Maybe he really is… going to change completely… maybe he really will leave me._

"It's probably got something to do with the Royal Knight in him," Elecmon suggested. "It's like some kind of bond of comradery or something like that. Or perhaps Guilmon just recognises a scent of some kind from his old days."

Takato sighed. He was already beginning to wish that he hadn't told them, but during the early stages of the walk, Jeri had convinced him to. She had reasoned that bottling up the information like that inside of him for so long was only likely to get the others more annoyed when they found out he'd been keeping it from them. Takato had not wanted to talk about it, but in the end, he did and he informed the others about everything that had learned about Gallantmon actually once being a member of the Royal Knights himself before he had become Guilmon and therefore become Takato's partner in the process.

It was painful to talk about really, but he kept his back turned to most of the rest of the group to hide just how much all of this was bothering him. He didn't want any one of them to get a good look at his face and he struggled to keep his voice and body language from giving him away.

It was because of this that Elecmon had made such a blunt comment about the past with the Royal Knights – he didn't realise how much Takato was worrying about the subject. Needless to say though, they'd all been incredibly shocked to hear it and Kazu and Kenta had been astounded that in the past they often, and occasionally still did, play tag and have a ton of fun with an actual member of the protectors of the Digital World's borders.

And they had indeed been a little irked that Takato had kept this from them, but they let it go. He hadn't kept the information to himself for very long after all. They had asked him if there was anything else that he had not told them and Takato had said there was not, which was both the truth and a lie. He had now told them everything the Royal Knights had told them, but he still had not mentioned to anyone but Jeri how much this bothered him and how afraid he was of losing Guilmon.

But they didn't need to know that, and he certainly didn't want Guilmon himself to hear it, though he was, of course, unaware that Guilmon had actually heard every word last night.

Despite the conversation about him, and Takato was sure Guilmon could hear them all talking just fine, the red dinosaur had yet to turn around and acknowledge the fact they were discussing his past. He just walked on, like he was following some kind of invisible arrow etched into the sand, his eyes fixed ahead with a focus that Takato had only seen when he went into his more feral moods when an enemy Digimon presented itself, except without the scary expression or the growl.

"Well, all we can do is wait, I suppose," Ryo muttered as they continued walking on in the footsteps of the others. "Guilmon certainly seems to know where he's going and for the moment I see no reason why we shouldn't trust him. But I too am beginning to wonder how much longer this is going to take."

Ryo was staring at the back of Takato's head, having already guessed that this was having a slight effect on Takato, albeit not yet knowing how much of one. He knew Takato well and was well acquainted with his more emotional and paranoid side.

Kazu and Kenta knew of it as well, but neither of them were really… well… fluent enough with the way that other people worked to realise that something like this would be bothering Takato. They meant well, the pair of them, and Kenta was easily the cleverest of the remaining Tamers with things like numbers and school related work and computers, second to Henry in that regard when Henry was actually here. But neither of them thought along the same lines as Takato when it came to this stuff – they thought that the fact that Guilmon had once fought alongside an Omnimon was just awesome, so they just didn't think it could possibly affect Takato in any other way.

But ironically, they were making Takato feel a little better with their exuberance on the matter. And Takato couldn't help but smile from time to time and agree that it actually was pretty awesome, before the usual thoughts about the lack of real creation and the fear of Guilmon re-joining the Knights just came back again.

But Ryo said nothing more on the matter, deciding to wait until Takato was ready to talk about it before bringing it up. And he had also been the only one that had not been that annoyed with Takato for keeping the information back… for reasons that he would never even begin to tell any of the others. He was holding his own information back, after all.

Guilmon himself though, was having a slightly easier time of it. He was still hurt that Takato could think that he would want to go back to the Royal Knights and confused about whether their bond was really as strong as they thought if he could still think such a thing, as well as wondering what the future would hold for him, but he was coping with it by focusing solely on the mission at hand and drowning out anything else.

Guilmon only had one focus in his head right now and it was like there was something nudging as his consciousness that was telling him to go forward, to go forward in the same direction he was going now. He subconsciously knew that he was definitely going the right way, even though he couldn't begin to tell anybody _why_. The strange and yet familiar voice that he had heard in his head had not come back, but he was sure that this strange nudging was coming from that same source. Whatever that source was.

But he blocked off those distracting thoughts and re-focused on just moving forward, finding their goal, saving the world – forward, forward, forward.

It was a strange twist that this course of action was, in reality, only taking Guilmon towards the point where he would have to make the decision about the Royal Knights all the faster, but he didn't think about it that way.

* * *

And so the entire group trudged on through the desert with varying degrees of enthusiasm. MarineAngemon was currently buried in Kenta's pocket to get out the bright light and was very possibly fast asleep. Calumon was lying on top of Jeri's head and looked close to falling into slumber himself, while Kenta kept complaining about the sand in his shoes.

In short, it was a typical trek across the Desert Level.

"You'd really thing that we'd be getting used to this by now, wouldn't you?" sighed Jeri as she rubbed her forehead. "We've been doing things like this many times over the years, traipsing across this level, and yet it's always the same, arduous task as ever."

"That's because it's a freaking desert," Kenta muttered. "Since when did anyone ever think that a long trek through the middle of a desert would be a good idea?"

"Well, nothing's tried to kill us yet," Guardromon offered. "I would say that that is a plus, wouldn't you?"

"I dunno. It might be cooler in the belly of a Digimon," Kazu muttered. "More shade at least. There's none of it here."

"When I was last here," Calumon mumbled sleepily. "We had Wingdramon shade us all with his giant wings so that we could walk in the shade the whole time. It was nice and cool."

"Yeah, well, Wingdramon isn't here, is he?" Takato muttered. "I kinda wish he was."

"Remind me again why we're not flying on WarGrowlmon?" Kazu asked. "Surely Guilmon could take us there much faster if he was able to jet his way through the air, wouldn't he?"

"Maybe," Takato muttered, though he was actually cursing himself for an idiot for not realising this sooner, to be honest. He'd been a little distracted by some of his other thoughts. "Guilmon, do you think it's possible that…"

Guilmon froze, and stood up as straight as he could, his bat-wing-like ears twitching slightly as he looked around, his nostrils sucking in air nineteen to the dozen, making his snout practically wobble in an odd way.

Most of the others slowed as they watched his strange behaviour, the red dinosaur hunkering down a little and taking a couple of steps forward, sniffing the ground and the air, his tail lashing from side to side.

"What?" Takato hissed, momentarily forgetting about his problems. "What is it, boy?"

"He's not a dog you know," Kazu whispered back. "Even if he does act like one a lot."

"I smell… I smell… I smell… something familiar," Guilmon raised his head up and looked around him. "I think that… there's something watching us."

The entire group went on the alert at that, the Digimon moving outwards to try and box the Tamers in behind them and hopefully be able to protect them from anything incoming. Cyberdramon was growling now, his claws flexing at his sides and his tail practically slamming a hole into the ground it was waving about in such agitation.

"An enemy?" Jeri asked.

"Or a friend?" Kenta gulped, as MarineAngemon clambered out of his pocket and took up a position around the circle.

"Enemies go splat!" the little guy let loose a couple of jabs into thin air with his little fin-like arms.

"You've been watching too much Scooby Doo. Stop channelling Scrappy."

"There's a Digimon," Guilmon turned his head around, his eyes fixing on a large rock that was jutting out of the ground about fifty metres away. "And I think… its behind that boulder."

"Behind which boulder?" Kazu asked, because there were an incredibly large number of boulders in that area – it was like a sandy rock field right in the middle of the desert.

"The one just to the left of that really big one," Guilmon stared at it. "It _is_ left, isn't it? I can never get those two left… right… you see."

"Well," Takato muttered. "We might as well see if it's good or bad for ourselves. And he stepped forward and cleared his throat. Excuse me," he called. "Digimon in the rocks. Is there any chance you could…"

But before he could go on any further there was a squeal from the rocks, as whatever it was clearly realised that it was the one being spoken to and that its attempt at watching them from the shadows had failed. Takato saw a shadow swiftly dart out from behind the rock that he had just been talking to and shoot off amongst the other boulders.

"Hey wait!" Takato cried after it.

Guilmon was already running, crouched low to the ground and charging in amongst the rocks before any of the others could stop him. His tail lashed to the side in excitement as it crashed into another boulder so hard it splintered it and his nose was sucking in air with extreme prejudice, following the strong scent that the little guy was leaving behind him.

"Come back!" Guilmon yelled after it, and he could vaguely see the shape zipping from rock to rock ahead in a slight panic, but could not make out exactly what it was. "Stop! I just want to talk…"

There was a snarling noise from behind him and Cyberdramon suddenly shot overhead with enough force that the sheer wind of his passing almost knocked Guilmon flat. Ryo had seen what was going to happen the moment the chase had begun and hurried to try and restrain his partner, but it was no use. As soon as Cyberdramon saw Guilmon chasing after another Digimon his instincts had taken over and he had blasted away as if on rocket boots to join the hunt.

"Cyberdramon wait! That's…" Guilmon cried, but his voice was cut off again by a squeal of panic from the creature ahead as it put on extra speed and zipped between the large boulders at tremendous velocity for something of its size, trying to stay behind cover but unwilling to stay still for longer than half a millisecond.

Cyberdramon caught up with it pretty easily nonetheless and he could hear the others behind him running after him, trying to be part of whatever was happening. The Ultimate-level Dragon swept down around a large boulder but had to pull to the side to avoid crashing into one just as the little blur swept from under the boulder and into the shadow of another, then another, then another. Cyberdramon was impressed by its speed, but that just made him more determined to catch it and he tilted around and shot off after it in a zig-zag pattern.

The two of them interwove in a strange dance of predator and prey as the small creature charged across the boulder field with Cyberdramon weaving between the boulder and trying to get a clear chance at it, but it was quick and able to stay in the shelter. Cyberdramon noticed that there were several tracks in the route it was following, small three clawed tracks that went in both directions. The creature was following a trail that it always seemed to use when going through this boulder field, like an elephant shrew darting through the grass in Africa to escape a lizard.

But this was no shrew.

And Cyberdramon was no ordinary lizard. After about half a minute of this frantic running and swooping he snarled and shot down, ramming a single-handed Desolation Claw into a boulder right before the creature ran into its shadow. The boulder shattered and the creature cried out as it was flung backwards into a heap and, for the first time, Cyberdramon could see it properly.

He growled.

But then again, he always growled.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" the creature yelled, and then added, **"METAL CANNON!"**

A single sphere of iron was launched from the creatures jaws at Cyberdramon, but he simply batted it to one side as he crashed into the ground next to his target. The target in question yelped and turned to flee again, but Cyberdramon's claws flashed down and brought the chase to an end.

* * *

When the others caught up with them, they found Cyberdramon leaning against a boulder almost casually, holding up one arm in front of him and staring at a small Digimon that he was currently holding upside down from the base of its tail, ignoring its writhing attempts to get free, as well as the other iron balls that were thumping harmlessly into his chest from the creature's mouth.

"Put me down!" the creature wailed desperately. "Let me go! Leave me alone, you monster! What did I ever do to you? Please, somebody help me!"

The company stopped and stared in disbelief at the creature. It was small, just a little larger than Elecmon. And some parts of its body reminded them, rather oddly of Renamon, such as the long bushy tail that Cyberdramon was currently holding and the long, fox-like back legs with large black claws on it being the most prominent. That, and the fur that covered it, except that this guy's fur was purple except for the white underbelly, tail and limb tips and the end of its nose. But almost everything else about it reminded them of Guilmon, such as its draconic body shape, blunt snout with large nostrils and sharp teeth inside its mouth, and large eyes. But it also had stubby arms with small pawed hands, large cat-like ears and small black bat-like wings on its back, which reminded them of neither. And the large red triangular jewel in the middle of its forehead was definitely like neither.

Nevertheless, Kazu couldn't resist saying, "Hey look, it's Renamon and Guilmon's secret love-ch… oof!"

"You are, of course, aware that if Terriermon was here then he would have to kill you for saying that," Jeri said, as she removed her elbow from Kazu's chest. "And what he would do is light compared to what Renamon herself would do."

"No need to knock my ribs in for it though," Kazu muttered.

"But that's… that's him," Takato said. "That's the guy we're looking for. That's Dorumon."

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Dorumon was yelling as he kicked futilely at Cyberdramon's outstretched hand. The Dragon Ultimate level stared at him impassively for several moments, as if he were a fascinating object that he had found in a museum or something.

This was a slight relief to Ryo, for he had been convinced the moment Cyberdramon shot away that whatever it was he was chasing was dead meat. That was the way it usually went when Cyberdramon started chasing something. After all, he always saw a chase as a hunt and a chance to get a chance to fight with something. But either he didn't see this Dorumon as particularly worth destroying or he had gotten calmer about this kind of thing since the last they were in the Digital World.

Perhaps it had something to do with Aayla and her practice fights with Cyberdramon whenever the two of them met up. They seemed to get on pretty well and Cyberdramon's aggression levels were not what they once were.

Which was good. Because if Cyberdramon had killed Dorumon, that would probably have doomed them all.

Guilmon, meanwhile, was staring at the struggling Dragon-Fox-like Digimon with a strange feeling inside him that he couldn't quite place. It was almost a… a reverence of some kind, and a feeling of kinship, as if this tiny Rookie level Digimon was the being that he respected most in his entire life, even though he had never set eyes on him until today, at least when he had been with Takato.

There was no doubt in Guilmon's mind about who this was. And the strange feeling in his head that didn't feel like his own consciousness felt satisfied too.

"Cyberdramon, put him down," Guilmon cried, stepping forward. "That's the one we came to look for. It's him. I know it is."

"You're sure, Guilmon?" Jeri asked.

"Yes," Guilmon insisted, and he sounded like he'd never been so sure of anything else in his entire life. "There's no question. That is Alphamon."

"THAT guy?" Kazu asked.

"I know he was knocked all the way back to his Rookie form and all but I was still expecting something a little more… impressive," Kenta agreed. "Like Renamon-style impressive."

"Well, he's got a Renamon-style tail. Does that count?" Elecmon muttered dryly.

"Not really no."

"Still, you heard Guilmon, Cyberdramon," Ryo called out to him. "Put the Leader of the Royal Knights down would you? Dear Lord, it felt weird just saying that."

Cyberdramon opened his claws and Dorumon dropped to the ground in an unceremonious heap. Immediately he rolled onto his feet and, before any of them could get a word in edgeways, he shot away again with a cry of, "STAY AWAY!" and disappeared amongst the boulders.

"I knew that would happen," Cyberdramon growled, preparing to leap into the air and chase after him again, but Ryo stopped him successfully this time with a loud yell. The group ran off in the direction that he'd taken, trying to keep him in sight, but he was so fast that it didn't help.

Fortunately Calumon was on the case, which is not something that was normally encouraging, but he was quite fast when he wanted to be. Unless he was running along the ground – he couldn't run properly for squat. But when it came to flying on his extended ears he could move much faster and zoomed ahead to try and find him.

He saw the little shape zipping off again and then watched as, with a purplish blur, it disappeared down a large hole set in a sandbank.

Calumon descended and started bouncing round and round the hole, with cheering cries of, "Found you, found you, now it's your turn to look for us while we all hide. Can you count to one-hundred. I can't do it but I can get to six before I get lost. Jeri told me that was impressive."

"Is he in there?" Takato gasped as they ran up to the hole besides Calumon.

"Yeah, I saw him go in," Calumon beamed happily. "Was that cheating? Should I have waited longer before I tried to find him?"

"Calumon this isn't a game," Jeri sighed patiently. "We need to talk to him not play hide and seek with him."

"Aaaw, I thought we were having some fun after all the time that we've spent not having fun since we got here," Calumon pouted, but his nestled on Jeri's shoulder and watched as Takato approached the hole and called down into it.

"It's okay," he yelled. "You can come out of there. We're not going to hurt you."

"Liar!" a voice came from within. "You want to load my data or something. That's what everyone around here wants to do."

"Well, we're not from around here," Takato offered. "We're humans, from the human world. Tamers actually. We don't load the data of Digimon – you must know that."

"Never heard of you," the voice echoed back upwards. "Now go away."

Takato blinked. They'd gotten pretty used to most of the Digimon actually knowing about the Tamers and their efforts to save the Digital World and defeat some of its biggest threats on multiple occasions. All they'd had to do for a while now was introduce themselves and they automatically had the attention of most Digimon. Even those Mammothmon they had ridden back on the Tundra Level had heard of them.

But apparently Dorumon hadn't.

He shook his head and called. "Seriously, we… we just want to talk to you about a few things. You can come out, really. I'm Takato, and here with me is my partner, Guilmon. We're… erm… emissaries from the Royal Knights. You must have heard of the Royal Knights."

"No," the voice was getting a bit shrill now. "I haven't. Leave me alone. I'm not coming out so you can kill me and take my data."

"I already said we don't do that! We…" Takato said with a little more force than he'd intended, but then he felt a hand that could only be Jeri's resting on his shoulder and he turned to see her lightly shaking her head at him. He sighed. He supposed she was right. Getting angry at Dorumon wasn't going to help them make their case. And he was suddenly reminded of how Suzie had once called him 'some angry kid' when telling Henry that he had a visitor.

Jeri took his place and knelt by the hole, peering into the darkness. Everyone deferred to her expertise here. Jeri was easily the most sensitive of the group and if there was anyone that knew what to say to coax him out, it was probably her.

"Hey," Jeri called down, her voice as sweet and gentle as she could make it. "You don't need to worry about a thing. Sorry about Cyberdramon treating you a little rough earlier but that's just his nature. He didn't mean you any harm. Please come out. We're friends, and we've come a very long way to find you, Dorumon."

"Oh, Fanglongmon, you even know my name," Dorumon's voice moaned – evidently he had missed their conversation earlier when he had been struggling to get free Cyberdramon's grip. "Why have you targeted me? I never did anything to anyone. I just want to live my life peacefully."

"We didn't target you," Jeri replied. "We came to find you for another reason entirely. But it is important. It's something that only you can help us with."

"I don't believe you," Dorumon replied vehemently. "Nobody needs me for anything."

Jeri sighed and leaned backwards, turning to the others a little helplessly. They all looked nonplussed. Dorumon must be seriously scared if even Jeri's words were not getting through to him. It didn't even sound like he would be willing to come out even if Cyberdramon had not pounced on him and seized him by the tail.

"Well," Kazu muttered after a moment. "If he won't come out on his own…"

"We'll have to get him out here," Kenta agreed. "MarineAngemon, you think you can do it?"

"Yeppy yep," MarineAngemon nodded and Jeri stepped backwards as the tiny little Mega flitted down to the entrance of the whole itself. The little fairy-like Digimon sucked in what appeared to be, for him at least, a huge breath before blowing out a single Kahuna Wave heart bubble that zipped down the hole, growing bigger as it did so.

There was momentary silence before a yell and the sounds of struggling and thrashing came from within the hole. A few moments and a massively enlarged bubble that could only just fit out emerged from the hole and inside it, looking much pinker through the walls of the bubble, was the struggling, kicking form of Dorumon. He squirmed wildly inside the heart-shape but his claws made no impact on it at all, even though it looked like it could be pierced with the end of a pin the moment it made contact.

"LET ME GO!" Dorumon kept wailing. "LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I WANNA LIVE!"

"Are we one-hundred percent, totally, absolutely sure that this is the guy we want?" even Ryo seemed to have some doubt on his face now.

"Yes," Guilmon nodded, staring at Dorumon with that same sense of kinship.

"Alright then," Kazu muttered. "If Dino-boy and his incredible Royal Knight instincts say so. Guardromon, can you block the hole?"

"Why certainly, Kazu," Guardromon nodded, and stumped over past the floating and kicking Dorumon to stand before the burrow, turn around and then sit right in front of the entrance, providing a wall of metal that cut off Dorumon's escape. Only then did MarineAngemon dispel his bubble.

Dorumon landed on the ground with a thump, screamed at the sight of everyone staring at him, and then charged back towards his tunnel entrance so fast that he didn't even notice Guardromon blocking it before his head had met with Guardromon's metal torso with a solid clang, knocking him backwards, slightly dazed.

When he regained his senses, he saw that he was totally surrounded by Digimon and humans and he whined through his teeth, curling his bushy tail around himself as he hunkered down and trembled fearfully.

"Alright," he sniffed. "Alright fine… just… just make it quick, okay? Delete me on the spot and don't torture me please. Do me that last scrap of decency."

"Don't worry," Jeri put on the sweet voice again as she knelt down, drawing Dorumon's attention. Jeri closed her eyes and smiled brightly, with her head to one side, in what she considered to be her trademark adorable pose. "We're really not here to hurt you. We really did come all the way to see you for something other than your data. We want to talk. You really don't need to fear us."

"Oh, why won't you just get on with it?" Dorumon sniffed. "Can't you just get it over with quickly instead of drawing it out? Everyone I ever meet on this level has just tried to kill me but you go ahead and torment me with these lies? That's just cruel?"

"What kind of a life have you been living, little guy?" Kazu looked appalled. "You don't trust anyone?"

"Well no wonder he's never heard of the Tamers if he never sticks around anyone long enough to hear them talk about us," muttered Takato.

"The law of the Digital World was always harsh," Elecmon nodded. "It is less the case than it once was, but it is true that it was and to a certain extent, still is. Especially on this level, where you're most likely to have encounters with the more brutal Digimon. I would guess that Dorumon here has been living on the run all his life under threat of larger and more powerful Digimon."

"So much so that he doesn't trust anyone anymore?" Jeri frowned. "That's… that's horrible. That's really sad. Oh you poor thing. But really, it's okay. We're all friends here. You can trust us. We help to protect the Digital World, like the Sovereigns do. In fact, we're friends of the Sovereigns. You've heard of them, right?"

Dorumon peered over the rim of his tail, his eyes looking ever so slightly more hopeful. "Yeah, I've heard of them. I saw Azulongmon once, flying through the sky. It was amazing."

"Yes, he is, isn't he?" Jeri nodded. "Well, you don't need to worry about us. We come from the Human World, up there," she pointed at the orb floating in the sky above them with Data Streams peeling off it. "And we help to keep all the Digimon safe from every threat, including other Digimon. You're in good hands with us."

Dorumon lifted his head up slightly and peered around at the group. All of them, apart from Cyberdramon of course, had cheerful, friendly expressions on their faces, and Dorumon's tail flicked as his large eyes began to glitter with hopefulness.

But then he looked at Cyberdramon again and he yelped and ducked his head back into his tail. "What about him? He nearly killed me!"

"If he wanted to kill you," Ryo muttered. "You'd be dead by now. He wouldn't be standing here staring at you. But if that doesn't help, Cyberdramon would you go back down to your Rookie form now? You're scaring him."

Cyberdramon snarled. When he was in this form, he hated going back to his lower stages, which was part of the reason that Ryo had had to seclude himself in the Digital World with him many years ago. If he simply de-digivolved to Monodramon when told then there would have been no need. But, despite everything, Cyberdramon had become more obedient and Dorumon watched with no small amount of fascination as Cyberdramon glowed and shrank back to his much smaller form.

"Hey look," Monodramon waved, now with a much more cheerful expression and quite happy to be in this form now that he was in it. "Now you and me look a bit alike. We're both purple and we have something on our foreheads. He tapped the yellow diamond shape jutting out of his own forehead before adding, "Though I think I like yours better."

Dorumon looked around at the rest of the group again, unsure and nervous. "You're really… not… going to kill me a load my data?"

"Of course not," Takato nodded. "We want to talk to you about something. Something important."

"As in, end of the world style important," Kazu added.

"End of the world?" Dorumon squeaked. "Why would anyone want to come and see me about something like that? I'm nobody. I'm just a little Dorumon who's been living here for years and has no friends. I'm no use to anyone."

"Ah, now that's where you're wrong, squirt," Kazu grinned. "You might not know it, but you are definitely a someone. You are a someone so important, with such a big role in the Digital World, that you're like… like… on level with the Sovereigns themselves kinda important."

"What?" Dorumon stared at Kazu like he was totally insane. "Are you totally insane? Look at me! I'm a tiny little guy who runs away from strangers to cower in a burrow. There's no way I'm important. Not for any reason at all."

"But you are," Takato insisted, kneeling down like Jeri was. "You're really important. You just don't remember how important you are. You've lost your memories of the time when you were important."

"My… my memories?" Dorumon frowned. "I have all my memories. I hatched here on the desert level years ago and I've lived here near these boulders ever since. There's nothing important that I've ever done."

"Yes, there is," Jeri countered. "It was all before you even hatched. Sometimes when Digimon are deleted and are reborn back into the world, they lose all their memories of their past life. And it's who you were in your past life that makes you so important. You might not have done anything but live here since you hatched, but before you hatched, you were definitely beyond important."

Dorumon looked utterly confused, but he did know that what Jeri was saying was true. Some facts about their lives Digimon just knew straight away, and Dorumon definitely knew that memory loss after being restored by Anubimon was no uncommon unless there were mitigating circumstances that ensured the memory would remain intact.

He stopped trembling for the first time now as he considered the possibilities. It still seemed wildly stupid to him that little old Dorumon could be anyone significant for any reason, but he'd never before taken the time to consider if he'd even had a past life or not. It just sounded so weird to think there was entire chapter of his life, perhaps several, that he could not remember at all."

"But… but even if that's true, and I don't think it is," he blustered several moments later. "What would you want with me now? Even if I was someone important, I'm definitely not anymore. I can't help save the world or whatever it is that needs doing. Go get the Sovereigns. I don't know anything. I can't do anything."

"Not yet you can't," Ryo agreed. "But that's the reason we're here. We need to help you become what you once were. Because that's the person that we need to help us."

Dorumon shook his head frantically for several moments before he finally asked," Then… who was I? What was so special about me in my past life… if I really had one at all, that is?"

Everyone turned to Takato and the young boy sighed, and began to explain again, "Do you know who the Royal Knights are?"

"You mentioned them before. But I don't know who they are, no."

"Well, they're a group of many awesomely powerful Knight Digimon, almost all of them at least at the Mega Level, who live in the Digital Barrier around the Digital World to protect it from attack from the outside and prevent the Digital World's walls from getting destroyed. They once fought a giant Apocalymon in order to protect this world and their leader even sacrificed himself in order to take the super-powerful enemy down."

"What does that have to do with me?" Dorumon asked, perplexed.

"Everything," Takato said. "You were once a member of the Royal Knights yourself. In fact, you were that leader that sacrificed himself that I just mentioned."

"Me?" Dorumon squeaked.

"Yes, you," Takato nodded. "And you were once called Alphamon. Does that ring any bells?"

"Alpha…mon… no, I don't remember anything about that name. "That was me? That… that can't be right. I can't possibly have been that important."

"But you were," Takato insisted. "And… we need you to be that important again."

"I… don't understand," Dorumon looked totally nonplussed.

"Well… you see, it's like this," Takato said, realising they had to get the boring part out of the way and just explain it to him. He began to outline the story in detail, telling him everything he knew about the past of the Royal Knights and how Alphamon had sacrificed himself to save the entire Digital World but taken out the enemy in the process.

He also told of how the world was currently in danger again, set to collide with another universe if it was not stopped and the only one who could stop it from this side was Fanglongmon. As well as how that meant Fanglongmon needed to be woken up first and to do that they needed Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, and to find and revive him they needed all the other Royal Knights together, and to do that they needed Dorumon to become Alphamon once again.

"The remaining Royal Knights directed us here," Takato said. "Telling us to look for you, because you are indeed their long-lost leader. Omnimon said that it was imperative you get back to your post, for if you do not, then the whole world is in danger and could be wiped out, along with the one that's crashing into us."

"So you see?" Jeri asked. "We need you to come with us on our adventure. We need to seek out the other Royal Knights that are in this world now and while we go, we'll train you up again. We'll teach you all about the values of the Royal Knights and we'll make you into someone strong."

"You will not have to cower in a burrow ever again," Elecmon assured him, "For once you become Alphamon once more there will be few that would dare stand against you and those that do would have to face your incredible wrath."

"Yeah," Monodramon chirped. "Alphamon is awesome. And you can become him again and save the world. Bet you never thought that you could do that, did ye? Huh?"

Dorumon was looking around the entire group with what could only be described as a totally blank expression on his face.

"Me?" he said, his head still reeling from all this information overload. "The leader of the Royal Knights and the saviour of the world. And I need to save the world again now?"

"Yes," Ryo nodded. "It's a great honour, don't you think?"

Dorumon sat there, blinking for a few more seconds.

"Soooo," Kenta coughed. "What's it going to be? You going to come with us?"

Dorumon blinked for a few more seconds.

Then…

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" he suddenly screamed, the force of his voice almost blasting everyone backwards. "Not only was that story totally exaggerated – there's no way that little me could have done and been any of that stuff you said in the past… I mean, look at me – but there is absolutely no way that I am goin on some long and dangerous adventure into other parts of the Digital World. Nuh-uh. It's not happening. No way."

"What?" Jeri blinked. "But… why not? Every word that we've said is true, and this… this is your chance to, you know, get out there. See the world. Experience things outside this area and away from your burrow. Haven't you ever wondered what it was like out there? Have you ever seen the other levels of the Digital World."

"I don't care!" Dorumon shook his head vehemently. "I'm not going. I have a perfectly good life here and I'm not going to get up and leave."

"Look, we get that you're scared, little buddy," Kazu tried. "Heck, I probably would be too if I was in your shoes but…"

"Scared?" Dorumon scoffed. "OF COURSE I'm scared! Adventures… they're all a load of hype. They promise excitement and entertainment, but all they really bring is death and sadness. I go out there into the Digital World and I won't be coming back. Something will get me. Something will eat me or kill me to load my data long before I become this Alphamon you want me to be, if that whole thing about Alphamon was even true at all, which I still don't think it is."

"But we'll protect you," Takato insisted. "We've protected the entire Digital World from things before, like the D-Reaper and GranDracmon. And every one of us here can reach the Mega level with a thought as long as we're together with our partners. And you'll get a lot stronger with our help yourself so in the end, we won't even have to protect you. You can protect yourself at that point."

"Adventures aren't always death," agreed Ryo. "Granted, they're not always fun, but if you know what you're doing…"

"You can't persuade me," Dorumon glared at him firmly. "Even if you do think all this rubbish about me being needed to save the world is true, I'm not going. I told myself I would never go on an adventure myself… not after…"

He trailed off and then suddenly looked very lost and alone, curling his tail around himself and his eyes swimming with what looked like tears threatening to spill out. And suddenly the group got it, or at least part of it.

"What happened?" Monodramon asked, stepping closer to him. "In the past? What happened to make you so scared of leaving?"

Dorumon looked away for several moments before he sniffed loudly and said, "My… it was… my brother…"

Everyone blinked.

"Brother?" Kazu blustered. "Alphamon has a brother? Since when?"

"Never mind that," Jeri shushed him, before she leant closer to Dorumon and said, softly, "What happened? To your brother? Who was he?"

"He…" Dorumon sniffed miserably. "He was… a Ryudamon."

"A Ryudamon, huh?" Takato muttered, bringing out his D-Arc and flipping a couple of switches to pull up the information profile that would probably be stored within. Sure enough, a few moments later and a small image appeared on the holographic display just above the device, depicting a small dragon like Digimon with roughly the same body shape and, presumably, size as Dorumon. But it looked more reptilian, without any of the fox traits that Dorumon had – with a lizard-like tail and a more pointed snout and cream fur instead of purple. And it also appeared to be wearing armour – traditional Japanese black armour studded with purple. On its head was a similar triangular jewel to Dorumon, but it was surrounded by crown-like adornment that stretched out into spikes behind its head.

"This guy?" Takato angled the D-Arc so that Dorumon could look at the image.

Dorumon stared at it for several moments before he burst into tears and buried his face in his tail.

Jeri looked at Takato with some slight annoyance. "Nice, Takato," she muttered at him, and Takato looked a little sheepish. But Jeri still slowly reached out to him and placed her hand gently on Dorumon's head, behind his ear. Dorumon flinched but didn't pull away and as Jeri gently stroked his head and scratched behind his ears, Dorumon's bawling slowly reduced to a muffled sniffling still within his tail.

"What happened?" Jeri repeated the question. "To your brother?"

"He…" Dorumon hiccupped. "He was always more adventurous than me. We played together all the time when we were younger, but we always stayed out of the way of the bigger Digimon. But when we became our Rookie forms, he started practising for combat and training himself near our burrow, breaking some of the rocks and stuff with his feet." The group looked around and they could indeed see that many of the nearby boulders had been shattered with various degrees of success.

"He said," Dorumon continued, "That he thought he was meant for something big and that he was going to go out into the world and become a powerful Digimon that could hold his own against any opponent. But I didn't want to go because I was scared and I thought that we should stay here and live quietly, at least until we digivolved on our own or something."

"And he went off on his own, did he?" Jeri asked.

"Yes," Dorumon sniffed. "He did. He decided that I wasn't going to come on my own so he said that he would prove it would be fine himself. He said that he would set out into the world and that he'd be back in a couple of weeks or so to show me how strong he'd gotten during that time. And that… that was about a year ago and a half ago. He's never… he's never… he hasn't come back."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that but…" Jeri floundered. "There could be a reason for that. Maybe he's…"

"HE WOULDN'T ABANDON ME!" Dorumon wailed. "He wouldn't just decide not to come back for me. He wouldn't leave me behind like this forever. There's no other explanation – he must have died. He must have gone out there and come across something that he couldn't handle and it must have got him and killed, otherwise he would have been back for me by now. He's dead. I know it."

"Poor guy," Kenta muttered.

"Poor," MarineAngemon agreed.

"So you see?" Dorumon asked vehemently. "You see why adventures are bad? My brother went on one and he didn't make it past a couple of weeks. There's no way that I'm going on one now. I may not live for anything here in my burrow but at least I'm alive. Which is what I won't be if I go with any of you."

* * *

The group continued to try and sway him for the next few minutes, but it seemed to be a lost cause. Dorumon refused point blank to listen to anything more they had to say. It seemed he was lost in his misery and remembering his long lost brother.

Eventually, the group drew away from him, leaving him curled up in a ball beside his burrow and not going down into it even though Guardromon was no longer blocking the entrance with his body.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Kenta asked.

"Are we absolutely…" Kazu began.

"Yes!" Takato said firmly. "Why do you doubt it so much? We've already gone over this - that guy is definitely the one that we are looking for. I trust my partner's judgement on this matter."

"All right, all right," Kazu held up his hands defensively. "But you can see why I would doubt it so much, can't you?"

Takato sighed. "Yes, yes I can. The guy doesn't seem particularly like… Well, anything like a Royal Knight, does he?"

"It's not really surprising if he's lost all his memories," Ryo pointed out. "If the only thing that he remembers is his life here in the desert where he's been chased by giant monsters all the time. It's not really an environment for a child to grow up in, is it? Even one that used to be a powerful Digimon like him."

"I feel so sorry for the guy," Jerry looked back at him. The others could see the sadness in her eyes and Elecmon looked down at the floor. All of them knew the Jeri knew better than anyone how painful it was to lose someone that you were close to. After all, she had done so twice now in her life, first her mother then her partner. And while she had gotten the second one back it was impossible for the first one to ever return.

"Well we have to do something," Monodramon looked out over everyone else. "If that guy really is Alphamon then he really is our only hope of saving the world. We have to do something to convince him to come with us, don't we?"

"Yes, but what?" Jeri sighed.

None of them really had any answers. Some of them thought for a moment that Dorumon was being incredibly selfish by refusing. But none of them could really blame him. If they had been through the same thing that he had then they would probably have been very reluctant to go on an adventure as well.

But what none of the others noticed, at least at first, was that Guilmon had left their little huddle and was slowly making his way back towards Dorumon. Throughout the entire confrontation between them earlier Guilmon had not said anything. He had just stared at Dorumon entirely unsure what to say. After all, this guy was supposedly his former leader, the leader of the Royal Knights. And now he was a cowering, shivering wreck that had had to be pulled out from his own burrow just to talk to them.

Guilmon really hadn't known how to react to this at all.

But now, with Dorumon looking so overwhelmed with grief, and the fact that he was refusing to do anything even though they come all this way just to find him, Guilmon felt that he had to do something, anything to help. After all, the strange sense of kinship that he had with Dorumon still had not faded.

He still had not figured out what he wanted to do with his future in regards to the Royal Knights but he was pretty sure he'd figure it out at some stage. Right now, Dorumon, or Alphamon, whichever it was needed help. And why should it not be his help?

Dorumon barely looked up as Guilmon stopped in front. The red dinosaur knelt down and lowered his nose, sniffing Dorumon a little and trying to get his attention. It worked to an extent, and Dorumon looked up at him with his own large eyes locking with Guilmon's own.

"Hey there," Guilmon gave him a friendly version of a dinosaur smile. "You okay?"

"Not really," Dorumon sniffed. "But I'll be better in time. It's been a long time… since my brother left. I've gotten used to his absence now but I still feel sad every time I remember him."

"Well that's natural," Guilmon smiled. "He's family. And there's nothing more important than family right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Dorumon nodded. "Not that I've had any for a while now."

"But that's where you're wrong," Guilmon pointed out. "You do have another family out there. In fact, you have part of that family right here with you now. And that is me."

"You?" Dorumon blinked. "You are part of my family?"

"Yep," Guilmon grinned. "Because I'm a Royal Knight just like you. Or so I've been told."

Takato had not mentioned this bit earlier, although he had not meant to miss it out. Perhaps something in his subconscious made him not mention it for he did not want to think about it himself. But now Dorumon was looking at Guilmon with interest.

"Pardon?" Dorumon asked. "What do you mean?"

"I am in the same boat as you," Guilmon started.

"But neither one of us are in a boat right now," Dorumon frowned. "What do boats have to do with anything? And why would there be a boat out here in the middle of the Desert Level?"

"Yeah, I've never gotten that phrase myself," Guilmon shrugged. "But that's not important. What is important is that you and I are the same in many ways. Probably the biggest one of those being that I did not remember my life as a Royal Knight either. In fact, I still don't but apparently I was one anyway. I used to be called Gallantmon. Actually, I can still become Gallantmon when I merge with my partner. But the point is I was once Gallantmon alone and I was once a Royal Knight under your command."

"I still don't believe in this…" Dorumon began.

"Well you have too," Guilmon pressed. "Just let me finish. I understand to an extent what you must be feeling right now. You're confused, you're lost and you don't really know who you are any more, do you?"

"Well…"

"Because I feel the same way a little," Guilmon said reassuringly. "Until the other day my entire life revolved around my life in the Human World with my partner and all my friends, where I had nothing to do but play tag and eat bread all day long. But then when this whole thing started and we went to the Royal Knights for help the whole world is suddenly seem to get a lot bigger. My whole world. Suddenly I had this great past that I did not even know about thrown on top of me. I had thought that I was created by my own partner, Takato, but it turns out I was wrong and that I lived long before that date where we met. And you're the same. You have this big past behind you as well. You and I are brothers-in-arms in two senses. We are both former Royal Knights and we both have no memory of it."

"Are you totally sure that all you were told is true," Dorumon looked at him plaintively.

"Yeah," Guilmon nodded. "Omnimon would not lie about this kind of thing. He probably wouldn't lie in general. It is a noble Digimon - the current leader of the Royal Knights and your stand-in."

"This is all so massive," Dorumon whimpered.

"I know, I know," Guilmon sympathised. "But it's all true and you have to remember that. I would not lie to you. Ever since I saw you earlier I have felt this strange sense of brotherhood between you and I, and that's not because the voice in my head is telling me that it is there."

"Voice in your head?" Dorumon blinked.

"Never mind," Guilmon muttered sheepishly. "The point is the feeling. Do you feel anything when you look at me? Do you feel this sense that we are brothers?"

Dorumon stared at Guilmon level it for about five seconds before he sat down with his head in his front paws and murmured, "Yes. There is something. It's really weird but there is definitely something now that I think about it. I didn't really noticed it before but now that you mention it…"

"Exactly," Guilmon smiled kindly. "You are Royal Knight just like I am even though you don't remember it. I'm sorry that this has been sprung upon you so suddenly but it is the truth and it is also the truth that you are needed to help save the Digital World and the world that is colliding with it in the first place. There is no alternative I'm afraid. If there was, we would have gone and look for it instead of barging into your peaceful life like this. We would probably have tried to break it to you more gently at a later time. But we need you. We all need you. The Digital World needs you. And your former brothers, the Royal Knights, they need you too."

"But what about my brother, Ryudamon?" Dorumon looked up. "Was he a Royal Knight too?"

"That, I don't know," Guilmon said apologetically. "There wasn't anything about Ryudamon mentioned to us by the Royal Knights before when we went to see them at the Tundra Level. I don't know if he was a royal night or not but regardless of whether he was or not maybe there is a chance that you will see him again if you join us. I know that the Royal Knights do have contact with Anubimon, Lord of the Digimon dead. If your brother really is dead then you should be able to negotiate with Anubimon and get into bring him back to life."

Dorumon perked up instantly and looked at Guilmon with wide, hopeful eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," Guilmon grinned.

"You are not just saying that to get me to join you on this quest thingy, are you?" Dorumon asked with an air of suspicion. "Because if you are, that is incredibly mean of you."

"Nope," Guilmon shook his head. "And even if they can't we do know people that can. We do have friends in high places. Actually, that's a literal in one case as we are personally familiar with the Celestial Angels. And the Sovereigns is of course. If the Royal Knights can't do it then one of them should be able to. And I'm sure Anubimon will make some special circumstances for them. They did it with the Devas."

Dorumon still looked nervous, at the prospect of going on such a dangerous sounding quest. But Guilmon could tell that he had him convinced, at least partially.

"I'm really a Royal Knight?" Dorumon mused. "The _leader_ of the Royal Knights?"

"Aye," he nodded. "You are."

Dorumon gritted his teeth. The whole business about saving the world and becoming a powerful mega level Digimon still sounded horrendously dangerous to him, and his own natural disposition and constant fear of the outside world was still trying to keep him firmly tied to his burrow. But Guilmon's reassuring words and the allure of finally seeing his brother again after so long got to him.

Dorumon looked up at Guilmon once more. "Do you promise to protect me until I get stronger? Do you promise to make sure that none of the big, nasty Digimon get to me until I become a Royal Knight again?"

"We won't let you down," Guilmon assured him.

Dorumon remained silent for up to a minute. Guilmon turned around and saw that the rest of the tamers and Digimon were staring at him. How long they had been listening to him, he had no idea, but all of them were looking at him with very proud expressions on their faces as well as surprise. Evidently none of them have expected him to be so fluent and careful with his words as that and yet Guilmon had, as he so often did, surprise them once again.

Dorumon sighed and clambered to his feet. "All right, all right, I'll go along with you guys. I'll do it. I'll do my best to become a Royal Knight even though I still think that this is not going to work."

"It will!" Guilmon promised. "I know it will."

Guilmon led Dorumon over to the others and the small purple Rookie level Digimon looked out across all their faces. "I'm putting myself in your hands here," he pointed out. "I really hope that you know what you're doing."

"So do we," Kazu muttered, and he received another elbow to the ribs courtesy of Jeri.

"Fear not former Knight," Guardromon raised a metallic fist into the air triumphantly. "We shall march forth into the Digital World and take it by storm. We shall find the rest of your brethren and assure that the world lives to see another year unfold. And once you have grown large enough in your next forms there will be nought that can stand in your way."

"Well, that is a little reassuring," Dorumon snickered. "Does he always talk like that?" He whispered as an aside to Guilmon.

"Mostly," Guilmon snickered back.

"Well then," Kenta grinned. "We have our little Royal Knight on our side at last. Now, what are we supposed to do with him?"

"Don't talk about him like he's a possession," Jeri chided him. "But you do raise a point. What exactly are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, it's like the Royal Knights said," Takato placed a hand on his chin in a very Henry-like pose. "We'll have to train him how to be a Royal Knight not just in terms of strength but in terms of all the values and those include chivalry, courage and always protecting the weaker no matter how dangerous the enemy is."

"Anyone else think that we might have our work cut out for us then?" Kazu asked quietly before dodging Jeri's elbow.

"I'm not brave," Dorumon said in a straightforward manner, evidently having overheard what Kazu just said. "But I will do my best. Because you're right now that I think about it. If I was to do nothing and continued living here in my burrow then I would be doomed anyway if the world was to come to an end. Sorry. I don't think I was thinking very clearly."

"It's all right," Ryo stated. "After all, it does sound like quite an impossible task. Yet we do seem to have a habit of pulling off the impossible when we need to. And I do believe that we need to this time."

"Oh heck yes," Kenta nodded. "We definitely need to."

"YAY!" Calumon cheered ecstatically. "We now have another friend to play with! Is it time to stop and play tag now Please! Please! Please!"

"Oh, I have not played tag first so long," Dorumon suddenly grinned. "Not since…" He trailed off, suddenly looking sad again and everybody could tell why.

"Ah, why not?" Jeri spread her arms out. "I think that we could all do with some cheering up right now, don't you?"

"Yeah," Guilmon suddenly tapped Dorumon with the end of his tail. "You're it!" He suddenly yelled and dashed off to hide behind a boulder.

"Hey!" Dorumon yelled as he had after him with incredible speed. "I was not ready for that, cheat!"

And so the group dissolved into a giggling frenzy of running around trying to tag each other, although it was clear right from the start that Dorumon was easily the fastest of them all and he would occasionally just let them tag him just to go easy on them. It had to be said that this was not particularly noble behaviour and not the kind of thing Royal Knight would need but then again the other Royal Knights had been discussing 'The Big Bang Theory' so evidently they were allowed time to let their hair down. And considering the state the Dorumon had been in earlier, everyone agreed that it wouldn't hurt just once.

However, it took Takato several moments before he joined in the game. During those few moments he was lost in thought. And none of those thoughts had been particularly pleasant. He had stood there for a good three minutes watching his partner speaking gently to the former leader of the Royal Knights. And although he wondered if he was just being silly again, there was once more that nagging thought about how his own Guilmon's relationship might change in the future.

After all, the two former Royal Knights had been mingling and both had admitted to feeling that strange sense of kinship with one another. What did that feeling mean? Did it mean that they just saw themselves as kindred spirits? Or did it mean something much deeper than that as well something much older? Did it indicate a bond that ran between them as well as the rest of the Royal Knights which could not be avoided and could not be interrupted by anything else? As in, the bond that existed between a Digimon and a Tamer.

Takato's gritted his teeth little bit and smacks himself on the side of the head with the palm of his hand. Why could he not get these errant thoughts out of his head? This whole thing was surely just stupid and him being his usual paranoid self. And he was just going in circles. Every time he thought about it he only thought about the same arguments and worries that he had thought about the last time.

It was hopeless.

And yet no matter how hard he tried he just could not drive the worries away and he could already tell that as Guilmon delved deeper into the world of the Royal Knights it was only going to get worse in the future.

But he was abruptly shaken out of those treacherous thoughts by Guilmon himself suddenly crashing into his back and knocking him to the ground in a heap. "Oops," Guilmon laughed uproariously. "Sorry Takato. I was running away from Calumon and didn't see you."

Previous thoughts momentarily forgotten, Takato stood up and laughed along with his dinosaur buddy. "No problem, Guilmon," he grinned. "I've long since gotten used to use doing that by now. Just thank goodness that I wasn't a tree, right?"

"Yeah, that really hurt," Guilmon rubbed his nose ruefully. "Although it was kind of funny that Renamon fell out of its branches from where she was taking a nap."

Both of them laughed out loud, before Takato was suddenly tagged in the forehead by Calumon and he joined in the game.

* * *

The first thing that Lyra noticed was a rough feeling on her face most particularly her nose and mouth. Before she realised what was happening she sat up and was spitting wildly to get the horrible taste and feeling out from behind her teeth and upper nostrils, lifting up her hands to paw at her tongue. But that only made the sensation even worse by about one-hundred fold and her eyes shot open to see that her hands were absolutely covered in sand.

And she had just wiped that sound all over her tongue which had already had quite a large amount of it plastered over the top.

She fell backwards onto her back rubbing her hands on her overalls frantically as she spat huge gob full to stand out from her mouth making retching noises as some of it threatened to go down the throat. She pulled out a handkerchief from one of her pockets and started to use it like a cloth in an attempt to get all of the little particles out of her mouth and even though this proved to be somewhat effective it still didn't get rid of them all.

But then her mind was distracted by something else, namely her surroundings.

At first she had thought she was on a beach. But this was definitely no beach for there was no ocean in sight in any direction. Nor were there any holidaymakers lining up on beach towels to sun themselves and there certainly wasn't any friendly looking accommodation or other buildings that always came with a beach, just like the one in Olivine City.

This was a desert. Nothing but a single, giant, rolling desert that stretched away as far as she could see in any direction. Somehow, she had been deposited right in the middle of it and she had no recollection of having been taken here.

Come to that, she didn't even remember anything about a desert being in Johto. Unless something was seriously wrong with the town map in her bag. She couldn't even remember anything about a desert in Kanto, the neighbouring region. She did know there was one Hoenn. Oh dear gosh, could she be in Hoenn? How in the name of Pokémon and she got to Hoenn?

If this even was Hoenn.

And then suddenly as if someone had switched on a life in ahead she remembered. She remembered that strange glowing, swirling circle that it suddenly appeared in mid-air right in front of her. The one that she had tried with all of her strength to pull herself away from but had had incredible suction that had scooped her off her feet and tossed her headlong into the vortex.

Was that some kind of portal? Had she somehow been bundled up by something and warped straight to the Hoenn region? That didn't seem possible. Lyra was only aware of one particular being that was capable of doing such a thing and that was the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh known as Palkia. Although it was likely that Arceus could do that too. But what would either of those Pokémon want to do that to her for? What had she ever done to them? Was this about the time that she saw Raikou, or at least thought she saw it, in Ecruteak City?

But that still doesn't sound right.

But there was no doubt that some strange phenomena had occurred to her and she was definitely not in Johto anymore.

She fought the urge to cry. If she was not in Johto them where the heck was she? How in the name of Arceus was she going to get home? What would her mother think of her sudden disappearance? How long would it take to get back to her?

Suddenly she remembered the phone that was stored on her Pokégear inside her bag. Thrusting her sand covered hands into the small satchel he seized it and pulled it out, scrambling for her mother's number in an attempt to call.

But as she did she was only met with a wall of white noise and she realised, to her horror, that she had no signal. Wherever she was, she was out of range of anything her phone could reach.

It hit her then like a thunderbolt. She was totally lost in a strange land with no way of finding out where she was or what direction she was supposed to go in. But town map would be useless to her now. And to think things had been looking so good when she started out that morning. If it was still the same day as that morning. How long had she been unconscious? It could have been over a day easily. She had no way of knowing.

She felt utterly helpless.

But she was a Pokémon trainer. She had gone through difficult terrains before on her journey to collect all of the Badges from the Gyms. She had gone through dark caves and giant forests and crossed oceans as well as gotten dangerously close to a whirlpool at one point. She could surely survive this, couldn't she?

Although she'd never been in a desert before. This was going to be something new.

Still, she did have some survival instincts and she knew that the first thing to worry about in a desert was water and the second thing was that heat. She automatically felt her hand straying towards one of Pokéballs before she froze and remembered which Pokémon lived in it. That's right… He was not going to be any use to her whatsoever in this situation, just as with any other situation. He'd more likely bring her to great deal of harm than give her water so he was out. And though her Dragonair new Surf, that would probably be a bit much for the situation.

She grimaced and realised that she would just have to start walking and hope that she stumbled across something soon if she didn't she was going to be in a great deal more trouble than she was already in.

So she pushed herself forwards, picking a random direction.

And it seemed that she had not gone further than 300 yards before she ran into a sight that made her freeze in her tracks and stare in horror and slight revulsion.

For she had come to the top of what appeared to be a giant sand dune and discovered that on the other side was a large collection of small green creatures that looked like blobs of mucus with large bulging eyes set on stalks, all of which turn to swivel in her direction.

"Ooh, what have we here?" one of them giggled in a rather lurid way, or perhaps it was just the squelching of his own body that made it sound like that. "A pretty looking lost human girl, is it?"

"You… You… You can speak?" Lyra stuttered. "You can talk? What are you? What kind of Pokémon are you?" She swiftly pulled out her Pokédex and attempted to scan them only for it to come up blank. She briefly wondered whether she had busted it somehow in her fall but then her attention was taken up once again by the creatures as they searched a water like a tide of green Grimers - there was a rather strong resemblance to them even though the eyes were very different.

"We are Numemon," one of them cried, "and we will teach you a lesson for intruding on our turf."

"And for not knowing what we are," another added vehemently.

"No!" Lyra yelped as she backed away almost falling down the back of the dune. "Stay back!" Her hand automatically grasped a Pokéball and yanked it off her belt, tossing it into the air with a cry of, "Quilava help!"

The small Fire-type Pokémon burst out of the light that exploded from the ball and launched herself into a Flame Wheel without a second thought and hurtled towards the Numemon. The creatures screeched and scattered underneath her onslaught, slurping away for all they were worth as Quilava blazed behind them in a fiery Catherine wheel of destruction.

It didn't take much to send the Numemon packing and Quilava rolled to a stop with some satisfaction at her victory. Only then did Lyra's starter Pokémon notice exactly what it was she just attacked and where they were.

"Quil?" She asked in bemusement, turning to face her trainer with a puzzled expression. "Lava Quil Quilava!"

"I… I don't know where we are, Quilava," Lyra press to hand over her mouth and struggled not cry. She could tell now that her Pokédex was not broken as it was still quite capable of scanning Quilava herself just fine. Those creatures, whatever they were, Lyra was pretty sure that they were in fact not Pokémon at all.

And if they were not Pokémon, then what the heck were they? And where the hell was she? What in the world has she got herself into this time? She had thought stopping criminals at the Slowpoke Well had been the height of trouble she could reach. But apparently she was wrong. She must be even further away from home that she thought if her theory was correct.

Was she even… in her own world anymore?

She couldn't hold it in. She sang to her knees and broke down right there, thankfully sand free hands covering her eyes. Alarmed, Quilava ran over to her and nuzzled against her gently.

Lyra was grateful for our company but in the face of what she suspected had happened to her, even this was little comfort. And now it seemed that Quilava and her other Pokémon were all she had left to get her through this.

* * *

Well, I hope that that was very much to your liking. I am aware that one of you (mentioning no names of course) has been waiting for Dorumon to make his appearance for quite some time and now he was finally here. There were other elements of this chapter that were important and they will become clear at a later date.

Until that time though, sayonara (hey, it even recognised that – how cool is this thing?) Geehee!

* * *

Next time…

Still back in the Star Wars world, the fight against the Son continues, but with Ahsoka and Barriss freed and the Daughter helping them to fight against him, things certainly seem to be looking up. But will it stay that way? After all, the Son is still the most dangerous enemy they've ever had to face. And darkness can be found lurking almost everywhere.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 36 : A Balance Broken**


	36. A Balance Broken

Well, it is now very late. But I have managed to finish this chapter and spoken every word of it. A couple of people who read the latest chapter of my last story pointed out many of the spelling mistakes that came with the words sounding similar to one another. And I admit that Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 is not a perfect program but hopefully as I go along I will be able to iron out the kinks. But for now, I have done something which I have actually never done before and that was proof read them this time. So if there are any mistakes in this one, it's ones that I have missed with my eyes while going over it a second time.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 36:- A Balance Broken**

* * *

As Anakin and Barriss succeeded in freeing Ahsoka from the Son's control, the Son himself staggered backwards, clutching at his chest and his red, glowing eyes widening in shock. He was not hurt, but he was most definitely surprised. He had just felt something which he had never thought possible – somehow the Togruta that he had infected with his darkness had managed to shake off its influence. She was no longer his obedient slave. She was free again.

How? How was this possible? He was the Dark Side of the Force itself. His power was limitless. And yet, somehow, a mere Togruta Jedi, not even a fully fledged Jedi Knight, had managed to overcome his control. He had felt her struggles in the back of his mind while he had been fighting his own sister, but had paid them no mind. And now he saw his mistake. Somehow the leverage which he had used to occupy the Chosen One had vanished.

"I feel it too," the Daughter said as she looked at his surprise and there was a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth as she said it. "The girl has broken out of your control. She is a member of the Light once again. It seems that your plan to bring the Chosen One to his knees is futile."

The Son looked up with a furious snarl gracing his face. "It is of no consequence," he growled. "Granted, I am surprised that they managed to do it, but in the end it will all mean nothing. The Force will be brought into balance and if necessary, I will make the chosen one bow before me by force."

"You have lost, my brother," the Daughter shook her head, her long green hair rippling behind her. "You cannot hope to achieve victory now. With the Chosen One's mind clear, he will be able to defeat you. That is why the Father summoned him here. If there is anyone that can put you down, it would be him."

The Son chuckled menacingly, looking up into his sister's eyes with malice. "There is much about this that you fail to understand my sister. My power is growing and has been growing for so long. The Force is already out of father's version of precious balance. The darkness is rising once again. It is true that when the Sith Lord Darth Sidious was defeated I did lose ground. I would have been able to rise to this point last year if it had not been for that. But the darkness always rises up once again. It can never be tamed by the Light. Not forever. And it shall never be tamed again, you have my word on that."

"How blind you are, brother," the Daughter closed her eyes. "Your selfish nature is blinding you to everything. You are refusing to listen to what our Father decrees. A universe consisting of only one side of the scale is not balanced at all. It is against the very law of both physics and nature. Only together can we prevail and achieve that balance. Why must you do this? We never had a problem working together when we were going up against…"

"SPEAK NOT OF HER!" The Son roared as he raised his hands and blasted another volley of red lightning directly at the Daughter's face. As before, the Daughter managed to reflect it, scooping up the lightning as if it was in a giant ladle and throwing it back at her brother. The Son rolled out of the way and rose up, flexing his arms and gritting his teeth before letting out an almighty scream of rage.

The Daughter covered her ears and flinched downwards as if that would protect her as the noise battered against her eardrums. The walls around them fractured into splinters of stone. The windows shattered and sprayed glass out into the room and the floor cracked as if there was an earthquake without the quaking part. The Daughter felt herself buffeted back and thrown off her feet entirely by the sheer noise.

As she crashed to the ground and rolled into the wall with a heavy thump, the Son sprang towards her with both arms raised in the air like an animal, spraying down another massive blast of red lightning from both hands. The Daughter rolled onto her side and thrust one hand out in response, sending a burst of green lightning from her own fingertips – her own version of the Electric Judgement which, like the Jedi who could use it, she rarely did use. It crashed into the Son's volley with enough force to explode violently as they cancelled each other out.

The Son blazed through the smoke like a Demon from Hell and seized his sister by the entire face in one hand, slamming her head to the ground and holding her still. The Daughter immediately felt her strength waning as the Son attempted to drain her strength away and replenish himself but before he could get very far she suddenly morphed into her giant Griffin shape, pushing off from the wall and tossing him into the air.

The Son twisted in midair and let loose another round of lightning that the Griffin took head on with a squawk of pain before it spread its wings and charged straight towards him. But suddenly the Son shot past the Griffin with a speed that practically defied all laws of nature and before the Griffin realised what was going on the Son was on her back, seizing her by the neck and filling her with red lightning at point-blank range.

The Daughter screamed as she reverted back to her original shape but before the Son could deliver the final blow she whipped around and landed a solid punch right to his nose.

Thrown, the Son staggered backwards, his hand flying to his face and staring at his sister in disbelief. "A punch?!" He yelled. "An ordinary punch?!"

"You cannot always rely on the Force to do everything for you, my brother," the Daughter almost smirked before she raised her hand and emitted a sudden flash of light from her palm that filled the room for a split second and blinded the Son, causing him to stagger backwards with his hands over his eyes. The Daughter ran forward and leapt into the air, but despite being blinded momentarily the Son still heard her coming and rolled underneath her. The Daughter wheeled around at the same time as the Son and they both readied another Force Power to hurl at one another.

But before they could, a shape descended into the room right next to them and yelled, "STOP THIS! NOW!"

Both of them wheeled around to see the Father standing right next to them – the Son could only just make him out through the haze that was now his vision. The Father lashed out with both his hands and simultaneously scooped up both of his two children with the Force and tossed them across the room, through the shattered window and out into the courtyard below.

* * *

Anakin and the others, who had all climbed to their feet and were making ready to head into the room to do something about the Son (though they had quickly taken cover when the windows shattered) all had to dive out of the way again as the two Force Entities crashed to the ground where they had been standing in rolling heaps. Both of them quickly scrambled to their feet, relatively unharmed, but the Son's eyes blazed as the Father glided out of the window on his own small wings that seemed to unfold from nowhere and settled down in front of the tree in the courtyard.

"So you made his after all did you, Father?" He snarled.

"You must stop this now, my Son," the Father instructed, holding out his hands imploringly. "You cannot do this. You cannot continue down this path – it will destroy everything. Including you. That is what the darkness does when it gets to out of control and there is no light to oppose it. Do you not see?"

"All I see is another obstacle in my way!" The Son roared as he unleashed his biggest lightning blast yet at his own Father. The Father quickly raised his hands before him and generated a near invisible shield in the air in front of him, taking and absorbing the lightning bolts that flickered across its surface.

"Why do you insist on fighting me, my Son?" The Father yelled from the other side of the shield. "You know that I have always had your best interests and the interests of your sister at heart and always done what is best for the both of you. Yet you continue to fight against me."

"You hold me back!" The Son was practically screaming now. "You do not let me fulfil my potential! You care nothing for me – only for your precious balance. And I care nothing for you anymore. You are dead to me!"

"And I thought that I could occasionally be a stroppy teenager," Ahsoka muttered.

"You are," Anakin patted her back, though his gaze and hardened and was focusing on the middle of the Son's back. The Daughter was now standing off to one side, refusing to disobey her father's direct order.

"Obi-Wan, pass me that dagger thing," Anakin held out his hand behind him.

"What do you intend to do?" Obi-Wan asked, handing the Dagger of Mortis over all the same.

"You say this thing can kill the Son," Anakin muttered as he held the Dagger in his hand, activating his lightsaber once again. "Then I intend to finish this, once and for all."

But even as he started forwards, the Son was knocked backwards with blast of the Force by the Father, collapsing onto his back and sending him scraping backwards. He looked up in slight fear but mostly anger as his Father stepped down off the pedestal towards him.

"You are strong indeed," the Father looked down his nose at his own offspring. "But not strong enough yet for your desires, I fear. Not when I am on my guard. Were the Sith still in power as they were during the Clone Wars then you would no doubt be stronger than you are now. Your strength reflects the strength of the Dark Side of the Force just as the Dark Side of the Force reflects _your_ strength. As you grow stronger, so does it. As it grows stronger, so do you. You are in balance that way. Can you not use that analogy to see what I'm trying to tell you about light and dark?"

The Son growled, flexing his fingers as if itching to throw another bolt at his Father. "You think that I did not know that? Were things set to go on the regular course I would have been stronger earlier and with greater power – that I will freely admit. It was thanks to those blasted Digimon that entered our universe that the course altered from the one I had envisioned."

"Indeed," the Father grimaced, turning to look towards Anakin. "I apologise for this situation that I have put you in. Truly I do. I put it off for as long as I could. I did indeed want you to have as much of a life as you could out in the proper world before you came and took my place. When you brought balance to the Force by destroying Darth Sidious you gave me enough strength to continue on for another year. But alas, even that cannot last forever and I finally had to ask you. But still, my Son is still not as strong as he could be if Darth Sidious was still alive."

Anakin blinked, suddenly having a newfound respect for the Father for at least trying to ensure that he didn't have to come here until he deemed it absolutely necessary.

"Well, thank you I guess," he nodded.

But before the Father replied, his eyes seemed to be drawn downwards towards what Anakin now held in his hand and a ragged gasp came from his ageing throat. "The Dagger? You have the Dagger of Mortis?"

The Son felt a sneer forming on his face once again. "Ah yes, the Dagger is here, isn't it? Given to the Jedi by my dear sister while you slept on, in order to kill me before you could intervene."

The Daughter looked slightly stricken as her Father turned a horrified gaze upon her. "I… I am so sorry, Father. But he was going to attempt to escape the planet. This was the only way I could think of stopping him from wreaking havoc on the Galaxy."

"And you played right into my hands," the Son grinned. "I knew if our Father was down that that would be the option you would take to try and stop me. And now, thanks to you and the Jedi, there is a weapon here that can kill what cannot be killed by any other means. Including you, Father."

Anakin suddenly darted forwards with intent to thrust the Dagger of Mortis into the Son's back but the Son whirled around to toss him backwards again with the Force before he could make much headway, sending him crashing into Obi-Wan. The Son then yanked the Dagger straight out of Anakin's grip and brought it zooming towards his hand.

Though he was seemingly surprised, as was everyone else, when Ahsoka suddenly sprang forward and grabbed the Dagger by its hilt. The powerful Force Pull ensured that the Dagger was still brought straight towards the Son but Ahsoka was pulled along with it and before the Son could stop the Dagger's progress, Ahsoka had flipped herself around and landed a solid kick straight to his face. In the same place where the Daughter had previously punched him. The Son staggered backwards as Ahsoka flipped around back onto her feet.

_Barriss, catch!_ Ahsoka cried across the mind-link, before tossing the Dagger over her shoulder and back towards the Mirialan, who grabbed it with the Force and pulled it to her, hiding it behind her cloak. Anakin, Obi-Wan and the Father all then hit the Son with a combined Force Push that sent him shooting to one side to impact the wall so hard he left a small crater that made it look like a little meteor had hit it.

The Son slumped to the ground and pushed his way up, snarling at the entire group and shifting into his Gargoyle form in an attempt to get away, before he was solidly yanked back to the ground and pinned there by the efforts of the Father and Anakin. The creature thrashed almost feebly on the ground before switching back into the Son and continuing its glaring tirade.

"You cannot do this to me!" He snarled. "You may contain me and stop me from advancing forwards today but there will always be darkness. And even if you and the Chosen One have the strength to pin me today, Father, you cannot do so forever. The Chosen One is leaving and your strength is waning. I shall eventually break free and escape this place."

The Father sighed. "Then it has come to containment then," he muttered wearily and seemed to gain an additional ten years right there. "I had hoped that you would be more willing to listen to reason. But if I cannot keep you here of your own will for much longer than I will have to force you to stay by the less friendly means. I have striven for so long to keep the universe in balance is much as I can. I cannot allow you to change everything that we have worked for since we got here."

Anakin felt his fist tighten slightly. On the one hand, he was thrilled that they had actually managed to stop the Son before he could do too much damage – although the corruption of his Padawan was damage enough in his opinion – but he was also frustrated that this did not solve his problem of whether to stay here or not. And while the Jedi Code taught him that killing someone that had already lost and was helpless was wrong, he could not help but think that so many things could be solved if he just took the Dagger from Barriss and plunged it into the Son right there.

Evidently the Daughter felt his distress and placed a soothing hand upon his shoulder. He looked up at her and could see that she was in obvious distress as well. This was after all, her own brother that was trying to take over the universe and make everything dark and totally opposite to what she herself was. But despite everything it was clear that she still loved her brother. It was in her very nature after all just as it was in his to be what he was.

Anakin sighed and stood up, watching as the Father held the Son to the ground.

"Thank you for your help," he said.

"My Son is my responsibility," the Father said with sad eyes. "I must do what I can. I do not like it, but I must for the sake of the universe. However, my previous point still stands. You must still come to a decision on whether you stay on and keep them in balance in my place or whether you leave and risk him escaping once again."

Anakin bit his lip. He had thought the decision would be hard enough as it was but the Son's actions had just made it seem even harder.

"I still have to think about it," he said.

"Then I shall not press you," the Father nodded. "I must now quarantine my Son while you must go and fix your ship if you wish to leave the planet yourselves. But I still feel that I have not long to live and you must make your decision soon."

The Father opened his mouth to reply… but before he could there was a sudden whooshing noise and what looked like a massive, swirling vortex of darkness curved downwards from nowhere and struck the Father full on in the back. The Father gasped as he felt the vortex slam straight through his body like a giant drill, piercing him straight through and smashing into the wall in front of him, which he was then thrown into.

"How about right now?" A deep chuckle came from above.

"FATHER!" The Daughter shrieked as she ran over to him while everyone else stared in shock momentarily before their heads whipped up to the sky and viewed the speaker.

None of them, not even the Son, was expecting what they saw.

It appeared to be a man of some kind, but it was five times taller than any average human – or even the slightly taller humanoids like the Son and the Daughter. He was covered entirely in black and grey armour except for a golden jagged breastplate and the top of its helmet, which had small devil horns, and the tips of his massively pointed boots and kneecaps. He also wore long black cloak, and a large strangely shaped axe was attached to its left arm and in his right hand he clutched a giant, red, double ended spear. His face was entirely covered in armour but for the eye holes, through which two small golden dots peered out at them.

"I do so love taking people by surprise like that," the giant entity said. "It makes it so entertaining to see the faces of those around me with their expressions of shock and horror."

"Who the heck are you?" Anakin cried, levelling his lightsaber with a furious glare. "And exactly what are you?"

"Ah," the being raised a hand and waved a finger at him as if he were a naughty schoolboy. "Well, that is the question, is it not? And I'm afraid that I do not have time, nor the inclination, to discuss and give the answer to you. You, on the other hand," the figure turned to look down at the Son. "You, I would like to have business with."

"Business?" The Son asked as he pushed himself back to his cloven feet. "How so? And what makes you think that I, the being of all darkness, would need to do business with you?"

"Perhaps it would be better if we were to take our conversation somewhere where there is not a wailing female," the dark entity frowned, glancing down at the Daughter as she desperately tried to heal her Father's gaping wound with tears spilling down her face. "Though I will say now, that it appears I did you a favour. It seems that the one that was able to keep you and your darkness in line is now lying severely weakened and unable to do anything. He will surely not recover from that. And I have something that you might want to hear. A proposition, if you will."

"I do not need to do business," the Son felt his lip curling just at the thought of the word. He then paused and added, "Who are you? And how did you get onto our planet? You were not invited inside by my Father. How did you get inside the monolith?"

"Ah, as to that…" The creature raised its arm with the giant axe attached and roared,** "SUPER-DIMENSIONAL AXE!"** before slashing it downwards through the air and the blade of the axe seemed to tear straight through the fabric of reality itself, leaving a giant, gaping rip hanging in the air, with many flashing colours on the other side and generating a powerful suction before any of the others knew what was happening.

Even the Son was caught totally off guard by this and as he was the closest to the newly constructed portal he found himself whipped off his feet first by said suction. Yelling in annoyance, he found himself catapulted straight into the tear, and the dark entity followed him in with a laugh. Everyone else had been pulled off the ground as well but before they could be thrown into the hole themselves, it snapped shut behind those that had already gone through, causing everybody to fall to the ground in a heap once again.

"Who was that?" Ahsoka gasped as she pushed herself upwards, helped to her feet by Barriss.

"I don't know," Anakin suddenly growled. "But unless I am very much mistaken the Son just got away."

* * *

The Son stopped catapulting over and over like a windmill in a hurricane the moment the portal closed and found himself floating about in sheer nothingness. Literally nothingness. Even for someone as dark and twisted as him, this was extremely unnerving. There was no light anywhere but nor was there any darkness. He was floating effortlessly in the air but he couldn't seem to be able to tell which way was down and which way was up. It was just an endless expanse, stretching on forever in any direction, or at least that was what it seemed.

It was a far cry from the swirling colours that he had been pretty sure was on the other side of the portal moments ago.

The only other thing here in this vast nothingness was the one that had taken him here, the tall humanoid who was currently floating in a similar manner, albeit at about ninety-five degrees to the angle which the Son was currently floating.

"I do hope you excuse me for my interruption like that," the entity said as he casually flicked his spear and rotated around until he was floating at the same angle as the Son himself, looking down at the much smaller being – if you could call it down. "But it did seem like you could be doing with some help and naturally, as one dark entity to another, I felt obligated to act."

"You will forgive me if I am not in a very cooperative move right now I'm sure," the Son muttered as he fixed his glowing red eyes on this creature's glowing yellow ones. "You just whisked me away from a moment that could have been my triumph. It would not have taken me very long for me to grab the Dagger of Mortis and run it through my Father."

"I would not worry too much about that old man," the dark entity chuckled. "I do not believe that he will be bothering you again anytime soon. If my blow to him did not finish him off straight away then he will surely perish in due course. But now we must get down to the facts. The bedrock of why I am here. Quite simply, I came for your assistance. It was only coincidence it seems, that I was able to be of assistance to you right before I even asked."

The Son folded his arms against his coat and gave the entity before him a level stare. "And what makes you think that I would have even needed assistance? I am darkness itself. Darkness always finds a way…"

"… To come back again and envelop the light," the dark entity chuckled. "Oh, believe me, I know that. I believe you could say that you and I are; what is the phrase, birds of a feather?"

"Explain."

"I too am being made almost purely of darkness," the entity smirked. "I absorbed endless amounts of dark energy to take on the form which I now possess today. I watched as darkness in front of me crumbled before the light and yet I too have managed to find a way to re-enter the world and threaten it once again. And this time, I have every intention of succeeding where those before me have failed."

"In the end, darkness will always prevail," the Son grimaced.

"I'm sure. But the light is a powerful adversary and it would do well not to underestimate it. And that is why I have come to you. For you and I are of the same mind and have the same goals. For the most part at least. Therefore, I was wondering if perhaps you would be interested in a compromise. I help you and you help me. Another old saying – you scratch my back and I scratch yours. I believe that is the phrase."

"You still have not told me exactly who it is I am addressing," the Son pointed out, although he had to admit the words of the being before him were catching his attention. Perhaps it would not be so difficult to hear him out instead of blasting him with Force Lightning.

"How rude of me," the entity shook his head. "Perhaps I should have introduced myself at the very first. I am known as DarkKnightmon."

"DarkKnightmon?" Now this had definitely caught the Son's attention. He might not know a whole lot about the Digital World and its inhabitants but he knew enough to guess that the strange creature that had a name that ended with the suffix 'mon' could only be one thing. "Then, you are a Digimon?"

"Then you already know of my race," DarkKnightmon actually was mildly surprised. "You are very well informed."

"I have much to feel resentful of Digimon for. There was a time over a year and a half ago where three Digimon landed in my universe. Apparently warped there by another of their kind. And it was them that steered the universe away from the dark path which it was going on, changing the delight I felt in the condition of the world to rage. If they had not intervened then perhaps the universe would already be under my thumb."

"It would seem that we Digimon tend to make our presence known," DarkKnightmon chuckled.

"I do not find this situation remotely humorous," the Son pressed his fingers together. "Give me one good reason why I should not destroy you immediately?"

"I wondered if it would come to hostility threats such as that."

"Then give me an answer."

"Very well," DarkKnightmon nodded. "I shall tell you why. You should know that not all Digimon are of the mindset that those that came to your universe must have had."

"You have already told me that you are a creature of darkness," the Son narrowed his eyes. "And I can sense the intense darkness within you. I have no doubt that you are quite like me in that sense. But that still is not a good enough excuse. You are from a different universe to mine. You have no place in any of my affairs."

"Ah, but I do now," DarkKnightmon chuckled triumphantly. "For you see, in order for us to have this conversation I have transported you into the Void. Why do you think there is such a sheer amount of nothingness here? We are currently hovering in the space between dimensions – a space of sheer nothingness. A place where nothing exists except for things that enter from other universes such as us. If, and this is a big if, mind you, _if_ you manage to kill me you would never be able to escape from this place. You already need me to get back into an actual universe."

The Son glowered and clenched his fists. He felt trapped, just like how the Father had always kept him trapped within the monolith of Mortis. He felt the overwhelming urge to lash out and blast this arrogant creature straight in the chest with a burst of lightning. But he managed to restrain himself, knowing that it would not do him any good in this situation.

"Very well," he growled. "Say what it is that you have to say and be done with it."

"I had a feeling that you would come around," DarkKnightmon laughed. "Very well then. I shall tell you what you wish to know. As you have already guessed, I am a Digimon. A Digimon of darkness. And I seek to take over another universe and allow the darkness to rule it, just as you do with yours. And currently, I am searching for allies. Allies that can aid me in my fight."

"And you came to me, did you?" The Son asked with a slow drawl. "How very touching."

"There is a reason for it," DarkKnightmon said. "Beyond a simple one that is. Recently, during the scouting patrols that have been set up around the universe I am attempting to infiltrate and take, there has been some activity spotted that was of great interest to me. It seems that some elements of your own universe have somehow found their way into the one I am attempting to rule. A strange woman wielding similar laser swords to the ones that those others back there were wielding."

"Your point being?" The Son asked with a raised brow.

"I have long since thought that one of the best ways of going about combating the enemy was to learn all that I could about them before I strike them down. Come up with the most effective possible strategy. And so far this woman has proven very adept at leading the enemy forces against me even though they do not even know of my actual existence. I believe she is referred to as a Jedi."

The Son suddenly burst into uproarious laughter. "You came to me for assistance in helping you to get rid of a single Jedi? A single pathetic Jedi? If that is the case then I really do not believe that you are worth my efforts. I would be quite capable of crushing this Jedi for you in an instant flat. And if you were not capable of doing such a thing yourself, I would not consider you a worthwhile ally. Or even a worthwhile enemy."

"You are saying that this Aayla Secura should be pretty easy to deal with then?" DarkKnightmon asked. "I merely wish to know the extent of her abilities and how to combat them. If you would be willing to tell me that…"

"Aayla Secura?" The Son interrupted, his red eyes widening. "You are referring to the Rutian Twi'lek Jedi woman that wields two lightsabers and was once a part of the Tenacious Ten? She is one of your opponents?"

"You are saying that this particular Jedi is indeed someone to be concerned about after all then?" DarkKnightmon pressed.

"Of course not," the Son scoffed. "It would only take a mere fraction of my power – and a tiny fraction of_ that_, less than 1% – to deal with someone like her. Though she is strong for a Jedi, no Jedi is able to stand against me. Not with their lives intact for very long. But I have a particular grudge against that Jedi. Next to the three Digimon that helped to sway the universe that I come from back towards the path of light, she was probably the biggest factor. It was she that stopped the Chosen One from slipping into darkness and into the future that I foresaw. It was her that turned the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious', own allies against him in order to bring about his downfall. It was her that met the Digimon in the first place and guided them to the Republic to wreak their havoc on everything that I was ready for."

"I understand very little of your universe," DarkKnightmon stated. "But it seems to me that this Jedi is then indeed a troublemaker."

"Oh yes," the Son nodded. "If it had not been for the fact that I had been imprisoned on my planet, Mortis, by my own Father then it would have been quite a different story of course. But her interference cost the darkness near everything in our world. I would hope that a powerful Digimon like you claim to be would be able to crush her into nothingness with the bat of an eyelid. But for lesser people she is certainly dangerous."

"Then perhaps you could be useful to me after all," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "Or should I say with me? That sounds like a better fit. I am trying to take over a universe that is not the one that Digimon come from – a world inhabited by creatures known as Pokémon, which you could say are the weaker equivalent of Digimon for the most part. Everything was running quite smoothly and it seemed only a matter of time before we made our movement took over everything. But recently this Aayla Secura and her band of Digimon friends showed up there. They have already been causing havoc amongst some of my troops."

"Her Digimon friends?" The Son asked, his voice lowering and starting to drip with venom. "Are you, perhaps, referring to the Renamon, Terriermon and Lopmon that showed up in my world? The three Digimon that Aayla met in the first place? Along with their three human children – the Tamers?"

"Yes, indeed I am," DarkKnightmon nodded. "And I have long decreed that underestimating the enemy is a very bad idea indeed. I know full well that those three Digimon, as well as the fourth one that accompanies them called Impmon are all capable of growing into extremely powerful Mega level Digimon. And perhaps under the direction of this Aayla, who seems to have a head for this sort of thing, you see my potential problem. I believe that it is possible I could take them on myself with enough time. But I do not want to wait for much longer than necessary, hence why I came to you."

"How did you find me anyway?" The Son asked. "You said you came looking for me specifically, did you not?"

"Yes, I most certainly did," DarkKnightmon nodded. "As a creature of darkness myself I am able to sense darkness easily and as I am capable of crossing dimensional barriers, I was able to sense exactly where in your universe I would slash the portal to arrive close to one of that universe's darkest sources. Then I slashed and found myself on your little planet watching the show that went on below me. I could tell immediately that you were the one I was looking for and when I saw you apprehended in that way… Well, naturally I had to step in."

"I already said that I did not need your assistance," the Son growled.

"Perhaps," DarkKnightmon shrugged his massive armoured shoulders. "But I was not prepared to wait around and find out. I believe I have got you what you wanted. I have got to your freedom. Your freedom to walk away from that planet where you were imprisoned by your Father and to go where you choose under no one's authority but your own, or at the very least our joint authority to choose to help me."

"What exactly are you asking me to do?" The Son asked.

"Merely that you lend your powers to my aid in conquering the Pokémon world in any way that you see fit," DarkKnightmon waved a hand airily. "I do not mind so long as the Pokémon world eventually does end up under my thumb. You can even take revenge on this Aayla Secura and her companions in any way that you so choose. And once that goal has been accomplished, I would be more than willing to send you back to your universe. Perhaps I would even help you to conquer it myself with my armies behind you. Another phrase I like to use is – one good turn deserves another. Though personally I hate the fact that every turn has to be good."

The Son snickered. "I had thought the opportunity to destroy Secura and her companions had been lost to me. I was going to take pleasure in dismantling the Tenacious Ten member by member until the Digimon left for their own universe and took Aayla with them. I was still going to enjoy destroying what remained. But now, perhaps I shall get the complete set."

"Is that a deal then?" DarkKnightmon asked shrewdly.

The Son looked across at him with narrowed eyes. He seemed to take about a minute or so to consider… although considering there was no time in this place it was very difficult to tell exactly how long it would have been in terms of regular time.

"I have a set of conditions," the Son said after a while. "Conditions which I expect to be upheld. For one thing, you cannot order me around as you please as if I was one of your own servants. I am the servant to nobody. I will not take orders from anybody but myself. I may, on occasion, listen to what you have to say and suggest. But ultimately, if I choose to do things my own way then there is nothing that you can do to stop me. Is that clear?"

"Now, now." DarkKnightmon raised his hand. "We are supposed to be forming an alliance here. At no point did I say that I would be your master. But at the same time we must work together. If we each go about doing our own thing all of the time then neither of us will get anything done to a degree that we are both satisfied with. There has to be compromises. Just as there is with my idea to exchange your help for my help in your own world when the time comes."

"A coalition of sorts then?" The Son asked with a raised brow. He had never been part of anything like that before and he was not sure if it was comfortable with it now.

"Oh yes," DarkKnightmon nodded. "I have observed forces of the light fighting many times. And the reason for the constant victories over the darkness that I have seen comes from their teamwork. Arguments between them are rare and they all work together to achieve a common goal. While no doubt on our own we are both individually powerful, imagine what damage we could cause if we pool our strengths together to one goal. That means that you must listen to what I have to say as much as I listen to your own suggestions. If it seems like one suggestion that we go with his not working, then we can always switch to another. That is how these things work."

"You do not seem much like many would-be conquerors," the Son observed with a slight quirk to his brow. "Especially not the Sith Lords that I am so familiar with in my own. Each of them are only looking out for themselves. It is the nature of darkness to be selfish. You are saying I should deny it?"

"Deny it, no," DarkKnightmon shook his head. "You misunderstand me. We are both of darkness after all. Why should we not combine our strengths? Our aims are the same. It is only our methods to obtain those aims that may be different."

"I shall consider it," the Son said offhandedly. "But there may be times where I will want to set off to a complete my own personal objectives. Particularly where these enemies of yours are concerned."

DarkKnightmon stared at him levelly for several moments before saying, "Very well. And what are your other conditions?"

"If I decide that I no longer have any interest in helping you take over this world," the Son smirked. "Then you are to send me back no questions asked to continue on with the task of taking over my own universe."

"But of course," DarkKnightmon nodded. "If you no longer had any interest then you might become compromised to my plan. It would only take minimal effort to send you back to where you belong."

The Son regarded him suspiciously for several moments before he added, "And the final condition, if any of your current servants and minions displease me then I shall take any measures that I deem fit to discipline them."

DarkKnightmon chuckled. "I have no problem with this one so long as you do not actively slay too many of my forces. Extreme pain will suffice but death must be kept to a minimum."

"And if I see this through to the end," the Son asked with an ominous growl. "You will honour your personal agreement to me and allow your forces to assist me and take over the various planets across the Galaxy in my universe?"

"I see no reason why I should not," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "I shall be the Lord and ruler of my own world by that point. But if there is one thing that will never get old, it is bringing terror to a new population of individuals. Spreading chaos. Once I sink the Pokémon world into darkness, there will be very little of that left to do. And an army of evil that can go about destroying things is a happy army of evil."

"Spoken after my own of what little heart I have," the Son smirked. "If that is the case, then you definitely have a deal. I am much looking forward to 'bringing the pain,' as they say, to Secura and her companions. And when I returned to my own universe, free of the bonds that my Father and sister put me in then I shall be able to proclaim said deed to the rest of the Tenacious Ten. Maybe I shall even bring them Secura's head as proof. Who can tell? Perhaps something like that will drive the Chosen One, who has now hardened up against darkness, over the edge where he was originally meant to go."

"If that is the case and you are happy with everything," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "Then let us proceed immediately.** SUPER-DIMENSIONAL AXE!**" And he slashed another gaping gash in the nothingness in front of them and slipped through it into the world beyond. The Son took a look over his shoulder at the nothingness around him, which was merely a symbolic way of looking over at his past since his past was not actually in that direction.

"Goodbye Father," he sneered. "Goodbye sister. I do hope that you enjoy your last moments together on Mortis. In the knowledge that you have both failed to stop me. I shall return. And when I do I shall already have an army at my back and a world at my disposal. The universe will be utterly powerless against me. More than it was already, that is."

Then he disappeared into the vortex.

* * *

The Father gasped, clutching at his stomach and the gaping hole that went straight through him. It was one of the most horrible sights that any of the Jedi present had ever seen before. They could see the wall right through the aged man. His long beard was soaked in his own blood and he was slumped against the wall, his Daughter bent over him and desperately trying to use her powers to heal him.

"I can't believe that scum got away!" Anakin growled. "And who the heck was that guy who aided him to escape?"

"He was a monster," Ahsoka felt the urge to vomit and tried to resist as he stared at the Father's grievous injury. "The lowest of the low to strike from behind like that."

"It seems there was very little point to me even getting this," Obi-Wan looked down at the Dagger that Barriss had handed to him. The Mirialan herself had just run forward to kneel on the other side of the Father and hold her hands over him in the same pose as the Daughter in an attempt to heal him. But Barriss had never seen a wound as horrific as this. And she was pretty sure it was beyond her power to heal. It looked like half of the Father's internal organs had totally gone. And she herself was also fighting the urge not to be sick. They all were.

The Daughter's eyes were streaked with tears that ran down her cheeks unabated as she kept mumbling some ancient and archaic words that nobody could make out in her efforts to get rid of the damage and to Barriss's amazement it actually appeared to be working – the skin around the horrible wound was starting to grow to fill in the gap that had been left.

Maybe, maybe there was a chance after…

The Father lifted a hand weakly and placed it against the wrists of his Daughter, forcibly lowering her hands to the ground. A moment later he did the same thing to Barriss, cutting off their healing attempts.

"It is no use, my children," he gasped with a ragged cough. "Do not waste your energy on me. There is no time."

The Daughter looked momentarily surprised to hear the Father refer to both her and Barriss as his children but it was only for a split second before her own hacking gasps returned as she blubbered. "No! Do not say that, Father! We can heal you if you let us! Just allow us a moment to…"

"My Daughter," the Father cut her off. "It is no use. You might be able to heal my physical wound but it would only sap away at a massive amount of your strength. And it would not save me."

"Why not?" Anakin demanded as everyone crowded around him. "I'm sure that your Daughter and Barriss could heal you up with no problem if you let them."

"No," the Father shook his head. "You already know that I was dying. And a blow like this has sapped a large part of what remains of my strength. And what is left of my strength will be needed for all of you now. If you are to continue with the next phase of your journey."

"Next phase?" Ahsoka asked with a bewildered stare. "Would do you mean?"

"Are you referring to the Son?" Obi-Wan asked. "Are you requesting that we hunt him down? I feel that you would be better equipped to tackle such a task than us."

"No," the Father gasped. "I am not as strong as I appeared to be when I fought him and subdued him earlier. My face was a careful mask so as not to betray just how much of a strain blocking his attack was. I was at the end of my rope and he was very close to overpowering me. With my strength depleted further by this blow, I believe that I would be next to helpless in another confrontation with."

"Father, if you would just…" the Daughter attempted again.

"No, my child!" The Father said with a firm voice. "It is over. Everything that I have attempted to do over the millions of years that we have been here on Mortis has at long last come to an end. The balance of the Force has been broken. My Son, he has left…"

"So we saw," Anakin muttered bitterly.

"No, you do not understand," the Father rasped. "He has left… the universe entirely. He is no longer within this Galaxy or any other Galaxy enclosed within the walls of this universe. Either inside the monolith that contains Mortis on another plane or in the main one where everyone else is."

"What?!" All four Jedi shouted simultaneously.

"Yes," the Father nodded sadly, wincing once again as he struggled to speak. "I was blind. I knew that my powers were dulled but I should have all the same sensed the presence of that being. I should have sensed his arrival to our world. That entity in darker armour, he was not of our own universe. He was from another one entirely. And he has taken my Son with him out from this universe and to another."

"Who was he?" Obi-Wan asked gently. "Do you know?"

"I could not tell you a name," the Father replied. "All I can tell you is the species. And it is a species that you are all familiar with. Even if you have never seen one that looks like him before."

"It was a Digimon, wasn't it?" Barriss asked with a grim expression.

"Indeed," the Father nodded and began coughing as the pain in his torso radiated through his body.

"I had a bad feeling about him," Obi-Wan sighed. "I had my suspicions that he might have been a Digimon. But I had nothing to go on. I am not altogether pleased to learn that I was right."

"And he has taken my Son back with him to the universe that he came from," the Father agreed.

"The Digital World?" Ahsoka asked earnestly.

"No. Another one."

"But if it was a Digimon surely it should have come from the Digital World, shouldn't it?" Anakin frowned.

"A dimension-travelling Digimon like him could come from anywhere, Anakin," Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Exactly," the Father agreed. "And with my Son and my Daughter split up onto sides of the dimensional barrier, the balance has been broken not only here but there are as well. The Force flows through every universe, no matter how different from our own they may be. The Force is what unites all universes together. And now in another universe because of my negligence and my weakness, the strength of the Dark Side will increase exponentially. Just as the strength of the Light Side in this universe will also increase exponentially. The balance is gone. And it will have catastrophic consequences for both universes if something is not done."

"Sometimes I still struggle to comprehend how too much light could be bad," Anakin murmured. "But if you say it's bad then I shall believe you. But what are we supposed to do about it? The Son is now in an entirely different universe, one that is out of our reach."

"And the only way that I can now see of ensuring the balance stays in this universe…" Obi-Wan muttered uncomfortably. "Would be, unfortunately, to kill your Daughter? Is there no other way than that?"

The Father sighed and closed his eyes just as the Daughter put a hand over hers. "I… I did not want it to come to this…" he murmured. "But I fear now that death may be the only option. For all of us."

"Are you kidding?!" Anakin cried. "You want us to kill your own Daughter?"

"Not want," the Father shook his head. "But I fear there may be little other choice in the long run. There is only one thing else that could possibly be done. My Daughter must reunite with my Son in the other universe. It is the only way for the balance to be maintained. They must be within the same universal walls. You can even see that the changes as a result of the shifting balance are taking place here even now."

Everyone, including the Daughter herself, looked around at their surroundings. True to form, everything seemed to be going absolutely haywire around them. The darkness was peeling away around them as if someone was tearing off little bits of wallpaper, leaves blew out of nowhere, and the sky appeared to be swirling with light clouds that looked pretty but also very, very dangerous. As if they would spit forth a tornado at any moment.

"But how was your Daughter meant to follow your Son into whichever universe that your Son has been taken into?" Obi-Wan asked with a frown.

"That is why… you will need… the last of my power…" the Father was beginning to breathe heavily now as his eyes flickered and his face seemed that age still further. "If I use every iota of strength left that I have… I should be able to get you… there myself."

"You can do that?" Ahsoka asked in astonishment.

Even despite his condition, the Father was still able to give Ahsoka her very weak smirk. "The Force runs in ways very few can ever fully understand. None so far ever have in your mortal world. Its capabilities, once harnessed and with enough power behind them, are virtually limitless. Something like this would obviously require more energy than the average Force user could possibly hope to kindle. As it is for me, it will cost me my life."

"No, Father!" The Daughter's body was wracked with more sobs. "You cannot do this. You cannot leave me behind."

"I have lived with you for millions of years, my Daughter," the Father gave her a fading but affectionate smile. "But from now on you must navigate your path without me to guide it for you. I can no longer restrain you from what you think you need to do. You must do something which I have always forbidden you to do and that is to fight your brother. You must do what I cannot and aid the Chosen One and his companions into stopping him and bringing the Force to balance once more."

The Daughter covered her mouth with her hand in a futile effort to disguise more sobs. But the Father's words had triggered another reaction is everybody else.

"Hold up," Anakin raised his hands. "You are saying that we have to go to this other universe as well?"

"Right now?" Barriss asked with eyes wide.

"Yes," the Father nodded with an extra cough. "There is no alternative. My Daughter may be able to help you against my Son but in the end all of their fights only lead to massive destruction if they are left unchecked. For everything around them. If the Chosen One does not go and do what he must to keep the balance then any effort to send my Daughter over there to restore it would be a waste. It would be useless. Therefore if my Daughter goes then so must you, Anakin Skywalker. It is optional for your friends… but if you do not leave now with my Daughter then another universe will pay the price."

Anakin was flabbergasted. This was way worse than anything that the Father had been suggesting that he do before. Before, he had simply been asking Anakin to abandon everything that he knew to look after a pair of squabbling but powerful Force Entities. Now he was asking him to abandon his own universe entirely to go off on what sounded almost like a wild goose chase.

"But… but…" Anakin blustered. "I can't just get up and go. What if I were unable to find my way back? What about my duty to the Jedi? What about my duties to the Republic and to the people that I… know…" he coughed, and Barriss and Ahsoka both knew that he had been about to say something else entirely in reference to Padmé but had quickly stifled himself since he was still in front of Obi-Wan.

"There is little time to decide," the Father's voice was getting weaker all the time. "It will not be much longer before the effects on both universes prove to be too strong. You must decide whether you will go. But if you do not… if you allow your selfishness to shine through… then hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of others will pay the price."

Anakin opened his mouth argue more… but very quickly found that he couldn't. He clenched his fists, but he knew that the Father was right already. There was no way around this. If Anakin was to leave now, in the knowledge that the Son had gone to wreak havoc on an entirely different universe when he could have done something about it, but hadn't, he would be forever plagued with guilt and his mind would constantly be imagining the destruction that the Son had caused in this other universe. Barren wastelands filled with ash came to mind already, along with the skeletons of broken buildings.

He had so many friends back home on Coruscant. So many people to return home to. Members of the Jedi Order, like Barriss's former master, Luminara Unduli – who he had had a lot of contact with since Barriss joined his team, as well as Aayla's former master, Quinlan Vos – who was a good laugh to be around and reminded them of Aayla herself in a lot of ways.

Captain Rex, who was supposedly waiting for him outside the monolith, probably without realising that he'd even gone anywhere if what the Father said about the time difference here was true. His beyond faithful Astromech droid, R2-D2, and the protocol droid that he had built himself, C-3PO.

Then there were the members of the Senate, like Chancellor Bail Organa, Riyo Chuchi of Pantora, Onaconda Farr of Rodia… and of course Padmé. His own wife, secret to all but a few – he would have to leave her behind knowing that there was every chance he would never be able to return. And he had no way of contacting her to tell her where he was going.

It felt like they were all faintly calling to him, like echoes in the distance or in the corners of his mind, begging him to come home.

But he knew now that he couldn't.

He had to go.

He had to step away from all of them and enter the world of the unknown to stop a powerful being that they had been unable to contain here from doing as much damage as possible to another universe.

How the heck could he cope with this?

It was at this moment that he felt a gentle hand touching his arm and he glanced down to see Ahsoka giving him a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay, Skyguy," she said. "Everything will be alright. We'll find a way. We always do after all. It does not matter how long it takes us, we will find a way."

"And you won't be alone," Obi-Wan's voice registered in this other ear as his former master placed his own hand on Anakin's other shoulder. "You will not have to shoulder this responsibility by yourself, Anakin. And besides, there is no way I'm leaving this up to you alone. You are going to need a level head with you after all."

"I could resent that a little bit," Barriss's voice interjected and Anakin felt her hand slip into his own. "But they are right again. We have to do this. And think about it this way – will be like the Digimon that we so miss if we do this. And like Aayla. It's our turn to head into another strange universe that is very different from our own. They did it and they got by. And they eventually managed to go back in the case of Digimon. If they can do it then so can we."

Anakin sighed quietly and then his eyes filled with a resolution as he looked up at the Father once again. He briefly noticed a strange look in the Daughter's eyes as the tall green haired entity regarded them. It was vaguely a astonished and amazed look along with a little hint of guilty envy. He understood what that must be like for her. Her own family was about the most dysfunctional one that Anakin had ever come across before and seeing them acting like that, such a close-knit group, probably couldn't help but make her wish to her own family had been like that too.

"Okay," Anakin nodded as everyone released their grip on him and he tightened both his fists. "Let's do this. Let's go."

The Father nodded with satisfaction and said, in a fading voice, "Then gather round." He raised his arms weakly, looking as if he could barely support them. The four Jedi gathered round and knelt beside him along with the Daughter, who looked positively stricken at was about to happen.

"Father…" she whispered, but before she could say anything more the Father reached up and touched her chin with one finger.

"Do not grieve for me, my Daughter," he said with a sad smile. "I may now be dying, but my spirit shall always remain within the Force and therefore within all universes. I shall never truly leave either you or my Son. There is nothing more that can be said. There is not the time for a prolonged goodbye. I must act now while my strength still remains."

The Daughter sniffed and bit her lip but managed to swallow any further crying. She nodded, indicating that she understood, but that was about all she could manage.

"Everyone join hands," the Father instructed, holding up his own gnarled ones to the Daughter and Barriss who took them gently. Barriss's other hand met with Ahsoka's, who gripped Anakin's, who held Obi-Wan's, who took the Daughter's free hand (and found it strangely warm to the touch). Then the Father shut his eyes and took on a look of deep concentration, so deep that it looked like he had gone into a meditative trance. Except that he was still able to speak:-

"There is some residue left in the fabric of space-time," he murmured so quietly that they could barely hear him even though they were standing right over him. "The gash that the Digimon cut into the fabric of our world has not fully faded. It has closed but it is still there, like a tiny invisible crack in the wall of the world."

"Is that something to be concerned about?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No," the Father replied weakly. "If many more slashes were added then it would become more of a problem. But fortunately the slashes were only made to the astral plane of Mortis and not to the wider universe. When my Daughter leaves this universe and I pass on and join with the Force, Mortis will disappear – it is sustained by our powers and the entire astral plane will no longer exist. Meaning that those two gashes are irrelevant as they will cease to exist too. But remember this, all of you, these gashes are dangerous. There will be some remaining in the world that Digimon has gone and taken my Son too. One for every time he leaves and returns to that world."

"What does that mean?" Anakin asked. "What is the consequence of those gashes?"

"You will know it in time," the Father replied, before his eyes snapped open suddenly. "There!" He cried. "I have found it!" He then slipped his hands out of Barriss's and his Daughter's own, before taking their wrists and joining their hands together instead. "Make sure that you hold on tight to one another so you do not get separated when crossing the boundary. Farewell, all of you. Do you have the Mortis Dagger?"

"I have it," Obi-Wan nodded, and indeed the bladeless hilt hung from his belt next to his lightsaber.

"Use it… if you deem it necessary…" the Father sighed. "My Son cannot be allowed to inflict any further damage… and if that means you must kill him… then you have my permission to do so… our family is broken just as the Force is. I do hope that you can find another way. But I realise that that is most likely not an option. Do whatever you must to prevent the darkness from overtaking. And now… you must go….

Suddenly, and quite alarmingly, there was an enormous spike of the Force that each of them felt within their brains as their entire body suddenly tingled like every skin cell was buzzing. Almost a split second later, and equally alarmingly, the Father's body suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but empty robes and his hat which suddenly fell to the floor in a heap. The Daughter gasped one final gasp of shock before all five of them, hands joined together, suddenly glowed with a bright white light, lifted off the ground and… blipped into nothingness.

* * *

When they blipped into somethingness, what seemed like a split second later, all five of them were thrown backwards to land in various undignified positions. And unfortunately for Obi-Wan, his back smacked straight into a tree, knocking the wind out of him and sending him slumping to the ground.

"Ugh," he moaned as he rubbed his back. "If that is what in extradimensional jump feels then I think I understand exactly why Renamon was knocked unconscious when she first shot out of a portal and almost crashed into Aayla."

"Where are we?" Ahsoka asked as she pushed herself up and they looked around.

"A forest, apparently," Barriss replied, looking at the trees that surrounded them. "And I am afraid that that is about the best answer I can give. Because other than that, and the fact that we are in a totally different universe now, I have absolutely no idea."

All of them took a moment to let exactly what Barriss had just said sink in. They were, as of now, in a totally different universe. They were just like Digimon when they had been flung into the unknown. But unfortunately this was not the world that their Digimon friends lived in. And that meant, like the Digimon, they were going to have to make their own way and hope that they came across someone who could help them.

And they had absolutely no way of getting back that they knew of.

Anakin felt his fingers tightening over the grass blades nearby. Exactly what had he just managed to get himself into this time?

* * *

Back in their own universe, in the Chrelythiumn system, Captain Rex was irritatedly beating upon the com system that had just gone down about thirty seconds ago. The signal out here in Wild Space was pretty poor, but this was just ridiculous. Communications between ships that were supposed to be close to one another should still not be that difficult.

"Got anything Artoo?" the clone Captain looked down at the small Astromech droid that was standing beside him, twiddling in the scomp-link and trying to boost the signal. R2-D2 merely rotated his head around to look at him and gave a few negative bleeps. Rex could not really understand Binary but it was not difficult to tell that Artoo was worried.

"Come on General Skywalker," Rex muttered as he resumed trying to figure out what the problem was. Technically Anakin was no longer a general, but Captain Rex had never been able to slip the habit of calling him that. "Where are you?"

"Sir?" came the voice of another clone further up the bridge. "Sensors are picking up a ship dead ahead. It's definitely theirs. Not sure what happened – I think our sensors must be on the blink because it just appeared out of nowhere. They didn't even pick the ship up coming out of hyperspace. But it's definitely the one that we were told they were coming in."

"Well, thank goodness for that," Rex nodded with satisfaction, a ripple of relief running through him. The momentary lapse in communications had given them all a little bit of a scare – after all they were supposed to be investigating a suspicious signal that might well have been trap. "Then someone open the hangar bay doors and let them come in. Let's see if we can re-establish communications."

"Erm," Admiral Wulff Yularen coughed from where he was standing by the window but right at the other end of the bridge. "Captain… I think that you may find that exercise… a little futile…" Rex looked up, frowning at the disbelief and horror that he could plainly hear in Yularen's voice.

"What do you mean, Admiral Sir?" Rex asked, slowly, not sure whether he would like the answer.

"Come and see for yourself," now Rex was actually starting to get a little bit scared at Yularen's tone. Slowly, hesitantly, the clone Captain made his way up the middle of the bridge to draw alongside his commanding officer. He took a pair of macrobinoculars that the Admiral handed to him and held it to his eyes, searching for the ship with them.

He found it.

He dropped the macrobinoculars with a clattering thump.

"No," he gasped, his face having gone utterly white, before he scooped up the macrobinoculars and trained them on the target again, hoping against hope that this was some kind of mistake.

But it was not.

There lay the shuttle which the four Jedi had set off in, floating aimlessly in space. And it was a complete and utter mess! The cockpit window had been blown out and there were gaping holes in the hull. One if its wings had been snapped almost clean off and another had been crunched beyond all recognition. Inside it was utterly dark. But it was quite clear, even from this angle and that this distance, that the ship was completely totalled.

And that there was, quite blatantly, nobody in it.

But this was the ship that the Jedi had been on when he had been talking to them only a minute and a half ago. How could it possibly have gotten into a state like that in such a small amount of time without anybody seeing anything?

Almost before Rex realised what he was doing, he was dashing back towards the console at the other end of the bridge and furiously trying to hail the ship in the distance with the comms again. He knew it was hopeless before he'd even begun, but desperation and disbelief was driving him to do it anyway.

"General Skywalker!?" He roared into the static-sounding comlink. "Commander Tano!? General Offee!? General Kenobi!? Is anyone there?! Hello? ANYONE!?"

But he was only greeted with more static.

He whirled around again and began barking orders towards everyone in the bridge. "I want pilots out there right now searching for them! Comb every inch of the space out there! I don't care how long it takes… I want them found right now! Someone tow that thing inside! They have to be out there somewhere! Move, move, move!"

Clones all around him leapt into action to carry out their Captain's orders as Rex ran back to view the ruins of the ship through the macrobinoculars once again. He did not want to believe it, but only one explanation of what had could possibly happened came into his head. He didn't know how on earth they had managed to ruin the ship that much without it being noticed. But the massive holes in the hull could only mean that somehow, at some point, everyone on board had been dragged out into space.

The question was… what had happened to them after that?

"They've got to be out there," he murmured to himself. "They've got to be."

And unfortunately for the good Captain, he would be murmuring those words to himself for a very long time to come. Because the four Jedi he was seeking were most definitely _not_ out there.

* * *

All four Jedi in question, across the dimensional barrier that separated the world Captain Rex was frantically searching for them in, had risen to their feet in an attempt to take stock of the situation. But the only thing they seemed to be able to work out was the same thing that Barriss had pointed out before. They were in a forest. A particularly unremarkable looking forest; large trees, green leaves, thick tree trunks, occasional tree roots, fallen leaves, and the occasional stick on the ground and bush.

"Well," Anakin muttered to himself. "I would say 'I don't think we are in Kansas anymore' if I had the foggiest idea what Kansas actually looked like."

Everyone else took this is a good sign that Anakin was emotionally alright for now. Though it would probably take a while for the enormity of what had just happened to fully sink in on all of them.

There was very little that could be done at the moment. Evidently, the Son and the strange Digimon that had taken him away were not here. They probably had not been here at any point.

There was really very little that any of them could do but sit tight and try and figure out their next move and wrap their heads around the fact that they were, for the first time, in a situation that, for space travellers, really could be considered out of their world.

Still, reminded of their objective, Obi-Wan turned to look at the Daughter to ask her if the Force was properly in balance in this world or not. But he shut his mouth when he saw her, for she was leaning against a tree trunk with her arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried in her knees. It did not look like she was crying. But evidently the Daughter was not taking the death of her Father and the departure of her brother very well at all.

Obi-Wan approached her and sat down next to her. He could quite plainly see that her body had lost a lot of the ethereal glow that he had come to place with it. She almost look like a normal person now; even her hair had stopped flowing out behind her like a cloak in the breeze. She almost looked like a normal woman – a fragile, broken woman.

"Hey," Obi-Wan asked her gently. "I suppose that asking you if you are alright would be a little insensitive at this point. So I will ask you this instead; do you think that you are going to be alright?"

The Daughter looked up at him and Obi-Wan was slightly taken aback at the haunted look in her eyes. This must have been harder for her than it was for any of them, even Anakin. Obi-Wan was right – she was not crying. But he could quite plainly see that she wanted to.

"The Force… is stable…" she said, answering the question that Obi-Wan had decided not to ask. "But the Dark Side is definitely stronger here. My brother is more powerful than I am – that I know."

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said to her. "I wish it could have been another way. It can't have been easy for any of you, living the way you were."

"It was our life," the Daughter sighed. "I had learned to live with it. But my brother had not. I am not alright now, but I believe that I will be. If we stop him. The only way now that I will be alright is to fulfil my Father's dying wish and prevent the imbalance in the Force. We must defeat my brother. We must find a way."

"We will," Obi-Wan assured her. "You must know what all three of my companions are capable of pulling off when the pressure is high."

"Yes," the Daughter gave a sad smile that did not reach her eyes. "But will they be so successful without the other seven remaining members of their team? They may have you and they may have me… but are the five of us enough?"

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan had no real answer that.

* * *

And there you have it everybody. The four Jedi are no longer in their own universe and it does not take a genius to figure out exactly which universe it is they are now in. Of course, they do not know that because they do not know the full background of the story that all of you do, but this chapter certainly has been a long time in the waiting. And here it is now. Hope you all enjoyed it.

And now I really need to go to bed. But you can all expect in the next chapter of To Be a King by late tomorrow assuming nothing happens. And if it does then I will play catch up on Saturday.

* * *

Next time…

Finally back to the Pokémon world. Now with Zapdos in their company they continue onwards, debating what course they have to take next to find this next legendaries and unaware that they are still being pursued. But then Absol's disaster sense goes off. Something very, very wrong is about to happen to the West.

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 37 : Flight to the Mount Moon**


	37. Flight to the Mount Moon

Hey everybody. Sorry about the severe delay to this story but needless to say, ending uni took a lot more work than I thought it would. There was a heck of a lot of stuff that needed to be sorted out with the house and such and then, when I got home at last, I have been kept rather busy. But, I have been doing some thinking about these stories and I've decided that they've become less fun to write recently because I'm forcing myself to write unnecessary parts of it in order to keep up a consistent length for each chapter and sometimes I feel like I'm floundering for something to say in order to keep up the wordcount. Therefore, for this and my other story, I am no longer doing that. I am just going to write what I feel flows better and if that's longer or shorter than the average chapters I've been posted then so be it. That's what it will be. This one, for instance, is shorter than normal, but not by a great amount. From now one, I will just write what I need to to make the point I need instead of dragging things out unnecessarily.

With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Quest of the Gods**

**Chapter 37:- Flight to the Mount Moon**

* * *

DarkKnightmon stepped out of the portal he had slashed into the fabric of the world, his giant, booted feet stepping down on solid rock once again. He placed one tip of his double ended spear into the ground and surveyed the ocean around him once again. He did this every time he arrived back at the main base. The only thing around him he could see was water, but he knew that there was a great amount of civilisation out there – a region of the Pokémon world at every main point in the compass that he looked.

And someday, it will all be under his thumb. Someday, he would bring the Pokémon and humans that existed here to their knees. Even if we had to push each one of them down with his bare hands to do it.

Perhaps, soon it would be time for him to make his move.

But not just yet. Before he began the wider campaign and the full on assault any of the regions, he would need more assurance that he could succeed.

One of his main problems when it came to launching such an invasion was his army itself. He certainly had a large amount of Digimon at his disposal. He had done quite a bit of subtle recruiting in the Digital World after all before he had come here in the first place. But, to be honest, while he did have numbers on his side, personal strength was another thing entirely. Almost every Digimon under his command was at the Champion level only. He did have a fair number of Ultimates, but when it came to the more powerful, Mega level Digimon he was sorely lacking.

And, he had already lost one in the attack on the cruise ship. That had been one of the main reason so angry Duskmon for initiating it. Granted, Pukumon probably was not the strongest Mega level in the world but he had still been powerful. Therefore, his loss was still quite a blow. Of course, DarkKnightmon knew that he was definitely the strongest Digimon of his own forces and he intended to keep it that way. But he knew that he himself was not going to be enough. While most of the Pokémon in the world couldn't match up to him, there were an awful lot of them. And numbers, while not everything, definitely played a significant factor in this kind of thing.

Not to mention there were those Legendary Pokémon out there. How, exactly, was he supposed to deal with those with the arsenal he had? Those Pokémon were extremely powerful.

DarkKnightmon did not dare to go back to the Digital World to continue recruiting. He had no interest in drawing the attention of the Sovereigns. So that meant, he would have to find a way of obtaining more powerful members of his army from a different angle.

And he had decided that perhaps the best way of doing that, would be to find a way of boosting the troops that he already had a disposal.

But how was he meant to do that? The most normal weight would need to get them to go on rampage and load data until they got stronger. But there was to be had in this universe. The Pokémon were not made of data. So, he would need to come up with another way.

And he had had an idea on that front.

Perhaps now would be a good time to try it out.

Especially now that he had gotten his new recruit. If you could call the Son a recruit.

"So?" Said the Son's voice behind him, as the dark entity stepped out from the slash in the world that promptly collapsed shut behind them. "This is the world that you wish to overtake, is it?"

"Indeed," DarkKnightmon nodded. "It is a large world, filled with many strange creatures and beings."

"What made you choose this one?" The Son asked sceptically, staring out across the ocean with some degree of disdain. "What is so special about this one?"

"Nothing much really," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "It was the first world that I entered after I left my own. I observed it for a while, and found it to my liking, most likely because it is very similar to my world in a lot of ways. But it does not have the Digimon Sovereigns present. They are the Digimon that would have been most difficult to overcome. That said, this world is not without its guardians. Few worlds are. But I shall dismantle them one by one, before they realise what is happening. For the guardians of this world do not have the communication that the guardians of the Digital World have. They are isolated, alone, weaker."

The Son folded his arms. "Well, I suppose that you must start somewhere." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. "Yes," he breathed. "I can sense the force here still. It is… dull in comparison to what it was on Mortis. But it is still present, and the dullness is hardly a surprise considering what Mortis was. The force always did feel duller whenever I ventured out in order to…" he paused before growling. "Never mind."

"So, you believe that you will be able to function here?" DarkKnightmon asked. "That your gifts will still be of use?"

"Oh, yes," the Son snickered. He wondered for a moment whether his powers would be as strong here as they were on Mortis, which had been an embodiment of the force itself. This world was not the same. But he was hardly about to tell DarkKnightmon that he might not have the same power. And surely with him here, darkness would spread very quickly and it would not be long before he did regain any strength that he had lost.

"Lord DarkKnightmon!" Several voices hailed them from the entrance to the cave. The Son turned around imperiously to see a couple of Devimon stepping out and hailing their leader. "Were you successful, my Lord?" one of them asked.

"Indeed," DarkKnightmon tapped the ground beside the Son with one end of the spear. "As you can see, we have a new addition. You will go back into the base and spread the word that our new guest has arrived. He is to be treated with respect, and unless I order you otherwise you are to take orders from him. He is your superior in this endeavour. That is all."

The Devimon both looked towards the Son with slight curiosity, but the Son sent them a deep scowl their way – his red glowing eyes narrowing dangerously as his mouth curled into a smirk. Red lightning flashed briefly from his fingertips. The two Devimon cringed and instantly hurried back into the tunnel.

"Intimidating," DarkKnightmon said approvingly.

"I am not used to having minions," the Son shrugged his shoulders. "But if I am to stamp my authority down on them, then I must do so immediately. I will not give anyone the chance to even think of disobeying me."

"Good attitude to have," DarkKnightmon nodded. "An uppity subordinate is aggravating in the extreme. And I should have you know that one of my lieutenants still has a sour attitude towards me at times. He still has not come to terms with the fact that I am now his superior. You may need to… put in his place."

"I look forward to it," the Son sneered. "So, do I get the grand tour? And perhaps know what the next step is in your master plan?"

"Do I detect a hint of cynicism?" DarkKnightmon asked.

"I am not particularly prone to following the plans of others," the Son sniffed. "I wish to know whether this is to my liking or not."

"Very well," DarkKnightmon began to step inside the cave. "Perhaps first you would like to meet my pets."

"You have pets?" The Son snorted.

"I have prisoners that I refer to as pets," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "And I was particularly pleased to obtain one of them. It looks so much like someone who I hate so grievously back in my own world."

"I assume that torture is involved," the Son asked dryly.

"Oh indeed," DarkKnightmon laughed openly. "I simply cannot resist. And as to the plan – now that you are here there is one which I would like to set in motion. One which I had been putting off for a few weeks now, until I was confident that it was worth the effort. And perhaps you are one that can help me pull it off. After all, you are more likely to have a greater understanding of it than any of my forces."

"You have peaked my interest," the Son replied.

* * *

DarkKnightmon led the Son through the various corridors of his mountain stronghold. Various different dark Digimon were introduced to him, and the Son managed to intimidate each and every one of them. He very quickly ensured that there would be no nonsense from any of them. They took his threats and his authority very seriously. Especially when DarkKnightmon did indeed introduce him to his pets.

None of the lower Digimon wanted to mess with the Son after they saw him blasting a furious volley of red lightning down at one of them. And wide grin of sadistic delight was spread across his face, and the screeching screams that echoed throughout the base and merely seemed like music.

"How merciless of you," DarkKnightmon said as he observed from behind.

"It's certainly is fun to be able to do this for a change," the Son smirked. "My Father would never permit need to have the opportunity to do anything like this. It was extraordinarily aggravating. Refusing to allow me to exploit my darker tendencies this manner."

"And now the whole Pokémon world is open to you," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "Imagine the atrocities that he will soon be able to commit."

"I have imagined them already. And I take great delight in what my mind shows me."

DarkKnightmon led the Son away, back down a corridor and away from the recovering pet. "Then I suppose it is about time that you were introduced to our latest plan. Our main priority right now is figuring out a way for us to defeat will contain all of the Legendary Pokémon in this world. And to do that we need to get stronger."

"My power is already great," the Son protested. "And the steep that this will fall since the darkness, the stronger I will get."

"You and me both," DarkKnightmon agreed. "But as of now our forces are stretched thin. We need a way of obtaining more power not just ourselves, but some of our other minions. Ones that we are capable of controlling even as they grow in strength."

"I assume that you have some kind of solution," the Son snorted. "But need I remind you that one of the main conditions will be coming here was the fact that I would get the opportunity to fight against the Digimon that blighted the Sith in my own world. I must insist that you tell me where they are. I wish to exact vengeance as soon as possible."

"And you shall get your opportunity," DarkKnightmon assured him. "But rushing into things is a good way of getting yourself defeated, even for someone such as yourself. It does not do to underestimate the enemy."

"And it most certainly does not do to underestimate me," the Son replied shortly. "They cannot hope to succeed against me. And that is not just some empty brag. Their lives shall be as putty in my hands. As long as darkness thrives, so do I."

"They might find killing you hard," DarkKnightmon said. "But to go up against all Mega level Digimon and a couple of Legendary Pokémon would be an unwise move, I feel. Not without a proper supply of backup of our own. But do not worry, that time will soon be upon us."

"My Lord," a voice interrupted from ahead in the corridor. Both DarkKnightmon and the Son drew to a halt as Duskmon emerged from the shadows. The Son cocked an eyebrow at this newest being, one that he had not set eyes on yet. He could certainly feel the darkness inside this one. As well as the anger and hate that seemed to nod off him like a constant spout of water or maelstrom.

"Ah," DarkKnightmon acknowledged him. "Duskmon, you have returned. I assume that you are here to make your first report and not to tell me that you have screwed up the mission yet again. I would hope that you managed your surveillance task with ease."

The Son did not miss the sudden flare of fear and hesitation that emanated of Duskmon briefly, before the smaller Digimon said, "Of course, my Lord. They certainly did not spot me. I was the invisible shadow that they could not hope to track. Everything went smoothly on my part."

The Son had to resist the urge to laugh. This Duskmon was quite convincing liar, but the Son could smell one of those lies a mile away. He could sense it. But he decided, for now, not to mention it. He wanted to see how this will unfold.

"That is good to hear," DarkKnightmon smirked underneath his helmet. "I was beginning to wonder if I should… replace you…"

"That will not be necessary," Duskmon shook his head. "I have left… her… blipped them for now as I come to make my report. The news, unfortunately, is not particularly good. They travelling group now has added an extra member. One of the three legendary birds that we have been searching for, Zapdos, has joined their party. Now not only did they have four Digimon capable of going to the Mega level, but they also have four Legendary Pokémon on their side. Latios and Latias are but two. Suicune and Zapdos are now members of their party. And unless I am very much mistaken, they intend to add more in the future."

"An alliance of Legendaries is the last thing that we need," DarkKnightmon bristled. "We may need to step up the progress in our moves against them. But for now, that can wait. Duskmon, may I introduce you to one of your new superiors. From the world of that Jedi woman. The Son of Mortis."

Duskmon's many eyes rotated to look at the Son. Each one of them scowled. The Son felt amusement within himself, and he could already tell that his presence displeased this Duskmon. He suspected that this was the one that DarkKnightmon had reference – the one that still got uppity.

Well, this could be interesting.

"Oh really?" Duskmon snarled slightly. "And what exactly can he contribute to our plans for this world that we Digimon cannot execute without him?"

"You would be surprised, Duskmon," DarkKnightmon iterated.

"I cannot believe this," Duskmon scowled fiercely. "Resorting to using ordinary humanoids to aid us. And merely because of the presence of one other ordinary humanoid."

"Perhaps you would like to test yourself against me," the Son sneered at him. "You would be wise to remember your place. You most certainly are not the leader of this army. It was that leader that came to find me. I would believe he knows a fair bit more than you do."

Duskmon snarled but made no move against him.

"Actually," DarkKnightmon mused. "This could be fairly entertaining. Go ahead and then, Duskmon. It is quite clear that you do not approve of my choice to bring the Son here. Why do we not consider this your chance to prove you were right? I will allow you to attempt to best the Son right here and now. If you succeed, then I shall relent and send him back home. But if you fail, then you may not say another word about it. Ever."

"A friendly wager, eh?" The Son laughed harshly. "I can stomach that. Very well, Duskmon. Why did you test yourself against the true being of darkness?"

Duskmon peered at him several moments, expecting some sort of trick or for DarkKnightmon to change his mind. But when there was no more word about it, he swiftly melted into the floor, vanishing into the shadows. The Son stared at the spot where he had vanished, waiting for him to resurface without concern. His senses tingled a little, warning him that Duskmon had resurfaced above him, coming out of the shadows of the top of the cave.

An interesting angle choice – one that would surprise most people in the extreme.

But the Son was not the most people.

As Duskmon fell towards him, the Son greatly surprised him by transforming into his gargoyle shape, swinging a wing around and batting Duskmon right into the wall. Duskmon did not collide with it exactly, instead just vanishing into the shadows once again before he could make a real impact.

The Son swiftly resumed his ordinarily shape and waited for Duskmon to reappear patiently. Sure enough, Duskmon shot out of the ground directly to his right moments later and roared, **"DEADLY GAZE!"**

Admittedly, the Son was actually quite surprised at the lasers that burst out of every single eye on Duskmon's body. Not that he let that stop him. With inhumane speed he leapt backwards and his hands flew through the air, his palms impacting with the lasers one after another and cancelling them out.

Duskmon stepped back, shocked that his technique had been blocked so easily. The Son merely smirked at him and said, "Deadly Gaze, is it? An interesting choice of attack. Fitting for an entity of darkness, I must admit. Perhaps I should repay you in kind, and show you my own version."

Duskmon tensed, ready to some kind of physical attack but none came. The Son merely fixed his eyes on Duskmon's own – the ones set in his face like normal eyes – and the glowing red dots that were these pupils and the only visible parts of his eyes, suddenly burned with an even fiercer intensity than normal. Duskmon tensed further… and then suddenly screamed in pure agony as every fibre of his body, including's armour, suddenly seemed to erupt with pain. His hands flew over his face, clawing at his own eyes, before he dropped to his knees, his body spasming and wracked with unimaginable pain.

The Son leered as he continued to stare at Duskmon, making no other move as he watched the Digimon writhe upon the ground. His eyes almost looked like they were on fire. He was using a Dark Side technique that was deadly effective but required a good deal of focus to pull off – Deadly Sight. With a mere look, he was reducing Duskmon, a master assassin and a powerful Digimon in his own right, to pieces.

That was the strength the Son possessed. He was capable of using any and all Dark Side techniques, and he had mastered them to perfection before he'd even had to practice.

Eventually, the Son relented and Duskmon was left gasping on the floor, hunched over with eyes screwed up and trying to regain his energy. He could not remember the last time he had ever endured such pain. It had not been since the days of the Demon Lords surely. He wouldn't want to admit it to anyone, but he was now feeling a certain amount of respect for the Son.

"Well," DarkKnightmon chuckled. "I think it is safe to say that we've proven I made the right decision in coming to you. Duskmon is no pushover, yet you seem to handle him very well."

"It's a gift," the Son smirked. "Quite literally. And I can scarcely wait for the time to test out my strength against the meagre might of the one that I came here to seek."

"And you shall have it," nodded DarkKnightmon. "But, as I was telling you before our interruption, we do need more strength in our forces for us to take on these Legendary Pokémon. It would be foolhardy to assume we, any of us, could take them on, for some of them have incredible power. We need more strength."

"And where do you propose to get it from?" the Son asked.

DarkKnightmon outlined his theories and ideas as Duskmon scrambled back up to his feet and slunk away, unseen into the shadows. He had no desire to let DarkKnightmon find out that Aayla had spotted and engaged him in a brief blade fight, so he needed to get his swords repaired quickly. Though he was muttering to himself that perhaps that brawl with the Son would have gone differently if he had been further armed.

"That's it?" the Son asked, with a raised brow when DarkKnightmon had finished. "That is what you want of me?"

"You do not feel up to the challenge?"

"Do not insinuate things like that, Digimon," the Son pointed dangerously. "I do not look kindly upon it."

"Be that as it may, this is but one thing I would ask of you. You surely have a far greater understanding of such things that we Digimon. After all, in your universe…"

"I'm aware of that. But I see no reason why that should tell me anything that you could not figure out for yourself. But be that as it may, I do have some great skill with a couple of Dark Side abilities that could be of great benefit here. If you truly believe this is required at all.

"I do."

"Then, I suppose you better ensure the plan gets underway."

"That is exactly what I intend to do, don't you worry," DarkKnightmon headed down the corridor. "Soon," he murmured. "Soon there will be few in this world who could dare presume to challenge those in my thrall. Just you wait and see."

* * *

It was, eventually, Anakin that broke the silence that had fallen over the group of five that sat, huddled, under the branches of the forest trees they had landed under. Each of them had taken a significant amount of time digesting what had just happened to them. They certainly weren't up to striking out and finding out where the heck they were right off the bat. They all needed some time to let it fully sink in – this was not their universe.

Trapped here.

Up against a person who was possibly the most powerful Force User in existence and was the pure Dark Side in entirety.

And unlike the Digimon when they had come to their world, there were no immediate friendly faces to guide them and tell them what to do.

But eventually Anakin murmured, "Come on. We can't stay here forever. We're going to need to strike out at some point and do… something…"

"Like what?" Ahsoka asked, from where she was sitting next to Barriss – the Mirialan had her hand on top of Ahsoka's in a sisterly comforting gesture, because now that the more immediate crisis was over, Ahsoka had been suddenly assailed with fresh guilt over what she had almost done and had threatened to do to Barriss while under the Son's control and Barriss had been attempting to console her most of that time. It had helped, and Ahsoka was now feeling better as she knew it wasn't her fault, but that hadn't stopped the fact that it was Ahsoka's shoto in Ahsoka's hand that had been centimetres from biting into Barriss' neck.

"I don't know," Anakin shrugged. "I guess… we just start walking. We have little other choice. We have no vehicles, no starfighters, nothing to ride of any kind. Feet is the only way to go. And I'm sure we'll run into something eventually."

"Sounds optimistic," Obi-Wan muttered. "But it's better than nothing."

"We have to follow our instincts, Master," Anakin said. "That's more than nothing. And my instincts are telling me that that is the best way to head." He pointed south.

Obi-Wan stared southwards as well before muttering. "Actually you and I are in agreement this time. The Force is indeed nudging me in that direction. But…" he cast a silent look at the Daughter, leaving the rest of what he was about to say unsaid, but everyone could tell he was silently wondering if the Daughter was fit for travel.

"I will be fine," the Daughter murmured, before she pushed herself to her feet and swayed on the spot a little drunkenly, as if she was still recovering. Anakin noticed that she had not merely lost the strange glow about her, but she now appeared to be a little smaller before – only just taller than him. Was that just some method to appear normal or was it a sign that the Light Side of the Force here was weaker than the Dark at the moment?

He didn't bother to ask.

"You're sure?" Obi-Wan pressed her. "You just lost you Father and your home. Maybe…"

"Yes," the Daughter said, firmly. "I will… I will cope. It is not easy. But it is in my nature to be selfless and I cannot stand by and squander in my own self-pity while my brother is out there somewhere and must be stopped. I will do what I must, regardless of what just happened."

"That's a brave thing to do, even for someone like you, I would imagine," Barriss noted.

The Daughter grimaced. "I will do what I must. For my Father. And for the Balance. Now, were we not about to head that way?"

"Rather than sit here cluelessly, I suppose we better," Ahsoka helped Barriss to her feet. "Hopefully we can find more about this place before we get into trouble."

"What makes you think we'll get into trouble?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Because we don't know if we're even native species here," Ahsoka pointed out. "Remember what the Tamers said? There are humans in their world, but no Togrutas or Mirialans. And there's only one Twi'lek. Now. How do we know that this one even has humans?"

"We don't," Anakin shook his head. "But I guess we'll just have to find out. Come on. Let's go."

He lead the way because somebody had to, glancing around him in search of anything that might be considered useful as they went. Obi-Wan offered his hand to the Daughter in a gentlemanly gesture and she stared at it for several moments as if she had never seen one before. But where before she might have withdrawn in an effort to remain aloof, she realised that these people were, for the foreseeable future, her new travelling companions.

They were all she had.

So she took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet, but she still insisted on walking as tall as she could as she went. Obi-Wan walked along slightly behind her, while Barriss and Ahsoka, the two non-humans (or at least beings that didn't look like humans) of the group, brought up the rear, just in case they ran into something ahead.

But as Ahsoka said, how did they know that anything here was going to be anything like they expected. Maybe there were no creatures here that even used two legs.

The Daughter moved quietly, glancing over her shoulder from one face to another, or at the back of Anakin's head. She had to admit, now that she was spending a certain amount of time with them outside a serious situation, or at least as far out at this one was, she felt a slight amount of admiration for all of them. She knew of the hardships that they had endured without having to be told, but now they were up against an opponent that was more powerful even than their previous greatest threat – Darth Sidious.

And yet they were getting to the task of finding him and stopping him with a grim determination, even without any Digimon to back them up.

And although they barely knew who she was, she could sense sympathy from all of them to her plight and she could tell they were trying not to talk about it or the task ahead in an effort to spare her from getting upset again.

She did find the whole thing… quite touching really.

"Um…" she muttered, and then blinked, wondering exactly when the last time she had ever faltered enough in saying something to say the word 'um.' Normally she was so sure of herself. But now she almost felt like the new kid at a club or something like that. After all, these four were a very close-knit group.

"Yes?" Obi-Wan asked her.

"I just… I just wanted to say…" she coughed. "Thank you. For everything that you've already done for me and my family. For agreeing to come along with me to stop my brother despite the danger to your own lives and your alienation from everything you know. It… means a lot, I suppose."

"As the Light Side of the Force, your nature is selflessness," Anakin turned back to her. "And we use the Light Side too. We couldn't not help you. Not when there's so much at stake."

"Still, it is… rather nice," the Daughter muttered. "Sorry. For everything. I do not know much about how to talk to normal people when I'm not being so…"

"Detached?" suggested Barriss.

"Yes," the Daughter muttered.

"You seem to be doing a pretty good job of it so far, Daughter," Ahsoka gave her a small smile. The Daughter coloured a little at the cheeks, which was another odd sensation for her, but then she noticed Ahsoka's smile had changed to a frown.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Sorry, it's just… I can't call you 'Daughter' without it sounding weird," the Togruta shook her head. "It's just strange. Especially since you're not my daughter and many millions of years older than me."

The Daughter blinked. "But the Daughter is the only name I have ever known, for I am the daughter of the Father. What else would I be called?"

"Ahsoka does have a point," Obi-Wan mused. "You're not among direct family members alone anymore. And not only that, but anyone we meet will think it strange to call you 'the Daughter' as well. Perhaps you need a name."

"A name?" the Daughter blinked. "For me? I… I have never even considered it before. And that… surprises me somewhat considering…" she trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Perhaps then we could be given the honour of giving you a name," Anakin looked over his shoulder at her. "It might help you feel a little more part of this group and it would certainly make things less formal."

"I… I suppose," the Daughter hesitated. "I… I don't know what to suggest but…"

"How about Ashla?" suggested Barriss, with a wry smirk.

"Ashla?" Ahsoka frowned. "That's a Togruta name. There's a youngling back at the Jedi Temple called Ashla? You want to name the epitome of the Light Side of the Force after her?"

"No," Barriss shook her head. "I want to name her after everything she stands for. Ashla was generic name given to the Light Side of the Force when the Jedi still lived only on Tython and were just branching out into the Galaxy. It's the name of one of Tython's two moons as well. And since the Daughter here _is_ the Light Side of the Force, how could that not be a good name?"

"Once again the results of your studies shine through, Barriss," chuckled Obi-Wan. "And you have a point. I always did think it was amusing for us to have a youngling that went by the name Ashla. But regardless of the little Togruta, it is an appropriate name. What say you?" he turned to the Daughter.

"Ashla…" the Daughter seemed to turn the name over in her head. "I… I like it. Ashla… that's my name now? I am… I am Ashla?"

"Yes, you are," Anakin nodded. "It's a name that denotes everything you are while being informal. Welcome to the group… Ashla."

The Daughter, now dubbed Ashla, coloured slightly. "I… Thank you. This… this means a lot to me."

"Our pleasure," Obi-Wan nodded. "And what of the Son? Should we keep referring to him as such? Or should we refer to him as what the ancient Jedi used to call the Dark Side of the Force and the other of Tython's moons – Bogan?"

"Do we really have to give him an informal name too?" Anakin asked.

"Perhaps not informal," Ashla said, gripping her fists as a frown set in her pristine face. "But he has no Father anymore, just as I do not. He is no longer the Son. He has not right to be called as such. So yes, I think I shall begin referring to him as Bogan. It seems more appropriate than just calling him 'my brother' all the time."

"Then its settled," Ahsoka grinned, surprising the Daughter by taking her arm. "Come on, Ashla. Let's take Bogan down!"

Ashla hesitated for a moment before she offered the Togruta a smile and said, "Yes, Ahsoka. Let's."

"Um… hold that thought…" Anakin said for a moment, drawing to a halt and making everybody else stop behind to stare past him. Several sets of eyes widened as they stared at the group of enormous bees with massive stings and needle like appendages on their forelimbs, all staring in their direction with large, red eyes.

"Oookay," Barriss muttered. "Not the first kind of encounter with the locals I was hoping for."

"Those are some _serious_ bees," muttered Ahsoka.

"And I don't think they look that happy to see us," Anakin observed. And he was quite right. The bees were forming a veritable wall in front of them and in the spaces in that wall, the group could clearly see large, yellow cocoon like creatures with eyes and small maggot-like grubs peering through the trees at them. It appeared they had stumbled into some kind of nest.

"What do we…?" Ahsoka began before the bees suddenly rushed towards them, displaying their twin needles and stings very prominently. The automatic response of the Jedi was to ignite their lightsabers in readiness but before either side could strike, Ashla suddenly stepped past Anakin and raised her hands in a clear 'stop' gesture. Every one of the Jedi felt a pulse of the Force emanate from her and wash over the bees, which suddenly drew to a halt mere feet from her and hovered there, staring in bemusement.

"What just happened?" Anakin blinked.

Ashla reached a hand out gently and one of the giant bees hummed towards it, and the group watched in amazement as Ashla actually gave it an affectionate scratch behind the antennae, which the bee seemed to enjoy. All the other bees crowded around, all threatening behaviour having vanished like a puff of smoke.

"Animal Friendship," Ashla gave the group a reassuring smile. "A Light Side Force power that convinces other creatures that you are no threat and that you are a friend. It only works if you actually mean it of course, but it's a handy technique for a situation like this."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "You know," he said. "I see your presence with us being of great benefit."

"Yeah," agreed Anakin. "And now we can say that the Force is with us, and have it be more literal than… well… ever…"

Ashla's cheeks coloured slightly, unused to being spoken to like that. But she just smiled and said, "It is… my pleasure."

* * *

And though none of the group were aware of it, they were currently being observed. Quite close to them was a small pond, glinting in the light of sun, and eyes were staring out at them from beyond the surface of that pond. It was a rather distorted view, but that didn't matter. The eyes in question were also firmly shut, but could still see, and their owner was floating in an ever-changing landscape that was beyond the universal wall of the Pokémon World.

"Well," Uxie mused, as the little Lake Guardian of Knowledge stared at the five newcomers befriending the swarm of Beedrill with incredible swiftness. "This looks like it will get interesting quite quickly. With their presence here, the number of potential futures for the world has narrowed. I wonder if I should pop in and give them a briefing on exactly what they can expect to find."

"Uxie, what are you doing?" Azelf called over from where he was using his Psychic powers to dispel another cloud of noxious poison that signified another unbalance in the world. "We're not slaving away here so that you can just stare out and see what's what. Especially when you already know what's what all the time."

"Perhaps later then," Uxie nodded, to himself. "There's a time and a place for everything. I apologise, Azelf. I am on my way." And the little guy returned to assisting his two brethren and the massive form of Giratina attempt to continue the increasingly arduous task of slowing the destruction of the worlds.

* * *

Meanwhile, some distance away from the group now associating themselves with the swarm of Beedrill, Aayla lifted her hand to her head yet again and massaged her forehead with a slight frown.

_Okay, that's the third time you've done that in the last five minutes, Aayla_, Terriermon voiced from where he was stood alongside her, poking at a fire with a stick rather needlessly, because Charizard was also standing nearby and had the end of his flaming tail constantly on the blaze. _Care to explain it?_

_I am not sure,_ Aayla shook her head. _At least, I am not sure what it means. But a short while ago, I did sense some kind of great upheaval in the Force. A large disturbance somewhere in this world, as if the balance suddenly went into flux very briefly and then stabilised._

_That doesn't sound good,_ Renamon observed. _Instances like that rarely are._

_Indeed,_ Aayla nodded. _But I assume that it just had something to do with the deterioration of the barriers that was quickly fixed, probably by Giratina or one of the Lake Guardians. But there is a strange… tingling in the back of my mind even now. And odd sense of… familiarity._

Henry frowned. _What does that mean?_

_I do not have the slightest idea,_ Aayla shook her head. _But I trust that the Force will reveal all the answers that it wishes to in due course. It always does._

_All this Force stuff sounds quite confusing to me,_ chipped in Latias, from where she was hovering upside-down and staring at everyone with a vague grin of amusement. _It's like there are voices whispering in your ear or something like that. At least that's what it seems._

_I wouldn't say voices, but there are suggestions that get implanted into my head,_ Aayla offered. _Like someone nudging me or triggering some part of my mind that was previously not active to start thinking. It's like a guide, but it doesn't usually give us an outright answer. I may have to meditate on this. See if I can make any more sense of it._

_Momentai. I'm sure it's fine,_ grinned Terriermon.

_Me too_, Aayla smiled, though what she hadn't added was that it had felt rather vaguely like the time where the Digimon themselves had ended up in her own universe all that time ago. She wondered if she should put that down to just a break in the barrier… or whether something had literally just crossed said barrier.

But she put that aside for now. They had more important things to think about. Like, their next move.

Ever since the titanic duel between Zapdos and Sakuyamon earlier that day, the group had moved away from the mountains to get out of the way of anyone who came to investigate the disturbance they had caused and moved northwards, until they came to a stop at a secluded copse at the top of a hill, where they had all settled to get some rest, talking in their heads only as they had done ever since they found out they were being followed. Renamon and Rika were visibly tired and with good reason, so they had agreed they could do with some rest. And now that they had their second Legendary under their belts, there were twenty-three more to go.

Unfortunately, they were still at somewhat of a dead end, for Zapdos had not had all that much to contribute to their conversation that they did not already know.

_Well,_ he had said, still getting used to this silent way of conversation as the Psychic types and Lucario broadcast what he was thinking to the rest of the group only. _I could have told you that Articuno had moved away from the Seafoam Islands if you'd come to me first, but I haven't seen her since she moved, so I couldn't tell you where she lives now. Most likely in the mountains somewhere. And Moltres… well… she's always been a wanderer. She moves roost repeatedly, never able to stay at one nest site for more than a few years. She could be in any number of places._

It was disappointing, and none of them hid this fact very well, prompting Zapdos to feel a little self-conscious that he could be of no more help. And to top it off, Zapdos knew no more than any of the others about this mysterious missing Legendary that none of them could think of. He was able to recount all twenty-two of the others they needed to find, but when it came to this one other member, he just pulled up a blank.

So, despite their success, it now seemed as if they were back to square one.

Eventually they agreed that really the only thing they could do was just move on, keeping out of the public eye as much as possible and, if it came down to it, asking some of the local Pokémon if they had recently seen any other Legendary in their area. It was set to be an arduous task, but the ability to communicate with Pokémon of all kinds was one advantage they had over other people that had sought the Legendaries out and if they needed to exploit it, then they would.

_What about you, Absol?_ Felkan asked, dragging Aayla's train of thought back to the present. _You getting anything on your senses that could coincide with what Aayla's saying?_

_I don't know,_ Absol replied, and since he was a Dark-type, only Lucario could read and transmit his thoughts to everyone else. Thank goodness for the aura wielder. _When am I not getting something these days? _He shivered visibly. _At the moment I've got more than one bad feeling tingling in my horn and I'm pretty sure most of that is just a sign that the barrier's weakening more. But I think I felt something spike a short while ago before everything seemed to die down again._

_That could mean that Aayla really is sensing something bad then, _Lopmon put in.

_Well, I don't think worrying about it is going to go much good,_ Gardevoir said from where she was standing behind Felkan like a constant guardian, no matter how many times he told her that it wasn't necessary – it seemed that the near miss on the cruise ship had shaken her greatly. _All we can really do at this point is try and rest. We've had a successful but trying day and night is drawing in._

Everyone silently agreed with the Psychic-type. Zapdos and Suicune both stood off to one side, observing the group with some amount of scrutiny. Neither were used to spending so much time in the company of so many others that were not Legendaries themselves, and they were currently wondering how much these people would be able to help in Uxie's mysterious approach to saving the world.

Then again, they'd found two Legendaries already in less than a week. Not many people could claim that.

Still, as everybody else settled down, Absol found his head turning almost of its own accord and his eyes focusing on a spot by the base of a tree nearby. He stared intently at it, as if it was the most interesting spot in the entire world, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why that spot was so… prominent in his mind.

Of course, the shadowy being that was standing in it, hidden from Absol's vision, probably would have been able to give him an answer.

The female pursuer fought the urge to shiver as Absol glanced over and looked right at her again, forcing herself not to do anything hasty and remaining as still as a statue, reinforcing her disguise to make sure she remained undetected. But she really couldn't tell just how undetected she really was. This was the fourth time Absol had looked in her direction and it was beginning to make her feel a little uncomfortable.

Following the group had not been easy for her. Without Duskmon to aid her she had been forced to run, and while she was incredibly agile and had very high stamina, keeping up with them through a mountainous terrain had been impossible for her. They had eventually drawn totally out of sight, and she had been afraid that she'd lost them. But fortunately for her, she'd effectively stumbled on them again as she wondered around invisibly, and that was only because they had set down and begun training with one another again. Otherwise she was pretty sure she would have been searching for them forever.

But even though she had successfully slipped in and was watching them from a spot well within earshot, she was frustrated to learn that they were not talking with their mouths. They all just stared at each and she guessed they were talking telepathically. They were wily. When Duskmon, that idiot, had revealed himself to them accidentally, they were not willing to disclose any information, even between each other, that a spy could pick up on.

That was going to make things difficult for her. She was telepathic herself, but she could only project her own thoughts into others – she could not read other people's minds. And even if she could, she was pretty sure that the Lucario would pick it up if she tried. So she simply sat and watched, hoping they would let something slip soon.

But they didn't. They all remained tight-lipped, and the Absol kept looking her way. She knew he couldn't see her, but evidently something was causing him to be suspicious of her hiding place. And she had no way of knowing if he had told the others that she might be there.

All she could really do was hope for the best.

But truth be told, the presence of the Absol was rather intriguing to her. She knew of his species, and the worldwide hate that they received due to the misconceptions and paranoia of idiotic humans. And yet this one was associating with them and even looked relatively comfortable in their presence. That just didn't seem right to her. Absol were a feared race. And so were her kind. They were both shunned by humanity, driven away the moment they were seen. In fact, Absol probably had it even worse than her since he had not ability to hide himself and go unseen.

So, what was up with this?

But that was presently only a small thought at the back of the head. The rest of her mind was too occupied wondering if Absol could tell that she was there.

Absol shook himself. He couldn't shake that strange feeling that there was something to be cautious about in that spot and he had no clue why. Maybe there was a piece of heavy fruit in the tree above that was going to fall during the course of the night. Not exactly a big disaster, but potentially dangerous, and Absol's disaster sense was warning him… at least about something. But unless it was a more immediate threat, it would never tell him what it was that he needed to be wary of.

He looked away before anyone noticed he was staring off into the woods, shaking his head.

He didn't know what was up, but he vowed to himself that he was not going to fall asleep that night, regardless of how tired he was. He would stay awake… and maybe keep one eye on that spot, just in case.

* * *

It didn't take too long before everyone eventually did lie down to get some rest. Renamon succumbed to sleep herself that night and lay curled up beside Rika like some overgrown puppy. Most of the others curled up around the fire, and Suicune surprised herself by allowing Ai and Mako to lean against her flank as they nodded off themselves. Zapdos took flight and left to find a roost somewhere, saying that he felt uncomfortable with sleeping on the ground and that he would return at first light.

Despite Latios wishing for his beloved sister to get a good night's sleep herself, Latias was eager to do something useful – claiming that she was hyped up and probably wouldn't be able to get much sleep anyway. So she and he brother were keeping watch over the group, hovering above the party like silent wraiths as they kept their eyes and senses wide open to any sign of a silent watcher.

They found nothing, despite the fact that they were indeed being watched by a mysterious creature crouched in the bushes a short distance away.

Absol, true to his word, didn't fall asleep either, but lay awake with that uneasy feeling still rippling through him. He couldn't remember a time recently that he had not felt uneasy, but this time it felt a bit more… localised… hence why he was unable to drift off in the knowledge of certain sanctuary.

Upon the Eon twins volunteering to keep watch, Lopmon and Terriermon had agreed to stay up as well, wishing to spend some more time in the company of these twins that were so alike to them both and only opposite in gender and species. It was still slightly disconcerting to Lopmon and Latios, but Terriermon and Latias had been having a great time with it, and the two of them had been sniggering together for a large portion of the evening.

Nevertheless, even Lopmon and Latios had to admit that they were getting along very well. It was like the sheer similarity between the two sets of twins just… drew them together.

As the group slumbered around them, Lopmon gently nudged Suzie closer to a slumbering Luxray, judging the thick mane of the Pokémon to be enough to help keeping her Tamer warm. She could hear Latias in her mind, babbling on about this one time where she had pulled a prank on a Gym Leader, or at least she thought he may have been a Gym Leader. But then she looked up and frowned as she asked, _Um… where's Terriermon?_

_Huh? _Latias blinked, cut off from her story to look around them. It was true – the white bunny was nowhere in sight.

_That's odd…_ Latios murmured. _He was here a second ago, wasn't he?_

_Did he just wander off again? _Lopmon groused as she stepped over towards them. _Probably gone looking for a midnight snack again._

_Ooh, I could do with one of those,_ Latias smacked her lips._ I wonder what he'll find. And if there'll be enough to share._

_Knowing him, nothing he finds will be enough to share. He's not such a gluttonous feedbag as Guilmon but… he's right up there._

Moments later, there was a muffled, "YAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" from the surrounding shrubbery. The heads of the three lookouts shot around – the sound was not that loud in relation to where they were so most of the others remained sleeping, but the three of them instantly shot off into the trees and towards the source of the shout. Absol's head snapped up, but all had on his expression was a bemused frown. He'd felt no sudden spike of danger, as he would have if a close comrade was in trouble. So what was the yell for?

He looked round to see that Gardevoir was also awake, the Psychic type sitting attentively against a tree-trunk as she watched over Felkan lying next to her.

"Problem?" she whispered to him, unable to communicate with their minds.

"I don't know," Absol muttered back as he clambered to his feet. "But I don't think so. I'll go and see. Wait here a minute."

* * *

And, sure enough, when Terriermon was located by his sister and the Lati twins… they were prepared for the worst but… did not… get the worst.

"Terriermon!" Lopmon cried. "Terriermon, where are you!?"

"HHHEEELLLPPP!" Terriermon suddenly hurtled out of the shrubbery and seized Latias by the neck, choking her briefly as he scrambled to a spot on her shoulders and cowered there, quivering. "It's after me! Somebody save us! We're all doomed! DOOMED!"

"What? What's after you?" Lopmon tensed, right as the bushes that Terriermon had appeared from rustled… and something stepped out.

"You… have got… to be joking," Lopmon smacked herself in the forehead right between her three horns.

The figure had a relatively rounded tough-looking body, with no arms, thick legs and three heads situated on top of where shoulders would be if it had any. Three round, cream-coloured heads, adorned by a crown-like covering of thick, green leaves. And all three of them were looking at the quivering Terriermon with concern.

"Beg pardon," the giant, two legged, three headed pineapple said with all three voices. "But what did I do? I was just out for a midnight stroll and suddenly that guy stepped out of the bushes and screamed his head off. Is he alright?"

"They've gotten bigger," moaned Terriermon. "They've got feet. And heads. They can talk now. We're all doomed. They'll overrun us and force us to devour them."

"It's an Exeggutor," Latios coughed in a deadpan voice. "It's not a giant, malicious pineapple that makes you eat it and then turn into a pineapple yourself. It's a perfectly ordinary Pokémon."

"Is he okay?" the Exeggutor repeated.

"GAH! Keep it away!" Terriermon flinched backwards and fell right off Latias.

"No," Lopmon answered. "He's not. But he will be. Leave him to us, Mister Exeggutor. Please, go about your nightly business and forget this whole thing. We'll just take his dope back with us and smack some sense into him. Literally if need be."

"Um… okay," the Exeggutor muttered unsurely, before he stepped back into the undergrowth, looking confused but quite determined to put this out of his mind. All three of them.

"Loppy, you're a saint!" Terriermon promptly glomped his sister. "That thing. Those eyes! It was out to get me! It was…"

Lopmon bopped him on top of the head with both ears curled into fist-like projections. "You… are… bonkers," she shook her head.

Latias was giggling fit to burst. "I guess your pineapple phobia really is real then, huh? But for an Exeggutor to scare you like that… oh, that's just funny."

"Thanks for the support," muttered Terriermon, having calmed down and was now rubbing his head.

"Momentai."

"Oi!"

"Well," Latios sighed. "I think we can safely say this was one massive false alarm. Next time you scare us all like that, can it be something that is actually threatening us that causes you to do this."

"It was this time!" Terriermon protested. "That thing… that horrible… ugh… I'm going to have nightmares for weeks."

"You already do," muttered Lopmon in a deadpan voice. "Can we get back to the camp now?"

"Is there a problem here?" a voice asked, that made everyone, especially Terriermon, jump. But it turned out to be Absol, staring at them from where he had just emerged from the trees.

"No," Latios and Lopmon muttered at the same time.

"Terriermon freaked out when he saw an Exeggutor," Latias grinned. "Apparently they look like giant pineapples."

"An Exeg… ah," Absol chuckled. "Well, that explains a lot."

"You agree with me, right, Absol?" Terriermon cried. "You must have sensed the incredible danger of that thing. That's why he's awake! That's why he's here! See, see! You cannot deny it now!"

"No, actually I'm here to investigate why you screamed like an infant when nothing was going off on my danger radar," Absol snorted.

Terriermon stared at him incredulously for a moment before stubbornly muttering, "Your danger sense is broken then."

"If you say so," Absol snorted.

"Come on, please," Lopmon began to drag her brother back towards the campsite by the ear. "We've left the camp unguarded. Next time, could you warn us before you run off for a midnight snack?"

"I was hungry," protested Terriermon. "This isn't the Digital World. We still need to eat."

"Not to worry," Absol said. "Gardevoir was awake when I left. She won't…" Suddenly he gasped and his front legs buckled underneath him, causing him to drop heavily to the ground with gritted teeth and screwed up eyes. "Gah!" he cried. "Oh Arceus! No!"

"What?" Latias asked, alarmed. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Danger!" Absol moaned, placing his front paws over his head as best as he could. "Something… something bad is happening right now. Something that could mean… could mean danger for us. My horn… my head… agh!"

"Absol, focus!" Latios swung around to face him with concern on his face. "What's happening? Is it close by?"

"No… not close… but dangerous… can't let them… no, stop…" Absol was writhing on the spot a little bit now, and Lopmon and Terriermon were staring at him in disbelief. Was this what it was like every time the guy sensed a disaster? It was bloodcurdling just to watch him suddenly suffering from mental torture.

Absol's eyes suddenly snapped open and he shot to his feet. "Mount Moon!" he suddenly cried, making everybody jump. "Mount Moon! You have to get to Mount Moon! Something's happening over there! They're… they're trying to… no… you have to stop them. The enemy! They're there!"

"Wait, what's…" Terriermon started.

"Go!" Absol screamed at him, and Terriermon was taken aback by the urgency in his voice. "You have to stop the enemy! Get to Mount Moon now!"

"What about the others…?" Latios started.

"I'll get them up and we'll follow!" Absol yelled as he sprinted past them back towards the camp. "Move! Go! Stop them! Now!"

Latios hesitated. It was true that he and Latias were the fastest of the group by quite some way so if something bad was happening some distance away they could get there first, but the immediate thought of his sister charging straight into a danger zone with minimal back-up made him pause for thought, his gut clenching in fear.

But Latias herself was not so slow, her normally sparklingly cheerful eyes hardening. "Alright then, let's move!" she cried

She seized the bunnies with her psychic powers and piled them onto her back, giving Terriermon just enough time to yell after Absol, "Get Henry to modify me up a few levels!" before she shot off through the trees and westwards at a high tilt. Latios motored off after her instinctively, catching up and drawing side by side as they flashed through the sky as white, red and blue blurs that were moving so fast they could barely be seen.

Terriermon and Lopmon had never moved so fast in their present forms before, and were gripping Latias' neck with their ears to keep from falling off or being pulled away by the sheer force of the wind. Such speed the Eon twins were flying at now would have killed a human, but Digimon were made of sterner stuff and clung on grimly.

_Latias, wait a minute,_ Latios spoke up in her mind. _Think about…_

_Think about what, Latios? _Latias cried back at him. _If something's happening at Mount Moon then we've got to stop it. We're Legendaries. It's our job. We battled at Fuchsia City and on that cruise ship and we can battle again. You saw Absol. This is serious._

Latios bit back any further concerns that he had, knowing she was right but still not liking it.

_Where's Mount Moon?_ Lopmon's voice registered through all their minds.

_It's a giant mountain just west of Cerulean City,_ Latios replied. _But why would someone want to attack there?_

_You don't think it could be…_ Latias started.

_Maybe…_ Latios mused. _I guess we'll have to see._

_What are you…?_ Terriermon began before he suddenly burst into bright white light and he let go of Latias, morphing into the shape of Rapidmon even as he tumbled backwards. Evidently Henry had been woken up and had done as asked, swiping a card to allow Terriermon to obtain a higher shape. He quickly corrected his course and zipped in alongside the two Eon twins and Lopmon, who also exploded into light a couple of moments later.

_Don't wait for me!_ Lopmon cried as she let go and tumbled towards the ground. _I'll catch up._ Rapidmon hesitated for a fraction of a second before he shot off after the other two even as Lopmon landed with a mighty thud, feet-first and in the shape of Antylamon. This Ultimate form couldn't fly but could run very fast indeed. Not as fast as the others could fly, but still at incredible speed. Antylamon hurtled across the ground in great, leaping strides, following the straight flightpath of the others and the fading mental signal of her brother, hoping that would steer her right.

* * *

It was not long at all before the mountain was in sight for the fliers. Freed from the burdens of riders that couldn't stand such pressures that their high speeds allowed for, they covered the large distance between their camp and the next city in just over five minutes. Rapidmon's eyes narrowed as they whooshed over the brightly lit city below them and closed in on the giant natural structure looming before them – a giant, jagged peak with several smaller peaks jutting up all around it.

Sure enough, he could sense things as he zipped in so fast no normal eye could keep track. There were Digimon down there. And a lot of them. But what were they doing in a place like this that had caused Absol to freak out like that?

Well, he guessed they'd find out. The most important thing was that it needed to be stopped.

_Come on, guys. Into the breach!_ Rapidmon called as he motored down, flanked by the dragons, as they shot in to face the unknown.

* * *

I am pretty sure most of you will be able to guess what's happening here, or at least have a vague idea about what it is that Absol has sensed these Digimon are up to. I do believe I left enough clues and really considering the target location it should be pretty obvious anyway, but yep, it looks like things are about to get hairy again, are they not? Hehehe. I hope that you enjoy the next chapter when it comes out. Writing will be less frequent now, but my overall aim is for one chapter for each story per week. Let's see if I can keep to it.

Oh, and I did not make up that stuff about Ashla and Bogan. To all intents and purposes, those are the names of the Daughter and the Son now.

* * *

Next time…

A large number of Digimon present at Mount Moon are terrorising the locals and are attempting to take a certain artefact away with them – one which is of great interest to DarkKnightmon's plans. Only the four speedsters can stop them before back-up arrives. Will they succeed?

* * *

Coming up:- **Chapter 38 : The Meteor Fragment**


End file.
